Hot Wheels has been a wildly popular toy brand for over 50 years, so it's really no surprise that the miniature cars have found themselves featured in a variety of video games. The first Hot Wheels video game released all the way back in 1984, with many more released since then. 2021's Hot Wheels Unleashed was one of the better Hot Wheels gaming experiences for fans of the toy car franchise, and Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged keeps the momentum going strong.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged's core racing works exactly as intended, with players able to zip along the tracks at ridiculously high speeds. The game is very forgiving compared to other racers on the market, so players won't feel punished too harshly if they happen to fly off the track, encouraging them to go all-out in each event. Besides simply racing along the track and drifting around corners, players are also able to jump and strategically bash vehicles that dare get too close.
Jumping and bashing are tied to Hot Wheels Unleashed 2's boost gauge, which is fine, except there are certain points on some tracks where jumping is necessary and so locking it behind the boost can leave racers in an awkward position. Jumping doesn't seem to give players any significant advantage in most races, so it seems like it would have made more sense for it to be independent of the boost gauge.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 players will have to utilize all their skills as they compete in the game's five different event types. Standard races are joined by Time Attack, Drift Master, Elimination, and Waypoint, all the obligatory modes fans expect from modern racers. All the events are entertaining in their own right, though Waypoint events benefit greatly from repeat attempts. The arrow that points to the next waypoint in those matches don't take height into account, meaning the waypoint could be located on a completely different level than the player which causes confusion and can mess up initial runs.
Players compete in Hot Wheels Unleashed 2's events in five different areas: a backyard, a mini golf course, an arcade, a gas station/diner, and a museum. These areas can be purely window dressing on some tracks, whereas they take a more active role on others, as some tracks incorporate objects from the environments into their design. The stages look fantastic, though it is disappointing how most of the items in the environment can't be interacted with in any meaningful way. Players can knock golf balls around on the mini golf course, but running into a salt shaker in the diner level brings cars to an immediate halt.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 features a story mode that mixes these five areas with different events and tracks. Story mode is a great place for players to earn XP, coins, and items for track creation, as players are showered with rewards with each successful race. However, many players will find that Hot Wheels Unleashed 2's story mode doesn't provide much reason to play it beyond the rewards.
The story mode can be fun in short bursts, but repetition sets in fairly quickly thanks to the limited environments and the handful of event types. While there is plenty variety in the actual tracks, everything else is reused too much and things get stale. The narrative is unlikely to entice players to keep playing the story mode either. Instead of proper cutscenes or animations, the story is told through comic book-style images that leave much to be desired.
The plot revolves around taking down monsters by completing races, with each section of the game culminating in a so-called "boss fight" against said creatures. These boss fights are the dullest part of Hot Wheels Unleashed 2's story mode. The boss fights are simple, with players having to smash objects on the track to deal damage and eventually whittle the boss's health down to zero. The bosses themselves have no real impact on the races beyond a meter that, once full, will result in an instant game over and force players to restart the race. The boss fights are easy enough that players likely won't have to worry about that too much, but on the off chance that they do fail for whatever reason, they have to restart the whole thing from the start and it becomes quite tedious.
A playthrough of the story mode is recommended for the XP and other goodies players can get for going through it, but the bulk of the fun in Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 is found elsewhere, like with its customization options. In true Hot Wheels fashion, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 gives players the freedom to build their own tracks from scratch. If the game is able to attract a dedicated community of players, the custom tracks could provide near-endless replay value.
Beyond a track builder, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 also lets players customize their vehicles. There are over 100 cars to unlock in Hot Wheels Unleashed 2, with players free to upgrade them and change their liveries. If the custom liveries in games like Forza Horizon 5 are any indication, racing game fans will likely waste little time uploading a nice selection of custom-made liveries for fans to download.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2's online features allow players to share their own creations as well as engage in online races. Those that would rather play offline should note that Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 has a split-screen multiplayer mode, with players able to compete against their friends and AI racers across all the game's modes, areas, and tracks. Split-screen is a dying art in gaming, so it's great to see it not only featured in Hot Wheels Unleashed 2, but pulled off without a hitch. Other major racing games have ditched split-screen, so those wanting their split-screen racer fix may want to consider giving Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 a shot.
Some racing game fans may dismiss Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 because of its toy car premise, but that would be a mistake. It gives racing game fans a ton of content to sink their teeth into, with plenty of cars to unlock through Forza Horizon-style wheel spins as well as vehicles that can be purchased outright with coins, all earned in-game with no currency microtransactions in sight. The result is a rewarding progression loop where players are constantly unlocking something new.
Hardcore Hot Wheels fans will get the most out of Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged, but even casual racing game fans will have a lot of fun with the game. Not everything clicks, and the game could have benefited greatly by having more variety with its track environments, but Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged is an exciting racer with a great set of creation tools that should keep fans busy for quite some time.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged
- Released
- October 19, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
If you thought the first chapter was awesome, well, buckle up because we are going to blow you away with incredible new features!
MORE WHEELS FOR YOUR FUN
First things first: make room on your virtual shelf because you can access more than 130 vehicles, and even more varieties! Yes, not only Hot Wheels™ Originals, but also Hot Wheels™ Monster Trucks and vehicles from the entertainment world. Now you can also ride motorbikes and ATVs, each with their own unique racing style to take on every track in the most strategic way!
A brand new system will define the vehicles’ category, which can be upgraded with the dedicated skill tree that will directly affect their performance. Watch your car become unstoppable!
NEW PLACES TO CALL HOME
Whether it's the backyard of a house in the suburbs or a mini-golf course in a village in the Wild West, your tracks will be surrounded by the most stunning environments!
Discover 5 brand new locations, master their secrets, and you'll feel right at home both there and on the podium.
New terrains are another fantastic new entry that will make your races even more exciting and challenging. Grass, sand and more will directly affect the handling of the vehicle: something to keep in mind when you’ll choose your ride. Strategy plays an even bigger role now!
- ESRB
- E For Everyone
- Developer(s)
- Milestone
- Publisher(s)
- Milestone
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical Only
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Racing
- Metascore
- 77
- Local Co-Op Support
- 1-2 Players
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged launches for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on October 19. The Best War Games was provided with a PS5 code for this review.