Hot Wheels Unleashed Reviews
Hot Wheels Unleashed has a lot of good concepts and ideas that are sullied by awkward execution and weird design choices. Its physics could use some more fine-tuning, and its AI needs to be rebalanced, along with a revamped track builder. Yet, there's still some glimmer to its toy car shine.
Hot Wheels Unleashed has a well-constructed base, as each aspect Milestone has implemented functions exactly the way it should. However, given that there are too many obvious similarities to a certain other track-building racer, it ultimately doesn’t do enough to set itself apart. Couple that with a serious lack of variety and a litany of added “gimmicks” that serve no real function, and there’s very little incentive to play continuously.
Hot Wheels Unleashed is a rollercoaster with all the perks of a fun ride; crazy colourful tracks included. What looks like an initial cash-grab license title ends up being a pretty decent racing experience.
Hot Wheels Unleashed brings the essence of the famous toy line into the Nintendo Switch, and while the game's controls and difficulty level can make the experience rather hard to get into for some, the amount of cars to collect and the high degree of customization all contribute to make this an experience that fans of the toys will duly embrace.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
On a console where Mario Kart is king and lord, it would be strange to come up with an arcade racing game that can stand up to it. In this particular case, we believe that, with some work from the producers, this title will have all the possibilities to do so. The problems detected are likely to be rectified with updates and the freedom and range of possibilities owes nothing to Nintendo's colossus. On the contrary, the huge amount of vehicles (and their customization), combined with a tool for creating and sharing tracks, helps the title a lot to cement its position in the console catalogue. If you're Hot Wheels fans and enjoy arcade racing, it's certainly a title to keep an eye on!
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The famous brand is back on our consoles and on PC with hundreds of cars. Hot Wheels Unleashed may not be perfect, especially in terms of its purchasing system or its redundancy in single-player mode, but it offers an accessible arcade experience that can appeal to nostalgic as well as to the youngest.
Review in French | Read full review
It’s not without its quirks, unfortunately. The shocking aggressive AI racers created many moments of frustration, and I’m not a fan of the “gacha but not really” system going on here for obtaining new cars. But for fans of arcade racers, whether the Hot Wheels name strikes a chord or not, Hot Wheels Unleashed is a game worth a look.
Even those just looking for some childhood nostalgia will enjoy Hot Wheels Unleashed and its similarities with older Hot Wheels games like Hot Wheels Stunt Track Driver. Plus, you can drive cars with names like Street Wiener, Roller Toaster, Buns of Steel, and Tur-Bone Charged. What’s not to love?
Hot 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.
This is a solid recommendation for anyone who enjoys arcade racers, especially ones that go more for skill and speed over the randomness of power-ups.
Does this break the overall experience? Its fun? Not really, but it definitely convolutes proceedings.
Hot Wheels Unleashed isn't perfect, but it still has the potential of fun.
For a first draft from Milestone on this license, this Hot Wheels Unleashed is doing with a positive result. This is mainly due to a well-studied drive and rather well-designed circuits that respect the spirit of small friction cars. Once the driving is mastered, it is fun to go from boost to boost, studying the best way to use nitro and optimize trajectories. We can hope that this constitutes an encouraging basis to make it a real must-have on a future version. There are unfortunately too many flaws that reveal an imperfect finish.
Review in French | Read full review
As it stands right now, Hot Wheels Unleashed is a fun racer whose fantastic selection of cars makes up for its relative lack of varied course environments. With updates and DLC it has the potential to become a brilliant mess of licensed properties in the way the best mash-up games are, but what's here is a solid enough foundation to start from, even if it's a little samey at launch.
Hot Wheels Unleashed is a rock solid arcade racing game that gets a lot of things right, but doesn't quite measure up in some areas.
Hot Wheels Unleashed is the embodiment of a dream shared by thousands of people from different generations. It is difficult not to get carried away by the child that we all carry inside us and enjoy with each car, curve and jump ... but it is a dream that may end soon if those responsible choose the path of microtransactions and loot boxes.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Hot 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.
Hot Wheels Unleashed is an excellent arcade racing game that doesn't fully embrace some of the wackier parts of the toy brand.
Hot Wheels Unleashed is a solid, yet not spectacular racing experience. It relies a lot on its community and upcoming DLC.
Review in German | Read full review
Whether big or small, pick up a controller and get going. Unfortunately, the game is currently only available online in splitscreen or a private lobby. It is currently not possible to join a public lobby with your friends. Hopefully this will be added. There is also no cross-play between the manufacturers, but only in their own ecosystem. The developer only states that there is no guarantee that "real" crossplay will be implemented. Too bad... If you can live with these limitations and want a piece of childhood, you simply have to play Hot Wheels UNLEASHED.
Review in German | Read full review