I’ve always loved Hot Wheels video games. I remember messing around with them on PC when I was younger, and I’ve played the more recent Hot Wheels Unleashed titles as well. When I saw the trailer for Infinite Rush at Summer Game Fest, I was instantly hooked. An open-world Hot Wheels game? That could be amazing. Turns out, it is, and now that I’ve played it for about an hour, I want to go back and rev my engines just a little bit longer.
Infinite Rush is really everything I’d want a Hot Wheels game to be. Taking place across four islands, with four different car types, and over one hundred and fifty vehicles to drive and upgrade, it’s not lacking content in the slightest. Even better, you won’t be perusing menus waiting to get to the track – the world is your track. This open-world idea brings with it a lot of Forza Horizon vibes, and while they’re earned, this Hot Wheels take is unique in how it approaches its gameplay.
I visited two out of the four islands in my demo, and Infinite Rush has so much character. All of your surroundings are vibrant, with environments dancing with color. The scale is also surprising, with a ton of space to roam and explore. I’m sure Milestone has hidden all kinds of collectibles and secrets around these islands, and it's going to be a blast to uncover them.
There are a lot of activities to go and enjoy as you race around whatever island you find yourself on. Things like regular races exist, but fun additional quests like destroying a certain number of breakable items in an area or speeding to find a specific location are also ways to engage with Infinite Rush. These have timed challenges alongside them, so getting the highest scores will earn you the most points/coins that are used for new vehicles, upgrades, or cosmetics.
My favorite task on the map has to be the daredevils. These NPCs race around a certain section, awaiting you tailing them and activating their trial. If you manage to beat them, you’ll receive their car as a reward, which is a dope addition to upgrading your livery.
Speaking of your livery, I already mentioned there are a ton of cars to enjoy. These fall into several categories, Drifters, Titans, Speeders, and Versatiles. Each one has a different trait to it that will help you accomplish your activity goals, and hopefully set new high scores along the way. What’s amazing is that you can swap between any of the four in a snap; a single button press stands between you and a new car fit for your current mission (and certain ones require that type of vehicle). You’re not that far from completely changing which car you want either, it just requires jumping into the main menu to change out the in-game garage. I might be most impressed with the Milestone team landing Ferrari as an in-game brand; it couldn’t have been cheap and they don’t just lend their name out willy-nilly.
Once you’ve chosen your car, you can upgrade it. Some changes are purely cosmetic, but there are parts that can elevate your drift, nitro, and more. Occasionally there will be downsides along with the benefits, but it's up to you to find the best combinations to best update your ride. It seems like a decently deep system, and I look forward to exploring what will give me an edge for each category of car.
In a fantastic turn of events, I was able to confirm no micro-transactions for Hot Wheels Infinite Rush. While I couldn’t get a straight answer on DLC packs specifically, everything in the game at launch will be fully earnable by simply playing Infinite Rush. Considering the breadth of content here, it’s a thrilling discovery.
If you were hoping to play Infinite Rush with friends, I have even more great news. This title will feature both online and local play, with six current modes available. It looks like splitscreen will go as high as four-players, with the Switch 2 even having up to six. Hot Wheels is better with friends, and Milestone is making sure your buddies will be around and showing off their cars as well.
Racing games aren’t always my thing (something I mentioned in our CLUTCH preview), but Hot Wheels Infinite Rush is enticing in a way most race games don’t grab me. Although many of the previous games gave you that nostalgia of playing with Hot Wheels cars as a kid, this feels like how you imagined you were playing with Hot Wheels cars as a kid. I can’t wait to play it again, and it won’t be that long either. Hot Wheels Infinite Rush releases on September 24th, quite the busy week in gaming. It’ll be available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series consoles, and Nintendo Switch 2.
