Hot Wheels Unleashed

Hot Wheels Unleashed is an arcade racing game from Milestone. Players race model cars on winding tracks and can create their own courses.

Hot Wheels Unleashed came out on Sep 30, 2021. The later Game of the Year Edition combines the base game with the three Hot Wheels Passes and additional vehicle packs. It is not a standalone sequel.

Milestone released the game natively for Windows PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch. On PC it is available through Steam and the Epic Games Store, among others. Amazon Luna is a streaming option, not an additional native console.

Players collect Hot Wheels cars and compete on tracks with loops, ramps and tight bends. Drifts charge the boost. If you have too little momentum on the spectacular tracks, you can lose grip. The focus is on speed and skillful driving rather than a realistic motorsport simulation.

The larger additional content includes the Batman Expansion, the Monster Trucks Expansion and the Looney Tunes Expansion. Three Hot Wheels Passes bundle further content. The game is supplemented by individually available vehicles, track parts and customization packs.

An expansion requires the matching base game. A season pass, on the other hand, bundles additional content and is not a new platform version of the main game.

The Steam version requires at least an Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD FX-6350, 8 GB RAM and a GeForce GTX 960 or GTX 1050. Recommended are an Intel Core i7-5820K or Ryzen 5 2600 with 16 GB RAM and a GeForce GTX 1060 or Radeon RX 580. 22 GB of storage and DirectX 11 are needed.

The original game listing states Windows 8.1. The current Steam client has required at least Windows 10 since 2024.

The Track Builder is one of the game's core systems. Custom race courses are built from orange track pieces, loops, boosters, obstacles and special modules. Furniture and architecture of the locations can be incorporated into the track layout. A dedicated paint editor offers additional customization options for the cars.

A personal room is also part of the game. Players can decorate it with unlocked furniture and hold races there.

Besides single player mode, Hot Wheels Unleashed supports races in local split screen for two people. Online, according to Milestone, races can be held with up to twelve participants. Steam explicitly lists single player, online PvP and split screen as game features.

The long-term availability of online services depends on the respective platform. The local two-player mode is to be distinguished from this as a separate feature.

The game features vehicles from the Hot Wheels universe, including imaginatively designed miniature cars. The collection expands the choice for races, while the paint editor allows visual customization. Other models are available in standalone add-on packs and are therefore not automatically included in the base game.

According to Steam, the Game of the Year Edition includes the base game, the three Hot Wheels Passes and the Sportscars, Beefed Up and Street Beasts packs. This makes its content different from the standard edition, without being a different base game.

A separately sold GOTY Upgrade Pack is aimed at owners of the standard edition. When comparing individual offers, the extras actually included are what matters.