Unbeknownst to me, there’s been a popular show based on the Hot Wheels brand on Netflix since early last year. They call it Hot Wheels Let’s Race, and it follows six young hopefuls as they learn the tricks and trade of racing at a special garage. Of course, this program is aimed towards kids, which is one of the reasons why I hadn’t heard about it until a video game tie in was announced.
Entitled Hot Wheels Let’s Race: Ultimate Speed, this interactive take on the cartoon comes to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC via developer Bamtang Games and publisher GameMill. What I didn’t realize is that these are the same folks who teamed up and delivered 2023’s Dreamworks kart racing game, as well as the surprisingly good trilogy of Nickelodeon Kart Racers titles, all of which I played. There was some experience and a bit of pedigree behind this production, as a result.
When you begin Hot Wheels Let’s Race: Ultimate Speed, you’re greeted by a pretty easy tutorial, which teaches you the ins and outs of this interactive racing experience. Then, you’re dropped into a hub room, where you can walk to different stations in order to choose what to do next. Of course, there’s a settings station, which is flanked by the garage, where you can look at Hot Wheels cars that you’ve unlocked, along with decals that have also been earned. These are joined by two gameplay kiosks, one of which presents Racing Camp, while the other allows you to engage in Mario Kart inspired cup tournaments, set up free races or take on time trials. As such, this game basically has two main modes, one of which (the cups) can be played locally with up to four players. I didn’t have anyone to play splitscreen with, though; especially at between one and nine in the morning, which is when I played through this title.
In total, there are six different cups, which are awarded to the racer who earns the most points over the course of four different races on four different tracks. One can choose from several different speed options, and can expect occasional interruptions in the form of driving based boss battles, but we will talk about those later.
Racing Camp, then, is a ‘gauntlet’ of twelve races on the game’s twelve base tracks, each of which features a theme like pizza, garbage, or spooky season. You earn fire badges for doing well, and must attempt to stay on top of the podium, which isn’t difficult because this is a very easy game. Of course, there are difficulties ranging from easy to hard, plus an unlockable extreme one. However, hard was not very challenging at all. Then again, I’m a lot older than Hot Wheels Let’s Race: Ultimate Speed’s target audience.
Racing Camp events are also interrupted by boss battles, which take the form of massive creatures (like a snake, a bat and a dinosaur truck) and have been sent down to the tracks by bad guy, Rearview. These boil down to working with other racers to drive forward, avoid obstacles, pick up projectiles and fire them back at the bosses when allowed. They’re pretty simple, and impossible to fail no matter how badly you end up doing. They’re also quite short, and become very old hat and repetitive after the fifth, tenth, etc. time.
In most of the Cup Challenge competitions, I only encountered one boss. However, one of the last two had me face three or four of them. They seem pretty random, though.
At its core, Hot Wheels Let’s Race: Ultimate Speed is a kart racer. You choose one of several different characters, all of whom have their own stats (pertaining to speed, handling and acrobatics, which refers to the flips you can do during jumps to earn a bit of boost). Then, you pick a Hot Wheels vehicle; some of which are classically familiar. These also have their own stats. Lastly, one can choose a track modification, select their preferred type of on track obstacle or boost, and pick a decal.
What you need to know about this system is that each vehicle has its own special ability, like a gargoyle winged shield, a fart cloud, a special boost or the ability to shoot toast at opponents. You’ll want to try to choose one that fits your play style, although you may care more about the vehicle’s individual stats than its power-up, which is unlocked by charging the vehicle during a race, either by drifting and doing tricks or by picking up lightning bolts.
The decals also offer perks, like better drifting, longer speed boosts and more. There’s also one that allows for faster recoveries, although I don’t think you’ll need that much.
You see, while Hot Wheels Let’s Race: Ultimate Speed is a kart racer at heart, it’s not nearly as chaotic or cartoonishly ‘violent’ as most. Even on hard, or using the fastest speed available, I rarely saw opponents unless I slowed down to let them catch up. This game is just that easy. Furthermore, there aren’t any pick ups or weapons scattered throughout the tracks, all of which start to feel familiar because they’re handcuffed by having to be made out of orange plastic track pieces. This isn’t Mario Kart or Diddy Kong Racing. In fact, it’s much less chaotic and combative than any similar game I’ve ever played, including all three Nickelodeon Kart Racers. I guess they decided to streamline things because this game is targeted towards children, but I feel like a happy medium could’ve been found. Without much combat (outside of farting, throwing toast or blinding other racers on occasion), and without much challenge, this game is left feeling too easy, too simple/basic and repetitive. It’s too bad, because it’s pretty mechanically sound, and is also quite polished.
The core driving mechanics found herein are fine, enjoyable enough and accessible. However, combining the great speeds at which you’re driving and all of the twists, turns, loops, and other Hot Wheels track styles, makes it difficult to avoid hitting the walls. I like to pride myself on being a good driver, but I hit the walls quite a bit, especially when I got tired near the end. I had some pretty clean races, but had to really pay attention.
As I said earlier, the tracks do end up feeling repetitive. It’s true, and a small part of that is because of the Hot Wheels trappings. There’s only so much you can do with these iconic orange plastic track pieces, but more could have been accomplished to make the races less repetitive after a little while. The other recent Hot Wheels games managed a lot more, but were larger in scale and not aimed at kids. I get that.
One nice (and surprising) thing about Hot Wheels Let’s Race: Ultimate Speed is that it has a track creation mechanism. Through it, players can make their own courses using track parts that they’ve unlocked through racing. It’s a nice and welcomed addition, but it comes with a flaw. You see, there’s a tutorial that leads into a number of challenges that task you with using a specific assortment of pieces to make a unique track. On paper, this sounds fun. However, the game imposes time limits on each course, meaning that you can only create something that takes approximately 65 seconds per lap to drive through. It can be very challenging and, honestly frustrating, to find the correct combinations to complete these challenges. They’re clunky pains in the ass.
It wouldn’t be a problem if the aforementioned challenges were optional, but they aren’t. If you want to be able to create your own courses from scratch, you’ll have to complete them all. The thing is that, given the frustrating difficulty of, and how cumbersome the challenges are, I don’t see kids being able to complete them. I can see most giving up.
Although it’s based on an animated Netflix show, and one that’s been created around a popular toy license, there was no guarantee that this game would be polished. After all, I grew up playing many rushed and unfinished tie in games. However, Hot Wheels Let’s Race: Ultimate Speed is impressively polished. It’s very colourful, and its visuals pop off the screen. Furthermore, the game runs really well, offering a really good sense of speed. It’s only let down by repetitive tracks, all of which are floating over top of a futuristic city, which means that there’s a lack of unique backdrops.
The downside, in terms of presentation, comes from the audio. I’ve never watched the TV show, so I can’t say if the cast reprise their roles here, but the characters are all voiced and there is some dialogue before and after cups, as well as during boss battle interruptions. It does get repetitive, but it’s not too annoying. What is annoying, though, is hearing your chosen racer say the same quips and one liners over and over, and over, again. It gets to be quite bothersome for the ears. The good sound effects help, but the forgettable and unoriginal music does not.
In the end. Hot Wheels Let’s Race: Ultimate Speed is a mixed bag. It’s a pretty racing game with a really good sense of speed, but a lack of challenge and combat make it get repetitive fast. Furthermore, the track creation challenges are far too frustrating for kids. That said, I am an adult reviewing a kids game, and it’s likely that I would find it easier than a young child.
This review is based on the Xbox Series X version of the game, which we were provided with.