HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™

So after 16 hours and getting the 'Growing Profit' achievement (which only 7.5% of players have) I thought I'd leave a review for this frustrating game. Originally, I left it on my wishlist for ages due to their scummy DLC policy and bought the GOTY edition in the 2026 summer sale. Of course, this doesn't include everything (because yay gaming in 2026) as some of the DLC's have been removed due to licencing. At first I loved it, it's graphically very pretty, there's a huge amount of cars to choose from (from Aston Martin's to K.I.T.T) and the racing is fast and entertaining. The more I've played it, the more I've found the whole experience to be marred by awful design decisions and an bizarre difficulty curve. I'm currently 53% of the way through the main campaign, I've won every race so far. But am I enjoying it? Not really. I'm playing on medium difficulty and it's genuinely quite difficult. Like, oddly difficult. This is Hot Wheels right? There's another reviewer saying he plays with his young son and has to play on easy difficulty otherwise it's far too hard and I'm not surprised. The AI rubber bands around the track, boosting constantly. The game has 4 difficulty settings (easy, medium, hard and very hard) and I can tell you medium will be too hard for most people. Why they would choose to make a Hot Wheels game this difficult is bizarre. For reference sake, I've gotten 'Transcendence' on WipeOut HD and have finished in the top 20 in monthly's in Dirt Rally so, while I'm far from a SIM racer, I'm pretty good and I've no desire to play this on hard or higher. I've seen a lot of complaints about the time trials which I find far easier than the regular races. The AI will shove you off the track, the physics frequently goes haywire (sending your car spinning off the track) and the courses themselves are littered with irritating hazards. Huge spiders shoot webs to stop you, fans blow you off the track, steam vents blast you away, barriers block the track and (my personal favourite) the track sometimes goes through a snake's mouth, which closes. Sitting first on the final lap? Snake has closed it's mouth lolololololol. It's like the game wants to be Micro Machines or Mario Kart. But also Gran Turismo with a sprinkling of WipeOut. The more I play it and the game demands I follow a proper racing line against rubberbanding AI while it throws cheap hazards at me the less fun it gets. Here's another example. The game has almost 200 cars. Awesome. They look great, some iconic cars are there plus loads of fun ones. How do you browse them? On a carousel menu. Want to pick car 75? You'll be sitting holding 'right' for 30 seconds. Carousel menus are great for selecting between 5 things. They aren't great for selecting between 200. It's just amateurish design. As for the tracks it's the same story. They are fun, bright, colourful....and also bland, samey and forgettable. They all look alike, there's very little variety and they all start blending together. I wouldn't blame you for buying this game, loving the first two hours and thinking this review is drivel. But stick with it. It wouldn't shock me if you play a bit longer and start to feel the same way I did. The game is fun and it looks pretty but for me it's marred by poor design decisions. I wish they'd polished the gameplay more instead of cranking out car pack DLC'S.

Hot Wheels Unleashed, is one of most fun racing games I've ever played. Gameplay and graphics make it feel like you're actually playing with toy cars, and I think the in-game physics are similar to Rocket League, which is great because it allows you to fly around freely in certain parts of tracks. I completed all the achievements, but some of them were really challenging, especially "What do I do with so many?", For that one, I kept farming gold in Quick Race and Multiplayer, opened blind boxes, and dismantling the cars I got until the achievement popped. In Time Attacks, some tracks have incredibly tough "Unleashed times", meaning you have to race absolutely flawlessly; even the smallest mistake can cost you the win by just a second. The Multiplayer wasn't stable at all. Even with a good internet connection, other players had lag, their cars kept teleporting, and they were ramming randomly. If you want to 100% the game's achievements, I recommend getting the GOTY version when it's on sale.

Fatal Error Bought the GOTY, played once, left it for a few days, came back, fatal error on load checked forums and subreddit, everyone is having the same issue: fatal error at 24-27% when loading a match or watching the collection, nobody hasn't been able to find a fix, it's been unplayable for a while check if it's been fixed before you buy

个人给予这部作品 7.5/10 分，属于“推荐游玩”的范畴。整体来说，这部作品的车感很好，赛道千变万化体验极佳，也满足了玩家“开盲盒”的需求，虽然车辆数量非常有限，但不失为一部值得小车迷们游玩的佳作。 小车迷们的狂喜 这部游戏非常好地抓住了老风火轮迷的心理，小车的模型做得极其精致，在屏幕里转着看小车都能看好久，比手上拿着的实物更加精致。同时，游戏还引入了受许多玩家追捧的盲盒模式。除了可以拿游戏币直接买小车之外，还可以花费游戏币抽取盲盒。而盲盒中可以开出“超级宝藏”小车（类似于隐藏款），真的是要消耗老玩家不少护肝片。 优秀的娱乐型赛车体验 作为赛车游戏，竞速体验是重中之重，Milestone S.r.l.由于开发过《急速骑行（Ride）》系列、《WRC》系列和《MXGP》系列，在这方面经验十足，本次也交付了一份令人满意的答卷。 车感方面，本作采用的是爽快的娱乐型驾驶体验，只要玩家操作得当，可以用漂亮的漂移过弯攒满氮气，并在直道上急速推进，速度感和爽快感绝佳。赛道中有许多可以飞车的地方，而玩家也可以在滞空时间做出各自翻滚特技，一套动作行云流水，观赏度极高，同时操作又相对简单。 在地图方面，这部作品也下了很大的功夫。虽然是迷你赛车，但许多赛道长度可观，单圈2分钟以上的赛道数量很多。而在赛道中，有许多有趣的变化，比如路线会自动改道、玩具蜘蛛向赛道喷射能抓住赛车的蜘蛛网、磁铁固定车辆在天花板上跑等等，一场比赛跑下来突发事件层出不穷，需要玩家背板或者保持良好的精神应对，爽快感很强。 过少的小车数量 个人认为这部游戏最大的问题来自车辆数目过少，首发只有66辆小车，相比于《极限竞速》、《GT》系列动则几百辆有太大的差距。主要是风火轮系列出了这么久实体小车，数量应该都快破千了，游戏中只给66辆着实诚意不足。 同时，估计制作组担心玩家过快地将小车收集齐，有意将赚取金币的速度放得极慢，一场比赛大约就获得40~60金币，而买一个盲盒需要500金币，买好车的明盒则可能需要1200金币。因此，基本玩家玩到通关也完成不了多少小车的收集，对于小车收藏迷们来说无疑是过于肝的。 整体来说，虽然车辆有限且难获得，但这部游戏对于喜爱风火轮的朋友绝对是必玩的佳作，希望未来的DLC或者续作能引入更多小车

En 2021 fue lanzado este juego basado en la franquicia de juguetes Hot Wheels. Estos autos locos eran capaces de sortear curvas diabólicas, saltos enormes y loopings casi interminables y crecieron con diferentes generaciones de niños (y no tan niños). Este juego es un homenaje a Hot Wheels. Aquí encontraremos los coches originales, pistas de todo tipo, editor de circuitos, modo campaña, contenido desbloqueable y una dificultad que supone todo un reto. Con un estilo de conducción arcade y con una sensación de velocidad frenética, esta propuesta me ha llamado poderosamente la atención y creo que es una obra que pasó algo desapercibida y por ello, quiero compartir con vosotros las virtudes de este título desarrollado por Milestone. Para empezar, las carreras son muy divertidas. Con doce coches en pista, los trazados están formados por los módulos de rectas y curvas que podían acoplarse para crear circuitos de todo tipo. Encontrar un equilibrio entre velocidad, giro y derrape es fundamental, ya que la IA en dificultad intermedia no perdona y al mínimo despiste, te adelantan sin miramientos. Cabe destacar que el uso del turbo es imprescindible, ya que éste nos hará salir más rápido de curva o si tocamos con algún borde o pared, nos permitirá corregir errores y no perder tanta velocidad en el choque, dicho de otro modo: el turbo sirve para aprovechar grandes rectas y también para propulsarnos en saltos y en la salida de las curvas. En los circuitos nos encontraremos con arañas que nos atrapan con sus telas, dragones que carbonizarán nuestro vehículo con su aliento de fuego, cohetes que harán saltar nuestro coche por los aires, bolas de piedra que ondean de derecha a izquierda y nos tirarán por un barranco o el mismísimo Joker, quien nos impedirá el paso creando un muro con su martillo. Además, contamos con power ups de aceleración marcadas en la carretera y con zonas en las que se recargará el turbo. Por otra parte, también tendremos trampas más leves que congelarán las ruedas del coche por unos segundos o sectores que nos harán pilotar más lento. El modo "City Rumble" es lo que sería el modo campaña: nos ofrece un extenso mapa en el que tenemos que completar eventos. Cuando superamos una carrera (en casi todas nos exigen quedar entre los tres primeros), desbloquearemos la siguiente pista en el mapa, y así, iremos abriendo caminos y ganando recompensas. Hay carreras contra bosses, eventos especiales, secretos, contrarrelojes y muchas, muchas carreras locas. En cuanto a los otros modos, contamos con carrera rápida, contrarreloj individual, multijugador a pantalla dividida y modo online. El juego cuenta, además, con un completo editor de circuitos. Éstos se pueden subir a la nube y allí los usuarios podrán descargarlos, compartirlos, jugarlos y puntuarlos, de manera que la cantidad de pistas que ya trae el propio juego, sumado a las que podemos crear o descargar de la comunidad es enorme. En cuanto a los circuitos, considero que los mejores son los de los Looney Tunes y los de Batman, por lo que recomiendo hacerse con la versión GOTY (o completa) de este juego, ya que suele estar a muy buen precio cuando sale en rebajas (10,99 € en 2024). Para obtener los vehículos, contamos con algunos que pertenecen a los mencionados DLC's que se pueden encontrar en la versión GOTY, pero la mayoría se obtienen jugando, ya que cuando terminas una carrera, te otorgan créditos que puedes utilizar en la tienda. También se pueden conseguir cajas sorpresa jugando que se abren en la tienda, aunque el coche que te ofrecen es aleatorio. Al jugar, también obtienes engranajes, estos sirven para mejorar tus coches en velocidad, aceleración, manejo, etc. Como digo, todo esto sin coste alguno, no tenéis que meter ni un sólo céntimo más allá de lo que cuesta el propio juego. La dificultad es lo que más me gusta del juego junto a las pistas, ya que en intermedio, la IA es muy exigente. Los coches rivales son muy agresivos y tratarán de sacarte de la pista en cuanto estés cerca. Además, llevan un ritmo muy alto y a veces seguirles y adelantarlos se convertirá en una tarea verdaderamente complicada. El juego tiene cuatro niveles de dificultad: fácil, intermedio, difícil y extremo. También hay otros detalles que se agradecen, como la personalización de los vinilos y pinturas de los vehículos, así como la decoración de un hogar que simula ser la casa en la que estamos jugando a estos coches de juguete. Se puede editar con adornos que obtenemos mediante créditos del propio juego. En definitiva, Hot Wheels Unleashed me parece una obra notable. Sus carreras nos ofrecen un reto exigente, en el que la velocidad y el riesgo se combinan en cada prueba. El juego está bien optimizado y hay mucho contenido. Conseguir completar todo el modo City Rumble os llevará muchas horas y el editor de pistas ofrece diversión infinita. Además, tenemos más de 100 coches que desbloquear y habrá bastantes pruebas en las que vais a sufrir para conseguir llegar al podio, vencer la carrera o completar la contrarreloj en el tiempo que te piden. Recomiendo este título por la diversión y la duración que ofrece. Me ha sorprendido gratamente.

Short and fun arcade racing. The tracks evolve the further you progress. You're either racing against other cars doing laps, or doing one long continuous run, or against yourself and the clock. Some of the time trials in the later stages are super strict with basically no room for error. One if not two races you'll definitely need to look up a shortcut because without it you'll be 5 seconds behind. I wish more races had cool shortcuts, but there are checkpoints all over the track you have to pass through otherwise you respawn. I felt my adrenaline spike multiple times. It's pretty fun drifting into a crowd and bumping cars over the edge and off the track. You'll definitely get turtled at some point, so don't even worry about when it's your turn. On some tracks you'll end up driving upside down and have to rotate mid air to right yourself when landing. Another track you'll need to pitch downwards while coming over an incline. Not too many course obstacles, but the spider traps got me almost every time and I didn't learn how to escape it consistently until the very end. I'd say about 80% of each track has walls on the sides so bumping into everything can be forgiving. Starting with all the DLC cars was nice and definitely felt like cheating. At the end I definitely favored a car with plenty of boost. If you're in a rush you can grind the rest of the coins and gears with 2 people boosting online, there's a track that's a straight line and you just have to wait 20 seconds before crossing the finish. After completing the campaign, it took me maybe 3 hours with a friend going back and forth, both first and second place gets plenty of dough. There are a ton of community maps, you can make your own, so if that hits your interest there's plenty to dig into. Beep beep! Out of the way, coming through with full boost!

its a basic racing game with loot boxes nothing special at all

Hot Wheels Unleashed is a fun little racing game with solid driving physics and some pretty cool tracks. Of course, the "gotta catch 'em all" vibe kicks in when you’re trying to collect all the cars 🙂 It’s a great pick-up-and-play kind of game, though it can get a bit repetitive toward the end since the tracks start to feel pretty similar. But if you just dip in now and then, it’s a fun way to kill some time. [h2]Achievements[/h2] [b]Required time:[/b] 20-25 hours [b]Difficulty (in my opinion):[/b] 3 out of 10 [b]DLCs required for 100%?:[/b] Yes, 3 (Loony Tunes Expansion, Monster Trucks Expansion, Batman Expansion) To get 100% of the achievements in Hot Wheels Unleashed, you pretty much need to take first place in all base-game races and beat the harder times in the time trials. Setting the AI to easy makes the races a breeze. The time trials, however, get pretty tricky later on, but every track has shortcuts that make even the toughest times easily achievable. For the DLC areas, you’ll need to win at least one race and do a bit of driving on the new tracks. Additionally, you’ll need five multiplayer wins. I’d recommend teaming up with a friend to farm cash on a short track in multiplayer mode. Why? Because the grindiest achievement is farming 25,000 Gears. You’ll probably only get around 10,000 through the campaign. By farming cash online, you can buy tons of cars and dismantle them for Gears. While this is technically possible offline, it takes way longer and is far less efficient.