Not quite a rush.
Hot Wheels are such a ripe franchise for video games. Ever since I was a kid, any time a Hot Wheels game came out, I had to have it. The last two games in the series from Milestone were excellent. They really captured the idea of creating tracks in my bedroom and racing them with friends. Infinite Rush takes a different approach. They are attempting to combine the Hot Wheels cars with a Burnout Paradise-style open-world, and it sounds brilliant on paper. Sadly, after spending some time with the game, it comes up short in almost every aspect, leaving players with a very simple, and uninspired racing game.
What makes this chapter of the series different is the structure. While the last two games from Milestone have been traditional racing games, Infinite Rush attempts the open-world formula. Players get access to four different maps that they can explore. There are things around each map that feel right at home in the Hot Wheels universe, but for the most part, none of them are that exciting. For every giant attraction, there are blocks and blocks of bland raceway.
MSRP: $49.99
Platforms: XBOX (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $29.99
Each map has its own theme, but none of them ever felt memorable. There are two city areas, one desert area, and a neon-drenched island. Unfortunately, they all feature the same types of events and design and none of it is extremely interesting. I got bored of each one within 20 minutes of exploring them. The Unleashed games did an amazing job with the scale, and Infinite Rush just feels flat. Even the destruction feels cheap and pointless.
The one area this game does excel at though, is the car selection. There are tons of cars, and most of them are new to the series. There are around 150 cars to choose from, and about a third of them are new to the series. Sadly, there is one downfall. This game doesn’t contain nearly as many iconic cars as the Unleashed games. Instead, it focuses more on newer Hot Wheels, so the ones I grew up with are also absent. Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but when I play a Hot Wheels game, I want to drive things like the Ecto-1 and the Delorean.
There are four different classes of cars, with each one having their own unique style. Drifters are by far my favorite. These feel great in the races and control much like an arcade racer should. Versatile feels like the base option, which means it is kind of boring. Speeder is exactly what it sounds like, sacrificing control for pure speed. Finally, we have the Titan, which is the tank of the lot. I do wish the cars showed damage like previous games, but again it feels like this title is more of an experiment than an iteration on the series.
The thing that drags this game down so much though is just how lifeless it feels. As I mentioned, each map is not overly exciting. They have a few neat things to see, but for the most part they just feel generic. The events are also bland; I never wanted to keep playing after finishing one. The game just doesn’t have enough to keep players interested, and it keeps repeating. The concept sounds perfect, but the execution is just not there.
Visually, the game looks fine. The cars are not quite as detailed as they were in the Unleashed games, and the lack of wear and tear is disappointing. The map design is boring, and the music is just kind of there. I do like the amount of color, but that comes with the territory.
Hot Wheels Infinite Rush is a game that would have felt right at home on the PS2. It is a great concept that just falls flat in nearly every aspect. It isn’t an overly offensive game, but I never found the hook to keep me coming back. I loved the Unleashed games, and hope Milestone returns to the formula because the world is better when we have a regular cadence of Hot Wheels games on the market.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.