Recent reviews by Ryu Xero

Hot Wheels Unleashed is an arcade racing game that aims to capture the feeling of playing with the actual Hot Wheels. The initial presentation is solid where it gives you the feeling of getting your Hot Wheels for the first time as well as the graphics to sell on the fantasy with serviceable gameplay. Everything after that though is a product that feels unpolished in every other aspect.

These aspects include the poor UI where you can easily get lost, poor loot box experience with the lack of bulk unboxing that takes about 1500-2000 loot boxes to get everything, low replay value due to poor multiplayer system where the entire lobby is full of players that are AFK to grind for currency, said currencies involved are scarce with low earning rate as if preparing for micro-transactions features, and a campaign mode that has egregious content padding to drag the game out much longer by recycling events with one of the examples having the same time trial runs one space apart with the only minor difference is being the time a second faster.

I finished the entire game, and I don't recommend getting the game to anyone unless you want to waste your time with getting viable cars for online play or outright buying the Superman car as the best car to be competitive. The time difference between the Superman car and the 4 other competitive cars in Crossroads is about 0.5 seconds when played optimally. If you don't use those said cars, you're losing 2-3 seconds each lap. The 4 other fastest cars: Dragon Blaster (STH), Power Rocket, Jesko, 24 Ours.

Look at the post notes for added details.

The Good:

• Graphics are beautiful.
  
• Core gameplay has solid feel.
  
• Wide variety of cars.

The Bad:

• AFK multiplayer player base with no way to punish them.
  
• Loot box having poor rates and UI issues.
  
• UI issues that makes you get lost and even prevent you from accessing content.
  
• Too many unviable cars that directly affects campaign progress.
  
• Campaign has a ton of content padding with recycled events.
  
• Every earning mechanic promotes time consuming grinds.
  
• Lack of additional game modes that would give the game a different feel like stunt mode. Edited Nov. 21, 2021
  
• Time Trial leaderboards filled with hacked times that are overtly unrealistic. Edited Dec. 10, 2021

Nov. 21, 2021

They added in a battle pass like system where you need to complete daily challenges and rank your season level up. The grind is still an issue especially if they stopped doing the system after the end of the game development cycle, but at least for the time being, it's easier to upgrade the cars. They also optimized the UI a bit to make it more bearable, but the core UI is still problematic, especially in campaign mode where the events are all scattered. I've also added more cons to the list.

My recommendation is still against this game.

Dec. 10, 2021

Time Trials are the only thing that gives value to the game that I find myself wanting to improve on. The core racing mechanics really shine in Time Trials. It is a shame that the game doesn't have a solid system of daily or weekly Time Trials with user created tracks which would extend the life of the game in a more positive direction. Major flaws with Time Trials are global timers on the hazards and hacked times commonly seen on top.

I still don't recommend this game as the other aspects of the are still glaringly detrimental to the overall experience.

Jan. 28, 2022

Massive UI issues when it comes to the DLC content where some basement items are still inaccessible despite having the free Racing Seasons content. UI is replaced with "Racing Seasons" instead of confirming the owned content. Online multiplayer is currently plagued with terrible user created maps that doesn't reward proper racing. The developers need a dedicated team to curate the best designed maps for everyone to enjoy if they were to have a system to select the user maps.

Stay away from this game since it looks like there's no interest to polish and fix long term issues of the game. High chance it'll be content fodder. If you were to get the game, stay away from buying any DLC. If you're insistent in getting the DLC, the Superman DLC is by far the best you can get.

A unique game that actually makes you feel like a wizard conjuring spells that fits the situation at any given moment. A heal beam with fire property or combining spells to make a molten rock fly out. On top of the spell combinations, there's different ways to cast the spells. You can accidentally crush yourself with the earth spell, enchant your blade to have specific properties, do AoE skills, or straight up use arcane beam. There's also a skill ceiling with micro movements involved to make sure you don't get hit often as well as counting other spells thrown by enemies. Those who are creative, knowledgeable, and skilled will get a ton of value in this game.

Notable flaws are unstable networking with buggy gameplay. Performance is also an issue. When it works though, it's a blast to play.

The gods kept betraying me, cursing me with their punishing debuffs after I offer them my tears made out of blood. Gave the gods the finger and proceed down the unforgiving dungeon equipped with only 2 weapons functioning. I made it to the last level plagued with curses and unreliable weapons for the final boss. I managed to stay healthy in the fight trapped in a room with loads of magical monsters trying to murder me. I only made 1 mistake and I was left with 1 HP. As soon as I landed the last hit on him, HE FREAKING KILLED ME AFTER HE DIED!!! WHY!!!

Despite that experience, this is a game I can play for a very long time. This game is very challenging, which is something I rarely get nowadays aside from playing F-Zero X and WipEout 2048 in A+ Speed Class. Its combat mechanics are robust. Responsive movement and weapon variety makes this randomized dungeon experience fresh. Even after you die, you get more weapons and items to work around with. In terms of difficulty, normal mode is very challenging. The visuals look fantastic with its vibrant colors and changing themes that comes from its randomly generated dungeon. However, the soundtrack is generic, and it should be replaced by any music from your playlist. Overall, this is a game I'm glad to have in my steam library. I highly recommend this game.