Racing games generally follow one of two directions: Racing Sims or Arcade Racers. Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush is very clearly in the latter category, offering an open world arcade style racing game in the same vein as Forza Horizon, but obviously not trying to be anywhere near as realistic. Instead, Infinite Rush embraces the ridiculous side of Hot Wheels with over the top tracks, stunts, and tons of cars to collect. But does it still scratch that racing itch, or does it eventually run out of gas?
Gameplay
Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush is a surprisingly in-depth racing game with an arcade racing soul. There’s plenty of content here, from stunt races and traditional events to racing Daredevils for pinks (you acquire the car after, so that’s what I’ve been calling it), and the game is definitely a major collectathon.
That collection aspect is probably the biggest hook for longtime Hot Wheels fans. You’re constantly unlocking new cars through races or purchasing them with in-game currency at the dealership. Hot Wheels has such an absurd catalog of cars to pull from that collecting them almost becomes as important as actually racing them.
Driving is also extremely approachable, almost to the games detriment at times because there’s no real sense of challenge and that makes it feel a bit too sandboxy at times. But this isn’t a game asking you to perfectly hit every racing line or spend hours tuning your suspension. You can drift around corners, launch yourself off ramps, and drive like you used to play with your Hot Wheels as a kid except now you’re in the actual driver seat.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t any depth here. Different vehicles feel different enough that you’ll find your favorites, and the open world gives you plenty of opportunities to mess around outside of traditional races.
The easiest way I can describe this game is as a mini Forza Horizon. You have an open world full of events, cars to collect, and things constantly begging for your attention. It just swaps realistic cars and environments for the insanity you would expect from Hot Wheels.
Graphics & Design
The game is beautiful, and I think they imported the cars into this world extremely well.
That may sound like a small task, but Hot Wheels cars have such a specific look to them that leaning too far in either direction could have been a disaster. These cars are toys, and Infinite Rush doesn’t try to shy away from that, the cars still have that recognizable Hot Wheels design while fitting naturally into the large environments around them.
The environment also does a good job of selling that fantasy of having this be a massive Hot Wheels playground to drive around in. Bright colors, huge tracks, ridiculous jumps, and recognizable Hot Wheels elements are scattered throughout the world, and when everything comes together, the game looks fantastic in motion.
Feedback
This game is very fun… for a while. Unfortunately, that’s also where my biggest issue with the game comes in. After spending enough time with it, Infinite Rush starts to lose some of its spark. There’s plenty to do, but there isn’t always something driving you to do it. Eventually, collecting another car or completing another event starts to feel less exciting and more like a chore because you begin falling into the same gameplay loop over and over again.
This is where the comparison to Forza Horizon starts working against it a little. Games like Horizon are constantly dangling another carrot in front of you, and even after dozens of hours, there’s usually another major objective, race type, progression goal, or ANYTHING that makes you want to push forward. Unfortunately, I eventually found myself completing objectives because they were still on the map rather than because I was genuinely excited to see what came next. And that’s frustrating because the foundation here is really good. Driving is fun, collecting Hot Wheels is naturally addictive, and the world is entertaining to explore. I just wish there was a little more pushing me forward once that initial excitement wore off.
I also think your enjoyment is going to depend heavily on how much you like collecting. If filling out your garage and hunting down different Hot Wheels will give you that serotonin boost you’ll need to keep going, then there's a lot here for you. If you need a stronger sense of direction, you may find yourself losing interest much sooner.
Final Verdict
Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush is basically a bite sized Forza Horizon covered in orange track pieces, and I mean that mostly as a compliment.
It’s a fun arcade racer with great looking cars, a colorful world, and enough collectibles too keep Hot Wheels fans busy for a while. There’s a genuine novelty to taking these ridiculous toy cars into an open world and seeing what they can do on the track.
Unfortunately, the game eventually struggles to maintain the excitement it creates during those first few hours. There’s plenty of content, but content alone isn’t always enough. Once the collection grind starts to just become routine, there isn’t quite enough happening underneath it to keep the game moving forward.
I had a good time with Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush, and I think younger players and hardcore Hot Wheels collectors could get even more mileage out of it than I did. Just don’t go into it expecting Horizon with Hot Wheels. Think of it more as its smaller, crazier cousin.
Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush will be available September 10th on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X|S, Playstation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2.
