Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged Switch Review
I remember sometimes getting spoiled with a Hotwheel toy at the supermarket if I behaved while shopping, and now that I’m a Dad, I have the joy of buying my kids Hotwheels on the rare occasion they behave (so… twice). There’s such childlike wonder on their faces while racing these little toy cars at breakneck speeds on imaginary racetracks around the house. This begs the question; is it possible to take something that has evolved from being a mere toy to a cultural icon and staple in children’s toy boxes all over the world and translate it into digital media? Developers Milestone certainly thinks it’s worth a shot…
They’ve apparently done it before, with the 2021 release of Hotwheels Unleashed, but I missed that one. Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 sees the series return on the Nintendo Switch with more cars to collect, tracks to master, and races to win. There’s a story mode to play through, which seems mainly focused on the younger ones and may be lost on the more mature players. These story missions are played out on a game board style overworld, completing missions on a set path that comprises of standard and elimination races, time trials, and even boss battles. It’s all wild and over the top as you would expect from Hot Wheels with insane inverted loops and tight corners you can drift around.
Boss Battles are an interesting concept with some classic toys like the Octopus Car Wash toy making an appearance. You race around a course smashing targets to reduce the boss’s health while trying to reduce aggro by hitting said targets as fast as you can. It’s fast and fun and adds a new twist to a racing game. Beating these bosses unlocks new set pieces for the track editor… but more on that later. The courses are varied and the environments look great, and I found the most exhilarating courses were the free-form races that see you race around a level on no set course, rushing to checkpoints littered throughout. All of this is presented in a slick art style, enhanced by the AMD FSR Resolution (which you can switch on or off) making the world look highly detailed.
The gameplay is fast and smooth on the Switch and delivers a sense of speed that the hardware keeps up with. Everything is faithfully and meticulously detailed from track parts, previously released real-world accessories, and of course, the cars themselves. Speaking of cars, there’s a lot to collect… almost overwhelmingly so, but that will keep completionists satisfied as you squirrel away your race rewards to save up, or use a Forza Horizon lottery spin to unlock exceptionally rare ones. All cars can be upgraded and customized in the garage, adding your own personal flair to them as well. Upgrades consist of boost, handling, and top speed, and the more upgrades you unlock, the higher the rank of your car goes. It’s a great progression system that allows you to upgrade your favorite Hot Wheels to keep up with the competition so to speak, as well as finding one that handles and races just the way you like it.
New to the game is the ability to sideswipe and jump as you race around courses. I rarely used the sideswipe buttons as I had no need to, but jumping is essential to take time-saving shortcuts and avoid obstacles that stop you dead in your tracks. I did find that when the AI Sideswiped me, I was violently flung off the track, but thankfully the game isn’t too punishing, and making up lost time is easy enough. I did find a sharp difficulty curve at the later stages of the game, which may upset the younger gamers, but there’s a variety of difficulty settings that may assist here.
For my vision-impaired gamers, there weren’t any visual options except for brightness, unfortunately, but colours are bright and most courses are well-defined. There are several assist options called “riding aids” which allow you to slow the game during single-player content as well as a jump assist and the standard accelerate, brake, and steering assists.
The course builder included is an impressive feature, starting off basic, but improving as you venture further into the campaign. As mentioned before, defeating bosses unlocks them in the course builder, and while there is a placement limit, you can still create some pretty amazing courses in all the levels of the game. On top of this, you can connect online and share and play other players’ creations as well, offering a lot of replayability to the game.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 is almost a tribute the the toys it’s based on by lovingly recreating our childhoods in video game format. It’s fast, fun, and offers a lot of content for casuals and completionists alike. There’s a lot of variety in game modes, and while the story will have little to no impact on us older gamers, getting to race the toys we had as kids made me feel young again. Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged not only captures that childlike wonder, but it steadfastly secures a podium finish.
So What’s it Like?
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 is a cross between Forza Horizon, and Need For Speed.
