Hot Wheels Unleashed, an action-packed racing game based on the beloved Mattel toys of the same name has been announced. The trailer unveiled today gives fans their first official look at the upcoming title, set to launch this fall.
Hot Wheels' official Twitter account first dropped the video, which is already being met with excited reactions from fans. The trailer is the culmination of a Hot Wheels teaser site counting down to the game's announcement. The wall of flame blocking the site has lifted, shedding some light on this otherwise under-the-radar title.
Clocking in at just over 90 seconds, the Hot Wheels Unleashed trailer starts out with a close-up shot of what appears to be a Rodger Dodger 2.0, one of the game's signature vehicles. The caricatured muscle car drives into what first looks like a city skyline, but is soon revealed to be the inside of a garage. The Rodger Dodger creeps closer towards the instantly recognizable orange track, before flooring the gas pedal and jumping into the ongoing race. Accompanied by an uptempo drum and bass track, the trailer showcases plenty of boosting, bashing, and crashing action. One hilarious moment shows a car falling off the track, only instead of being realistic like the rest of the audio, it's the familiar "clack" of dropping an actual Hot Wheels toy.
The Hot Wheels Unleashed website gives more insight into what players can expect. As shown in the trailer, the game will feature a track editor, similar to Forza Horizon 4's stunt track builder, and appears to be at least fairly robust. Track builders will be able to stretch and bend the various track segments, and will feature special track pieces and items unique to the game's "immersive" locations. The game promises detailed and interactive environments that can be integrated into a circuit as well. Customizable Hot Wheels come in addition to the customizable courses, via the game's "Livery Editor." While no specifics are given, the vehicles will feature varying driving styles and attributes to meet different kinds of track challenges.
Hot Wheels Unleashed looks like it has the potential to be a lot of fun. While the IP's last video game presence was Forza Horizon 3's nostalgia-inducing Hot Wheels expansion, Unleashed is a standalone title. The game has some experienced racing developers at the wheel in the form of Milestone, developers of the MotoGP, Monster Energy Supercross, and Ride series, which bodes well for the title. It should also be noted that the game will offer split screen, and features 2-12 person online multiplayer.
The unexpected Hot Wheels Unleashed has the potential to be an exciting and fun racing game, with plenty of customizability. Especially since fans didn't see Mario Kart 9 at the recent Nintendo Direct event, this new Hot Wheels title looks like it could more than suffice in the meantime.
Hot Wheels Unleashed launches September 30 for PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Hot Wheels Unleashed
