Hot Wheels Infinite Rush Looks to the Horizon

Hot Wheels Unleashed was a loving celebration of the legendary die-cast collectible cars and a brilliant track-based arcade racer that delighted fans of both when it launched in 2021. From the meticulous digital recreations of new and classic Hot Wheels cars, to the rock-solid racing action with a difficulty curve as viciously snaking as the intricate tangle of its iconic orange plastic tracks, developers Milestone were clearly onto a winner.

A sequel followed two years later, slightly softening the sharp edges while making the gameplay more expressive, expanding the scope of the environments, and introducing a story-driven career mode with deeper progression. Both games offered slightly different flavors of the same excellent core experience and remain two of the most underrated racing games of recent years.

Now the racing game specialists at Milestone are back behind the wheel for Hot Wheels Infinite Rush. Set to launch on September 24th, it marks an ambitious new direction for the veteran studio. Gamer Guides were invited to go hands-on with the game, and after exploring Wheelswood, the game’s opening region, one thing quickly became clear. This is certainly not Hot Wheels Unleashed 3.

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Hot Wheels goes open world. See that burger? You can go there, etc.

A New Horizon

Unleashed 2 dabbled with open environments beyond the track boundaries, but Infinite Rush lifts the guard rails entirely. Milestone’s latest racer abandons the track-based structure of the Unleashed games in favor of open-world gameplay spread across four islands. The orange plastic tracks remain, but they’re now part of a much larger playground. This is Hot Wheels Horizon in all but name.

Like Playground Games’ monstrously successful series, progression is freeform and non-linear. There is a goal to focus on: completing events earns Fame Points, allowing you to challenge each island’s Rush Master, claim their car, and their title. But distraction is the real objective here. A huge variety of Events and Activities can be discovered organically throughout the world, with traditional races punctuated by free-roam activities and a dump truck full of collectibles vying for your attention.

Island Life

The Unleashed games placed tiny toy cars in recognizably human environments, with outrageous tracks that looped and swirled around mundane real-world locations rendered with a striking, photorealistic presentation. Infinite Rush does things a little differently. The plastic metropolis of Wheelswood feels less like a model city brought to life and more like a tiny city built specifically for Hot Wheels cars to inhabit.

The aesthetic is lively, colorful, and trades intimacy for scale, toybox charm for something more traditionally videogamey to facilitate the transition to open-world environments. Wheelswood was the only island available during our hands-on, but the full scope of the game promises great visual variety across its four maps. Tentacle Bay takes us through scenic parks and coastal resorts; Gearville brings dusty canyons and scorching deserts; and Drifty Temples showcases a condensed Japan-inspired diorama.

Squad Up

The new open-world setting is the biggest new feature, but as always, the cars are the stars. There are 150 available at launch, and there’s more focus than ever on embracing your inner collector and completing the full set. Mercifully, all cars can be unlocked as rewards or bought with in-game currency. Vehicles are separated into four classes with distinct play styles and boost types. “Versatile” is the classic jack-of-all trades, “Speeders” reward high speeds with a faster filling meter, “Drifters” gain boost by sliding around corners, and “Titans” let you bully your opponents.

You can assign one of each class at any time to your Rush Squad, which you can freely switch between while out in the open world from a nifty quick-select menu to meet whatever challenge is in front of you. Squads can be tuned with unlockable perks that subtly alter a car’s performance or playstyle and customized with an expanded livery editor and other little visual tweaks to further personalize your crew.

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150 Hot Wheels vehicles are promised for launch. Variety won’t be a problem!

A smashing good time

Once you’ve assembled your crew and hit the streets, the structure will feel familiar to anyone who has spent time with a modern open-world racer. You’ll cruise around the map, chewing up the scenery as you go, enter events and chase endless collectible bits and bobs scattered across the landscape, and probably ignore the race you’re supposed to be doing because something shiny caught your eye in the distance.

There are hundreds of collectibles scattered all over the place, and bite-sized free-roam activities and stunts can be seamlessly entered as you find them, ranging from tests of speed or drifting prowess, vehicle delivery missions, and snapping photos in scenic spots, to name but a few. The open-world activities are enjoyably snackable and moreish, but there is a risk that this style of gameplay can feel a little throwaway and insubstantial over time. I’ll be interested to see how Milestone delivers meaningful activities across the full scope of the game, without falling into the trap of repetitive busywork that an open world can sometimes bring.

More structured challenge can be found at the race tracks dotted around the environment, where the game most closely resembles its predecessors. Each presents a selection of events tied to a particular class of vehicle. Traditional Head-to-Heads, Quick Races, and Time Attacks return alongside Elimination, Waypoints, and Drift Master from Unleashed 2, and the points-focused, high-speed collectible-focused Smashing Wheels rounds out the package. Each has a main and side objective, the latter offering a slightly sterner optional challenge.

Racing line? What racing line?

Courses blend traditional Hot Wheels track sections with the open world itself, where floating directional markers define the edges and tell you when and where to turn. It’s a familiar visual language if you’ve played other open world racers, but a markedly different feel from the tight, hectic obstacle course-like design of the Unleashed games.

Some hazards return, including barriers to avoid and a sticky web-spitting toy spider. You can still plummet off the side of a track, though opportunities to do so are fewer, and the punishment is less severe. Tracks here are wider and a little more straightforward and forgiving. Track boundaries in the open-world segments act more like suggestions than hard barriers, and there are fewer walls to slam into and niggly bits of geometry to snag on.

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The open world is chock-full of events and activities. Just pull up, and away you go.

Easy Rider

This more forgiving approach extends to the handling model. Drifting angles are easy to hit and maintain, and boost recharges quickly. Trackside obstacles and open world detritus ping away on contact, with only solid walls capable of stopping you in your tracks. This time around, there appears to be a greater focus on preserving momentum rather than punishing mistakes. The removal of the jump ability reinforces what feels like an attempt to create a more accessible and less frustrating experience than the Unleashed titles, which could be brutally hard in places.

I had no trouble completing every activity objective on my first try, often by a wide margin. Not an experience I’m used to as a fan of Milestone’s previous Hot Wheels games, but the change feels intentional. Infinite Rush is aiming for a more relaxed, freewheeling vibe that complements its new open world structure. Crucially, the racing action still feels great, but whether the game has more substance for players seeking a sterner challenge remains an open question. It’s one I’m keen to explore when the full game arrives.

One thing I can say with certainty is that user-generated content will happily fulfill that need. The Track Builder returns, this time with a slew of enhancements that leverage the open-world setting and, for the first time, adjustable CPU-controlled opponents. I wasn’t able to sample it here, but a full multiplayer suite is also promised with PC, PlayStation, and Xbox cross-play, split-screen play for up to four players, and integrated leaderboards. Multiplayer was excellent in the Unleashed series, and the increased scope of this entry makes for an exciting prospect.

Ambition Unleashed

The Hot Wheels Unleashed titles felt like games made for fans of arcade-style racers, with tightly designed tracks, deep mechanics, and a super high skill ceiling. By comparison, Hot Wheels Infinite Rush feels like a game for everyone. Bigger, broader, more accessible, and less punishing. The open world setting and greater variety of gameplay represents the biggest shake-up the franchise has seen under Milestone’s stewardship, and I’m excited to explore what the full game has to offer when this miniature world with big ambitions launches on September 24th.