A lot of us old people will tell young ones that it is great to be young, but I agree with you, it must be horrible. However, there is one thing I am jealous of young people for. You not only get a game that feels like a cross between Burnout and Micro Machines (and a little something else close to a modern arcade racer) but it is topped off with Mattel’s second biggest tie-in title this year. I want the ‘56 pink Corvette that was released earlier this year to coincide with the Barbie film.

I don’t think it is any surprise to find that Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged uses all the usual game modes you’ll find in a typical arcade racer. There is quick race, split-screen multiplayer, online multiplayer, track creation, and community creations. On top of that, you also have “Honey I Shrunk the Aesthetically Pleasing but Focus Grouped Teens” in the campaign called Creature Rampage.

In this story mode, a mad scientist has created monsters that you have to shrink and fight by racing Hot Wheels cars. It is childish, but HWU2 is entirely based on nostalgia for a child’s toy that may not be played with as much now.

Time and time again, I complain about nostalgia failing to take its grip on me in many of the reviews I’ve done. I nearly succeeded and beat out Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 too, then I found the Sharkruiser in the in-game shop, and my old man’s heart (ok, 26 but children think I’m 40+) burst into childish joy since I owned that many moons ago. HWU2 is pure arcade racing with a hint of something special. It is special in the way of handling, visuals, aesthetic, and basically everything innately understandable from a few moments of literally throwing a car into a corner, or (on a mistake) across the room and under the couch.

Being a racing title, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 has about three buttons you need to know. You can Accelerate (RT), brake/drift (LT), and you’ll press A/X more times than you’ll say “Jésus, that boost was fast!” There is more that expands on the ideas of the original, which Mike reviewed back in 2021. However, let’s be honest here: unless you are deep in the pack fighting for positions, the strafe/nudge mechanic which uses boost to nudge you left or right isn’t that useful. Also, the respawn button (previously being on Y/Triangle) now being on RB/R1 to accommodate for the jump is the only other change to controls.

If you understand a racing line and how to control your nostalgia, HWU2 is simple enough as you throw yourself around with reckless abandon. This is based on five “race” types that you’ll play through most of the time, plus 2 online exclusives. The race types are Quick Race, Time Attack, Drift Master, Elimination, and Way Point.

There is one more, but that’s exclusive to the Creature Rampage campaign, as a way of fighting the monsters in the titular mode. Specifically, the team has shrunk said creatures into track furniture for Hot Wheels tracks. To beat them, you must go around the circuit that is laid out and break boards with blue, orange, or red danger signs on them.

I’ll be the first one to say it isn’t the most logical or common sense thing to do, but neither is the plot which is only there in the name of progression. Speaking of progression, that’s handled in a number of ways. Some are more interesting to mention than others. Each race (offline, online, story, or otherwise) gives you some XP to level up as well as a number of other things, but completing each level can also give extra XP as well as these other components. Sometimes this is upgrade kits for the cars you’ll collect and sometimes it is in-game backgrounds, profile pictures, or other ignorable cosmetics.

Cosmetic stuff might be part of the level progression, but Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 also does what Payday 3 is currently doing. It gives you a lot of challenges to complete just by passively playing. Unlike Payday 3 though, that isn’t the only form of progression for you overall, and in HWU2 it very much is entirely about cosmetics. I don’t think I’ve seen anything beyond cosmetics like in-game wallpapers and banners in there. This is how something like that should be done. It is entirely optional to claim the stuff and it doesn’t clutter up the main menu calling for attention.

The way to get cars, however, is similar to leveling up and gaining XP, as you also get a little bit of in-game money. I say a little bit, at least 1.5K for winning and completing goals for story races. That might not seem like a lot, but most cars in the in-game shop are between 1.5 to 5K. After a couple of races, you can buy anything currently available. Alongside gaining XP, cosmetics, upgrade parts, and money at the end of races and levels, you can also get spins on a Price is Right-style wheel. That wheel can have special cars, extra money, and upgrade parts too.

HWU2 has all the trappings of a live service game without the predatory nature of asking for extra money once you’ve got the game, at least at the time of writing. I have to add that last bit because there are certain things that were inaccessible during the review period. I get it, the DLC/season passes aren’t sold separately right now, but it would be nice to know what the DLC menu looks like ahead of launch while reviewing. I’m not thinking ill of Milestone s.r.l., more so of the overall gaming industry and common practices to drag extra pennies out of your pockets.

The one downside about the purchasing of cars is that you have to wait for a 45-minute countdown so it can refresh what is currently available. That’s fine as a concept, but I’ve been in there a couple of times on the bounce and found all but two of the six available cars on the list are the same as before. This means actually building up your collection can take some time. That is the case already with more than 130 cars to collect, but this feels like a limitation that is done to prolong the completion of your collection.

Of course, I have focused on the offline modes, as that’s where I’ve played most. There are the two other race modes I mentioned as online exclusives. Crash Derby is exactly what it says it is, demolition derby with points for hitting players, and you’ll never guess what Grab the Gears happens to be. Yep, that’s right, “Take gears from others by bumping into them,” bumper car capture the flag? The other modes you can play online except for Time Attack, which apparently has a leaderboard and is the reason PC users are treated to Easy Anti-Cheat due to crossplay with consoles (except the Switch).

I haven’t encountered anything in terms of performance issues. However, it must be said that a high-end 20 series GeForce card is recommended for running the highest textures and effects at a reasonable resolution. That is alongside a 9th-gen i9 and 16GB of RAM. In other words, a PC built in the last 3-4 years with enough power should run Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 reasonably well at 1080P and 60FPS. There are a decent number of options if you need to temper them, though as always with DLSS (if used), I find it is like playing through a pixelated filter.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like Hot Wheels Unleashed 2, and I’d be downplaying it if I just said it was good. HWU2 is great fun with a hint of nostalgia for Hot Wheels classics and IP that has become popular in recent years and beyond. I love my Fast & Furious Dodge and my SnoopyMobile. The story isn’t fantastic, it is stupid and purposefully childish but of course, every episode of Captain Scarlet made perfect sense when you were a kid, right? It is just a backdrop of doing some races that don’t really feel connected outside of the boss fights in the first place.

As a racing game, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged is a fun, high-speed race to the line with colorful and exciting surroundings and some of the maddest little creations Hot Wheels has come up with. A standout to stand alongside TrackMania Turbo (2016), you’ll loop loops and drive upside down in the backyard level as if gravity doesn’t exist in this dimension. With more cars than the previous iteration and adding in ATVs and motorbikes, the selection of vehicles gives you lots to play with. The updated skill system boosting each car’s attributes is deep enough as well.

Ultimately, I think Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged is great, not just for kids but also for big kids who no longer have that lack of responsibility. It isn’t the deepest racing game you’ll find and some of the controls do feel a little cumbersome if you use the new strafe/nudge mechanic. Even so, you’ll have Machines-style arcade fun as you race around arcades, gas stations, Golf Courses, and even a dinosaur museum. It would be nice if getting cars to complete your collection was a bit better, but otherwise, it is a typical racer with a heap of nostalgia and fun lumped in.

A PC review copy of Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged was provided by Milestone S.r.l. for the purposes of this review.

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Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 - Turbocharged

$49.99

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Nostalgia at its most fun.
• Pure arcade racing.
• What is this? Color, vibrancy, fun?

Cons

• The plot comes from the Captain Scarlet writers room.
• Getting more cars could be a bit easier than it is without loosing the limitation.