The day Hot Wheels Infinite Rush was announced, I was excited. Milestone had already provided two very great Hot Wheels experiences with the Unleashed games. Now, they were taking things in a more open direction. Four islands to freely explore, with plenty of racing across that familiar plastic track still being present. And, as if to stave off any worries that open world environments meant they weren’t going to be silly with the toy cars included, the Duck N’ Roll was right there.

Now that it is out, I have been loving my time with Hot Wheels Infinite Rush. After looking through the accessibility options, allowing me to turn off motion blur, the racing could begin. A short initial drive where the game teaches the basics, then right into the first race. A race that, being on medium difficulty, I found easy enough. With that complete, I had my first crown. Now I was ready to collect more and start chasing down the Rushers, who act as the boss racers of the game.

In terms of the cars, there are four categories to them. Versatile, drifter, speeder, and titan. Each category has a different boost system, with versatile vehicles being the only ones with segmented charges rather than the hold-to-boost system of the others. Each category also comes with differences in stats, with drifters being the easiest to drift, while titans barely do so. While also barely having any speed. All is good, though. As categories do not mix in regular races.

Now free to explore the first island of Wheelswood, there’s plenty more than just racing to do. There are three types of collectible to be found. 300 cogs are scattered across the island. 10 Hot Wheels emblems found on jumps. And 10 stickers hidden that need shooting while in photo mode. Yes, there’s a photo mode, and it is fully featured. And aside from the distance from the player vehicle, there’s no restrictions on how it is used. Aside from not being able to go inside anything solid.

Racing is the main feature, and there’s plenty of that to be doing in the open world thanks to the challenges. There are various ones, such as delivery jobs, destroying objects in a time limit, finding a (not so) hidden flame, and keeping a high average speed on the way to a destination. None of these challenges award crowns, but they still provide some reward and are fun ways to learn the lay of these islands.

New vehicles can be purchased from the dealership, with each island having their own vehicle list. Defeating Rushers in races will let me claim their vehicle, but there are also the daredevils. Randomly appearing in the world, they need to be found to start their head-to-head race. Beating them will give me their vehicle. There are a set few routes that these head-to-head races will use depending on where they are started. So if you know you can easily do one route, best follow it until it’s on that part of the island.

With the five crowns earned and the first Rusher of Wheelswood defeated, it’s time to move on to the next island of Tentacle Bay. Getting its initial five crowns and defeating its first Rusher. That process then repeats, moving me to Gearville, then finally Drifty Temples. Each of the four areas looks unique, even if they follow the same structure of having one major urban area with the rest being more natural.

I’ve found myself sticking to Drifty Temples once the progression opened more, as it does represent Japan very well with its temples and cherry blossom-style trees. Yes, once the initial Rusher of each island has been defeated, more events unlock on each of the islands, with me able to choose which I want to work on. Not all events earn a crown, but still provide rewards for completing them.

It’s not like all the events are standard races, either. There are eliminations, drift attack, time attack, and score attack. Plus checkpoint races across the island. At first, races keep things simple, but later ones will have many track elements to consider. Staple set pieces such as the dragon and shark will be at play, with magnetic strips providing some racing upside down. It is great to see them in use.

It wouldn’t be a Milestone Hot Wheels game without the community created content. And that is back. Creating a track is as in depth as it always has been, but now there’s much greater worlds to build them in. Elements of which will be removed if a track piece goes through them. Except for the ghost track, which lets the driving happen on the terrain of the world. AI driver assists can also be placed to help them get over a jump or stop in time for a sudden drop.

In terms of discoverability, there’s weekly, monthly, and all time likes for tracks, liveries, and stickers, with the list of all providing filters. Filters a person would have selected when sharing to the server. It’s still limited in some way, with no ability to see all the creations of a single person despite being able to see their profile. But things are better in other ways, at least regarding tracks.

There is a quick race mode, which is where the offline multiplayer can be started from. This also allows for a single person to quickly get into a race. Along with the official races across all four islands, there is a community island, where one of the many community made tracks can be selected. And raced on against AI drivers instead of only against the clock if a creator has performed the AI validation on it. That for me is the best addition there could be.

It’s all great with Hot Wheels Infinite Rush. Aside from load times. They seem a bit long, reaching almost 20 seconds in some instances. Everything else is grand, though. Great racing on some nicely designed tracks. Plenty of challenges across some lovely islands. The campaign feels meaty, with a bit of freedom in approach. Overall, Hot Wheels Infinite Rush is an easy recommendation, and one I’ll happily be playing for many more hours.

Images Taken From:
Hot Wheels Infinite Rush | Xbox Series S