Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged review – Days of wonder

Sandwiched between big racing game brands like Forza Horizon 5 and F1 2021, Hot Wheels Unleashed was a charming breath of fresh air when it sped into the 2021 gaming calendar. A childhood memory brought to life with vivid colors, imaginative tracks, and the ultimate collection of cars, this pocket-sized racing game hit that sweet spot for thrilling speed, rock-solid driving mechanics, and customizable vehicles.

Fast-forward to 2023, and developer Milestone is back for a few more laps around your bedroom, garden, and any other location where you can set up some orange loops that’ll propel your four-wheeled nostalgia for gravity-defying racing action. On the surface, not much has changed in Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged, but pop the tiny diecast bonnet open and you’ll discover a wealth of tweaks and fine-tuning. At the same time, there are also a few new quirks present here that cast a shadow on the improvements, sort of like having one dodgy plastic wheel on your favorite matchbox.

But first, the good! Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 feels better than ever, and looks like a million bucks. Several new classes of vehicles–Rocket, Balanced, Swift, Drifter, Off-Road, and Heavy Duty–enter the fray and add some distinct automobile flavor to each race as you balance their pros and cons. Depending on your preference, this allows you to race like you’re in a Mad Max film when you use the heavier vehicles, or you can sacrifice that armor for speed as you use your automotive agility to weave between vehicles. On top of that, air travel when you blast off a ramp has been enhanced with new abilities that you can use as you hang ten. Overall, new RPG elements allow you to create a hybrid approach to vehicle classes if you’re looking for a balanced mix of offense and defense.

Visually, I’m absolutely in love with the nuanced and small touches that Milestone has added to this game. Seeing scrapes and nicks on your vehicle appear after some fast and furious racing is charming, but seeing fingerprints, subtle deformations from the virtual molding process as you scream past a corner while bedroom rays of sunlight hit the surface? That makes for perfect imperfections in my book.

Now for the frustrations. Annoyingly, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2’s career mode often forces you to take on challenges with the worst vehicle possible for the job, sapping the fun out of the task. Imagine being asked to run a race while wearing shoes made out Lego and you’ll get the gist of what I’m talking about here. Milestone, if you want to perfect the art of drifting, please don’t ask me to do it in the vehicle equivalent of a whale with an eating disorder.

Finishing the main campaign also reveals a rather miserly approach to unlockable vehicles. The majority of the rewards you’ll earn from completing challenges are profile customization options, with the rare spin of a prize wheel that could reward you with a new car or upgrade points, sprinkled between uninteresting banners, profile images, and tags. Sure, you can buy new vehicles for your collection, but the cars on offer tend to hover between recent releases and duplicates instead of cool classics that you can work toward.

Beyond those gripes, and nudges towards dropping cash on microtransactions, there’s a genuinely fun game here. The new tracks are wonderful, the track builder is an expression of freedom once you start unlocking more pieces, and there’s even two-player split-screen for when you want to jump into some couch co-op. The new modes add to that childhood joy, and really, that’s what this game is all about – something that younger fans can enjoy as they pull off daring drifts between the legs of a T-Rex inside a museum, while older fans find that dopamine rush through nostalgic toy collecting.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged is out now for all consoles, including Nintendo Switch, and PC.