Hot Wheels Unleashed

Hot Wheels Unleashed turned a familiar toy into a surprisingly seriously made racing title that still keeps the childlike joy of the orange plastic track. Races take place in environments blown up to giant scale, so tracks run across shelves in a garage, around a desk in an office, or across a skatepark, and they include loops, magnetic sections and hazards such as a giant spider or fire traps. Every car has its own weight, grip and boost supply, which is replenished by drifting, so there is a noticeable difference between models. The collecting side is just as important as the racing itself: new cars are obtained from blind boxes, upgraded and displayed in your own virtual collection.

The strongest part of the game is the track editor. The player gets the same pieces the official circuits are built from, can arrange them in space, anchor them to furniture, and share the result with others. This is exactly what has given the game its long lifespan. On PlayStation 5 the title runs smoothly with a crisp image that shows off well on the glossy plastic bodywork and floor reflections, and loading between races is short. The controller's haptics signal driving over a piece joint as well as loss of grip, and the adaptive triggers highlight the moment the car leaves a magnetic section. The audio side relies on upbeat electronic tunes and the characteristic whir of plastic wheels.

Reception was surprisingly warm: reviewers praised the precise controls, the idea of an enlarged environment, and above all the editor, though they criticized the repetitive career structure and the way new cars are obtained. For the genre the game matters because it brought arcade racing with small vehicles, long absent from the mainstream, back into the spotlight. Today Hot Wheels Unleashed feels like an ideal title for split-screen play or short evening sessions, where a few minutes are enough to once again want to build your own loop across the whole room.