Wheel World Reviews
After Nidhogg and Flywrench, Messhof brings us Wheel World — a different kind of project, an adventure and bicycle racing game that turned out to be one of the most pleasant surprises of 2025.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
In the real world, Wheel World is a repetitive and monotonous game. It’s good in a lot of areas like world building and strong controls, but variety isn’t one of them. At points where it should be celebrating your successes, just falls flat and misses the moment. Wheel World is worth playing, but it’s not something that’ll stick with you after the credits roll.
Wheel World stands out as an experience capable of offering hours of relaxed entertainment, unlike most of the titles currently on the market. Its strength lies in its polished aesthetics, excellent sound and enjoyable driving system, enhanced by effective customisation. However, it is penalised by a certain repetitiveness in the activities on offer and some technical issues that prevent it from achieving excellence. We recommend it to those looking for a light-hearted adventure with a touch of challenge.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Wheel World isn’t the groundbreaking experience we were hoping for, but it’s not a complete miss either. If you’re looking for a light racing game with a charming artistic style and a short playtime of around 6 hours, you might find some enjoyment here. However, if you’re after a deep and varied experience, it may feel like a wheel spinning in the same place.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Wheel World gets a lot of things right and presents a very interesting, fulfilling take on an open world that is aesthetically pleasing, narratively intriguing and content rich. Despite suffering from some minor performance issues and a few QoL features that would have made it even greater, the DualSense really adds something to the experience on PS5 and I was constantly trying to better myself with every race and fulfil as many objectives as I could to maximise my time with the game. A real delight with a refreshing tone.
Wheel World invites you to discover unique settings where cycling and customization play a key role in advancing.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
We absolutely loved the world of Wheel World. The races offer a good challenge, the customization can completely change the way you play, and exploring the environments in search of parts and secrets is a pleasure. This is one of those games I'll return to again and again simply to enjoy exploring its environments and listening to its wonderful music, and the minor technical flaws don't detract from my experience at all.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Wheel World is committed to the unparalleled sensation of freedom. Hampered by performance issues, it does its best to recreate the joys of cycling.
Wheel World isn’t about big boss fights or dramatic cutscenes. It’s about the space between objectives—the quiet ride, the unexpected shortcut, the thrill of finding a perfect rhythm on a winding trail. It’s stylish without trying too hard, smart without being smug, and most importantly, fun without pressure. There’s a rare kind of sincerity here. The game knows exactly what it is, and it commits to the bit with confidence. Whether you’re racing ghosts, customizing your ride, or just riding for the hell of it, Wheel World makes every moment feel worth it.
Wheel World is a gorgeous and creative game with a soul, even if that soul is a little lost. It tries to say something big, but the message gets tangled in the spokes. The biking is fun, the customization is deep, and the world is worth exploring. The story? That might depend on how willing you are to suspend your disbelief.
Wheel World is at its best in the first part, shaping up to be an interesting and relaxing experience, especially for those who love cycling , since here they will find a certain expertise in replicating the sensations that only a good pedal stroke can convey.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A fun world to explore; odd characters that you meet only add to the game's overall appeal. Wheel World has impressed with its art style and the quality of the story.
Wheel World was a welcome surprise with a high level of polish and tons of fun to be had from start to finish. Slowly but surely working on the bike and feeling it become more powerful is a true delight and kept me glued to my playthrough in the few sittings it took. Annapurna’s high standard of quality will now include Wheel World in its prestigious ranks.
Wheel World is one of those experiences that embraces the player with its lighthearted atmosphere, friendly visuals, and welcoming soundtrack. While it's not a game that relies on major twists or complex challenges, it knows exactly what it wants to deliver: an uncomplicated, fun, and engaging adventure, with a healthy dose of exploration, customization, and naturally evolving racing mechanics.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Ultimately, Wheel World is a small and charming open world, presenting a stylish look, an enjoyable biking gameplay loop, and various high adrenaline races, up and down the hills of this magic island. With rather formulaic open-world activities and slightly unpolished physics, the game doesn’t quite reach its full potential, but it’s also a pleasant experience that ends before some of its shortcomings could start to bore or frustrate. And, well, it’s out today and is on Game Pass, so it doesn’t cost much to give it a shot yourself. So, hop on your magical apocalypse-avoiding bikes, and let’s roll!
Once I started playing Wheel World, a wave of nostalgia hit me as I quickly realized that it’s a modern version of Road Rash. Where most attempts have tried to emulate the formula and failed, Wheel World unintentionally captures the essence of what made Road Rash beloved and succeeds by modernizing it. Wheel World is a casual and addictive arcade racer on two wheels. To put it simply, Wheel World is Road Rash for the modern generation. Instead of motorcycles, whips and rock music, Wheel World is about bikes, changing components, drafting, and indie electronic accented by the beautiful sounds of nature. While it mostly brings along the best qualities of the classic two wheel racer, it unfortunately carries some of the shortcomings as well.
Wheel World is an excellent game, bringing a realistic weightiness from the bike handling and merging it with a beautiful world that's a joy to explore.
Wheel World just doesn't deliver on the promises it presents in its opening hour. You'll quickly find the charm starts to wear off as you complete monotonous race after monotonous race. That boredom only turns to frustration as the later races in the game become increasingly hostile, with no way for the player to push back. Add on a story that goes nowhere, and you have a game that just feels like it never got past the initial brainstorming session.
Wheel World is a joyous biking adventure that, despite some tiny frustrations, manages to showcase the beauty of biking. This half-racing, half-exploration adventure enters you into a flow state for 5-6 hours, and you exit it with a smile on your face. And I think that's what biking's about or something. I dunno. I never learned to ride.
Wheel World is a stylish and surprisingly immersive indie game that turns cycling into an atmospheric adventure, despite some technical flaws and repetitive races.
Review in Dutch | Read full review