There’s a lot of things to be nostalgic about in any given childhood. For me, I had a big orange box filled to the brim with Hot Wheels; Dad would let me grab one every time we went to the grocery store and it filled up over my young years. My imagination ran wild with tracks, assigning specific speeds to each car I had, and having definite favorites. Well, with Hot Wheels Unleashed, I can relive some of my childhood in the guise of a boost-laden, drift-heavy racer.

I’ve reviewed a game from developer Milestone S.R.L. before, Monster Energy Supercross 4. I found its mechanics to be abysmal, as its dedication to realism detracted from any fun factor the game had going for it in previous iterations. Thankfully, realism was ditched when they worked on a Hot Wheels game. The tiny vehicles are pitted against each other in real-life environments, themed to locales such as college, a skyscraper, and other city-based areas.

There’s no shortage of cars to pick from, but you’re going to have to unlock them via loot boxes. While these generally have a negative connotation around them, Hot Wheels Unleashed‘s implementation of these “Blind Boxes” is reasonable, and you’ll be unlocking one every 10-15 minutes as you careen through the career mode. I managed to snag a Rare in one of my early pulls, the Exotique, which boasts a high speed, acceleration, and handling but struggles in the braking power department.

Ensuring that it doesn’t become unlock-best-cars-to-win, Hot Wheels Unleashed favors strong racing skills instead of high-ranking cars. Drifting and boosting is a must at any difficulty above Easy and even then is demanded to beat Time Trial events. While one car may have a low speed, it can bend around corners with ease whilst high-speed cars will hit the wall in an unskilled drift. Finding the right balance is key, and I found it eventually with a common-rated vehicle that has the highest-possible handling, letting me navigate the courses with ease.

The career mode, dubbed “Hot Wheels City Rumble,” sees you mostly perform quick races and Time Trials on a bevy of tracks. There are 5 bosses to tackle in delightful, difficult courses that require some serious attention to conquer. In addition, the Track Builder is intuitive and easy enough to pick up and craft with. Thanks to a track browser, the game will only see more and more courses to race on in the future, limited only by the minds of other players and their creativity.

Other goodies to add include the addition of licensed franchises like Batman and TMNT, licensed real-world cars from companies like Ford and Chevy, and did I mention some tracks will have you driving upside down? Heck, one starts the pack in the mouth of a T-Rex. The imagination and attention-to-detail are in full force in Hot Wheels Unleashed. It’ll be a no-brainer to pick up for fans of the toys, and a reasonable racer for those that aren’t when it inevitably drops in price down the line.

A PC review copy of Hot Wheels Unleashed was provided by Milestone for this review.

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Hot Wheels Unleashed

$49.99

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Gorgeous Environments
• Tight Mechanics
• Nostalgic Track Design

Cons

• Repetitive Career Mode
• One Mistake Ruins A Race