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0 If you are of similar age to me, then you will no doubt remember all the amazing die-cast car models that you could collect in your youth. Milestone and Mattel have teamed up to bring them to the current generation of gaming systems, and with Hot Wheels Unleashed on the PS5 you get to feel the adrenalin of racing around those tight turns and incredible loops yourself.
Hot Wheels Unleashed – The Need For Speed
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Gameplay
The majority of your time in Hot Wheels Unleashed will be spent just admiring the vehicles. In all seriousness though, what you get with this game is a pretty deep arcade racing game that rewards practice. The game is split into three areas, the single-player Hot Wheels City Rumble, Multiplayer, and the Track Builder. There are other sections to the game, but this is where you will find the most fun.
The City Rumble section is effectively a play a race, unlock more races, and keep repeating. However, with the odd boss race and secret it’s a lot deeper than originally thought. With well over 50 events to play through you will spend plenty of time. Each race gives you objectives to complete and each objective gives you a reward. From gears to upgrade your collection to coins to purchase more cars. The odd splattering of Blind Boxes to collect as well unlock more cars to add to your collection.
The Boss Races in particular need a mention, these unlock a great number of bits and bobs, but the one thing they do unlock is a super track piece. It may be the scorpion below, or even a dinosaur head to add to your own tracks in the Track Builder. There is plenty to do in Hot Wheels Unleashed
Moving into the Multiplayer section, this is either local or online. It’s pretty self-explanatory really inside this mode so let’s not spend too long covering this.
Track Builder is a great way for you to express yourself, and with a large number of pieces available from the get-go, you can create some pretty wild tracks! Want to drive all over the ceiling in your very own basement then go for it. Want to make a gauntlet run of spiders, that’s possible too. Your limit is only your imagination and with new pieces being added during the life cycle of the game there will always be something new to try out.
Outside of those main modes, you are able to customize your basement to make it look individual and unique. Using items that you unlock during your playtime with Hot Wheels Unleashed you can decorate with a large number of items. Finally you have your Collection, this is where you can see all the cars that you have collected as well as upgrade them to make them faster and grippier on the track.
The vehicle stats are split into a number of areas, Speed, Braking Power, Acceleration, Handling, and then finally the Boost Type. All of which are generally self-explanatory and are easy to understand. If you have opened a Blind Box you are able to sell those cars, either for gears or coins depending what you are currently trying to collect.
Graphics and Audio
Hot Wheels Unleashed hits the graphics spot on! Honestly, when I first started the game I must have spent a good 10 minutes spinning around my starter Fiat 500 car. Just looking at all the details on the car and how it looked was simply heaven. The environments that you race in span across a Skyscraper, the Garage, A College and a Skate Park, with more to come post launch! Each environment looks fantastic and each plays completely differently. Racing through the air vents on the Skyscraper is totally different from racing around the ground in the Garage.
Audio wise Hot Wheels Unleashed sounds great! The car sounds are all individual and each crash and smash as you bounce off the walls is strangely satisfying.
Longevity
I have no doubt that with the post launch plan from Milestone and with what is currently in the game you will have hours of fun. Add a few friends to the mix and you can have days of fun playing against each other. Playing through all the City Rumble races itself will take a fair whack of time out of your life!
Final Thoughts
Hot Wheels Unleashed brings the ultimate car collection to the current generation. Gamers young and old will no doubt have an insane amount of fun playing through each environment with plenty of nostalgia at the ready!
Hot Wheels Unleashed gets the coveted Thumb Culture Platinum Award
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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