Your mileage may vary
I have reviewed a lot of racing games in my life, but nothing quite like this. AR technology is one of those things I always found neat for a few minutes while I was playing it. It was also something I never got fully invested in. Similar to VR I always found the concept more entertaining than long term viable. Hot Wheels is getting into the mix with Hot Wheels: Rift Rally, which is not dissimilar from Nintendo’s Mario Kart Live released back in 2020. The game comes with an RC car, some plastic gates, and of course the game for your platform of choice. Currently it is only mobile and PlayStation, and for this review we are checking out the PlayStation version.
In the box we get the RC car codenamed the Chameleon. This is because it is a pretty generic looking vehicle that takes on the appearance of what I chose within the game itself. It has a camera mounted on top as well as a USB charging dock on the side. The battery lasts about two hours and takes an hour or so to charge, which is not ideal for those wanting to invest more time. The box also has a series of four plastic gates with cardboard attachments to set up the track.
MSRP: $129.99
Platforms: PlayStation (reviewed), Mobile
Price I’d Pay: $99.99
Setting up the gates is fairly simple and they react based on the theme of the race. There are even closing gates which will stop the car in its tracks. One thing to note is that much like Mario Kart Live, this game needs quite a bit of space to be effective. Sure you can set up a race in a linear hallway, but that is pretty boring. I set mine up across a large area and was able to achieve some decent tracks, but those with limited space in say a small apartment, your mileage may vary.
What I love is how the car reacts to the game itself. I mentioned the gates closing already, but there are also things like environmental hazards and boosting. The physical car actually reacts to these and it is a cool effect. For example, going through water makes the car slow down to compensate. It is the minor things like this that really sell the technology. I did have some issues with the camera and its field of view though. Sometimes I would get caught on corners that looked easily clearable on my screen.
The one thing I had to adjust to was controlling the car instead of controlling a game. There is little to no hesitation between the car and the game, but it still controls like an RC car. If you have ever played with one, you know what I mean. There is an adjustment to things like drifting and boosting. The car in real life adjusts for these motions and of course it is flashier in the game, but the car itself feels slow and different to handle. Then of course my cats are hiding around the track so sometimes I would wonder why my car just stopped only to realize they had attacked it. Wish the camera had picked that up.
Connecting to the car and console is weird. I had to type in my network name instead of being able to search. This feels archaic and not sure why this is the case. Still once it was connected I didn’t have any issues getting up and running. There are two main modes to play. Campaign is your typical races that includes several mode types. Sometimes coming in first is the object while other times it could be a destruction derby. There are three biomes to move through and completing these unlocks new cars and events. It is pretty enjoyable.
UPDATE: The PR team reached out and let me know that having to type in the SSID is only required when the PS5 is connected via a wired connection. If you are using WiFi on the PS5 it shows up automatically.
The stunt mode feels like a car version of something like Tony Hawk where players roam around freely doing tricks for points. There is a decent amount of content here and I wish I could play it without setting up the tracks and RC car in general. It is just a fun game on its own.
I love a lot of what Rift Rally is offering. There is a healthy amount of content and the setup is fairly painless. It is worth mentioning though this is not a cheap entry. The standard edition clocks in at $130 which feels steep for those only mildly interested. There is also a Collector’s Edition that comes with a special RC car, a Hot Wheels Die-Cast car, and a special unlockable car in the game for $150. The price is fair, but be sure you have the interest and more importantly the space before diving in. It is a ton of fun and my son and I had a blast checking it out (outside the cat interference of course.)
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
