- Publisher: Milestone S.r.l
- Release Date: Sep 27, 2021
- Also On: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One
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- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Sep 30, 2021I was absolutely impressed by how much of a full-fledged racing game Hot Wheels Unleashed is. It’s right at home with some of the better arcade racers on the market today, and offers up a whole lot of fun for the whole family, regardless of whether you’re a Hot Wheels fan or not. The track customization is pretty solid, with a decent enough opening tutorial to get you started, and the sheer number of vehicles you can obtain right out of the gate is pretty impressive. The multiplayer could use a bit more fleshing out, but at least works great, and the game controls fantastically overall. If you’ve been in the mood for a new racing experience that everyone can enjoy, then look no further than Hot Wheels Unleashed.
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Sep 27, 2021Carefully detailed, highly customisable, and buoyantly uncynical, Hot Wheels Unleashed is a surprising and brilliant arcade racer.
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Oct 5, 2021A Hot Wheels Unleashed will free the collector in you with a game that mixes nostalgia and racing in high octanes.
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Sep 27, 2021Chock full of nostalgia and featuring a track creator that is second-to-none, Hot Wheels Unleashed is a must buy for anyone with a family that wants to race with or against each other.
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Oct 29, 2021Hot Wheels Unleashed is one of the best arcade racers to release on modern consoles in years. Tight controls and action-packed races make for a fun and satisfying racer that offers intense racing and a lot of ways to play.
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Sep 30, 2021In Hot Wheels Unleashed you get to drive, jump and slide around creative and demanding tracks. The races are short and intense, and the toy cars feels great to control. The gameplay lacks a bit variation though, and sometimes a second of bad luck can destroy all chances of winning a race. At its best though, Hot Wheels Unleashed can compete with timeless classics such as Ridge Racer 7, Micro Machines V3 and F-Zero GX.
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Sep 27, 2021A cracking little arcade racer from a studio better acquainted with motorcycle sims, Hot Wheels Unleashed is like sticking both hands into a big toy box of die-cast cars, pulling them all out, then thrashing them around a racetrack. And what is there not to like about that?
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Sep 27, 2021Hot Wheels Unleashed puts the brand to perfect use, marrying bright and bold toy car racing with powerful track creation.
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Nov 1, 2021Overall, I can look past the grind of obtaining new cars thanks to everything else Hot Wheels Unleashed does. I loved its commitment to the memory of racing around my bedroom floor, and for those looking for an accessible arcade-style racer full of personality and flair, look no further.
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Sep 28, 2021Hot Wheels Unleashed is a game that tugs at my nostalgia for collecting these cars. I just wish the aggressive DLC plans and grinding for new cars didn’t sour that experience so much. When I was playing I was having a blast. The track design and handling are superb and when I got a new rare car I was super excited. Hopefully they tweak some of the requirements for unlocking cars and I hope the season passes are not overly priced for their own good. I would love to see this game flourish and become a staple of arcade racers. It feels like a renaissance of the genre, and I want Unleashed to be there for a long time coming.
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Sep 27, 2021It’s no surprise given Milestone’s pedigree that Hot Wheels Unleashed is a mechanically sound and confident racing title as it boils down the true essence of Hot Wheels and puts on a showcase exactly why they’re a beloved pastime. The bloated story mode does little to obfuscate the game’s skeleton crew of modes, though I think the game will find resilience through a community of online racers and their wonderful, imaginative creations.
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Oct 11, 2021If you’re looking for a new way to jump into the world of Hot Wheels, Unleashed is certainly not a bad way to go, after all, we’ve seen worse in the series’ history. That said, the price point may prove steep for what feels like a more basic use of this beloved licensed property, and with very basic options for included game modes, a lack of substantial variety in race types, and no suitable way for the community to share their impressive track builds, it feels like Milestone has undercut themselves in a possibly rushed attempt to capitalise on this potentially fruitful racing franchise.
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Oct 1, 2021Hot Wheels Unleashed captures the magic of plastic cars with fast and smooth racing, but the toy box is a little shallow. There are numerous maps and cars, but the limited amount of environments, music, and set-pieces make for an experience that starts to get old quickly. As a result, Hot Wheels Unleashed rides the high of its racing, which feels like butter when drifting around corners and speeding through loop-the-loops, using whichever food truck or licensed car you pull out of the blind box, but doesn't bring enough of the license's personality over.
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Sep 28, 2021Gravity-defying loops and curves sit alongside integration with real-world sections and plenty of room for breaking race lines, if you’re the overzealous type. And the deeper you go into the game as it’s meant to be played, with fully upgraded cars, the more a hidden level of depth emerges and a truly challenging racing game materialises. It’s just a shame it’s largely hidden from the outset.
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Sep 27, 2021Hot Wheels Unleashed is a good addition to the world of racing games, with enough to make it totally unique but not too much to overcomplicate it. There are a few things I wish would make it feel more full, but for what it does deliver, it delivers it well.
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Sep 27, 2021Hot Wheels Unleashed is a decent racer with some excellent surrounding elements. It lacks the strategy and realism of a sim, but doesn’t hit the over-the-top chaos and action of an arcade racer either. Despite that, the amount of customization available, and with all of the cars to collect, fans of Hot Wheels toys will likely have a good time with Unleashed.
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Sep 27, 2021It remains an effective game, quite enjoyable and is without doubt the one that most faithfully respects the spirit of the famous brand, with that same nostalgic and passionate vision that we could have had ourselves, a few years earlier.
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Sep 27, 2021Hot Wheels Unleashed is a decent effort at bringing the iconic brand into the video game scene for real. It’s able to deliver a wide variety of cars and tracks to gamers in a way that is fast and frantic, seeing it occasionally verge on being a really great arcade racer. Physics issues and little minor annoyances stop this from reaching the very highest step of that podium, but if you’re a Hot Wheels fan, Unleashed is well worth a visit.
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Sep 28, 2021Fans of the toy line will likely find stunning digital recreations of the cars they love here, whether now or in one of many content updates already on the cards, along with a generally competent racer to use them in. Still, said fans may find that the dedication to the brand here elevates the experience to a degree, although those with less love for Hot Wheels in general might just see this passable racer as more of a slightly cynical vessel through which to peddle pretend toy cars for the next few years. Shiny and on-brand, but nothing particularly special, honestly.
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Sep 27, 2021I enjoyed playing Hot Wheels Unleashed a lot. The racing is straight up fun thanks to a top notch handling model that really makes the most of some impressive powersliding mechanics. But I can't help but wonder what could have been had we not got a game brimming with DLC and tied, to its detriment, to uninspired track environments.
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Sep 27, 2021Hot Wheels Unleashed gets its racing and assortment of cars so very right, but the way you go about unlocking more content is unfathomably restrictive and leads to frustration.
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Sep 27, 2021On the track, there’s a decent little racer in Hot Wheels Unleashed. Everything else feels like a bit of a letdown.
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Sep 27, 2021This is the kind of game a cheap uncle buys a kid for Christmas out of the bargain bin giving little thought beyond, “little Timmy likes cars so I’ll buy him this thing.” Sadly, it will only keep kids entertained for as long as it takes them to realise the odds are stacked against them. While some real passion has gone into the transition of some much-loved toys into digital form, the challenge of Hot Wheels Unleashed is just too great for its target audience. Without significant fixes, it will do little more than frustrate all who pick it up.
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Sep 27, 2021Hot Wheels Unleashed feels less like a cohesive racing experience and more like a framework where more and more Hot Wheels branded content can live as the months go on. This comes through not only in the lackluster presentation but in the currency system that robs players of any sense of urgency to complete missions. It doesn't feel satisfying to go through an hour of races and grind up currency to get a single box that contains a duplicate of an already-unlocked car. Instead of unlocking cars like heroes in Overwatch, the game operates as a video slot machine. While there's no way as of this writing to purchase currency with real-world money, the entire system feels tailor-made to support exactly that kind of philosophy. At that point, it might be a better investment to simply pick up some actual Hot Wheels and just watch them zoom around the track in real life.
| This publication does not provide a score for their reviews. | |
| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
| These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation. | |
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Sep 30, 2021Hot Wheels Unleashed is up there with Milestone’s MotoGP and Monster Energy Supercross, as well as the F1 and WRC games, as another winner in the ongoing renaissance of licensed motorsports gaming. For those who are perhaps not dedicated motorsports or sim racing fans, it could be a strong contender for their racing game of the year. I’ve become a virtual gearhead over the past four years, and Hot Wheels Unleashed is at least in the discussion for mine.
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Sep 27, 2021Hot Wheels Unleashed is quite a positive surprise. It gained our attention when it was first announced and after testing it, we can easily say we’re impressed. Thanks to its 100% arcade gameplay and its easy handling, one is immediately having fun. Content-wise, the game is quite generous, both in terms of the number of cars and tracks available. The latter are a real success, magnified by superb lighting effects. The only downside is that collisions with the environment and opponents lack impact. Nevertheless, Milestone delivers a beautiful copy that will delight both young and old gamers.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 18 out of 26
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Mixed: 3 out of 26
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Negative: 5 out of 26
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Feb 10, 2023
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Sep 29, 2021
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Aug 25, 2023