Hot Wheels Unleashed 2

Platform	Windows
Genre	Arcade Racer
Release Year	2023
Rating	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Added	2026-Mar-11

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 is a superb arcade racer that harkens back to Playstation era Ridge Racer or even Wipeout; sporting a very striking and bright aesthetic that you don't see often anymore.

Handling feels very tight, almost Ridge Racer in its ability to control drifts and navigate impossible corners. The feeling of speed and control is top notch. You'll feel like you can't lose on the track after a couple races (especially since the racer AI isn't very strong), though full mastery takes quite a bit of practice once the post-game challenges show up.

Challenges vary from normal races to time trials to drifting challenges to even boss fights. There's a lot here. Finishing the main plot took me about 25 hours and the DLC another ten.

You have a huge array of cars to pull from a pseudo-gacha system using in-game currency. Every car seems to handle slightly differently, though there's clear winners in the pool. Still, switching around for fun keeps things feeling fresh.

Configuration options are light: every car has a "skill tree", but they're all the same and there's probably only one or two configurations that'll tickle your fancy.

The DLC isn't really worth it. Acceledrome is fine, but everything after that starts getting samey feeling.

A strong on-sale pick for mindless arcade racing.