To be as clear as possible, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged is a great game. However, there are some flaws that hold it back from being something truly magnificent. Still though, the main core of the game – the racing – is solid enough to make this an easy and worthwhile recommendation overall. Even though some of the trophies were a bit ridiculous and some of the game’s physics were questionable at times, this is a fun game to play and to platinum. And, honestly, I think it is a rather difficult task to find a better arcade racing experience.
In case it wasn’t already clear, I love Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged. I love it quite a bit, actually. Almost to the point of adoring it, even. But it is flawed. Unfortunately, some of those flaws really do hinder what is an otherwise fun experience. To be fair, I also enjoyed Hot Wheels Unleashed (the first one) back when it was originally released in 2021. That was also a bit flawed at times though. Still, I was excited to play this sequel and see what exactly was changed or improved upon. With the biggest selling point being the addition of a jumping mechanic in this newer entry here.
Yet… That brings me to one of my biggest disappointments with Hot Wheels Unleashed 2, as that newfound jumping mechanic – which seemed exciting to mess around with from the trailers – is actually grossly underutilized in the game itself. Sure, some tracks require you to use it. But it never felt as interesting as I was hoping it would. Given the placement of the checkpoints, too, you cannot just jump off the track and create shortcuts. Because if you miss a checkpoint, then you will automatically be respawned after a certain amount of time. This is a mechanic I truly despise as it ruins the creativity of the game. Like… I understand having the checkpoints. But they should not be mandatory. You should be able to skip one or two. You should be able to create interesting paths. This is Hot Wheels after all. The fun from these toys comes from the player’s imagination, primarily. To make each checkpoint mandatory not only limits one’s imagination, but it also makes replaying these tracks a bore. Which is a shame, given that their designs are much improved from the first.
That is not the only problem I have with the game, either. The trophies themselves were kind of annoying, too. I know not everyone cares about trophies though, so I will keep this rather brief. But you have to unlock a set of “Super Treasure Hunt” vehicles which can be bought from within the in-game shop. However, the way they are revealed is mostly random. So, you have to keep refreshing the shop just hoping that the specific car you’re looking for will appear. Randomly. It costs 350 in-game coins to refresh the shop, mind you. And these “Super Treasure Hunt” vehicles each cost 6,000 in-game coins. So, like… You have to hope you will have enough coins left after refreshing to buy the vehicle. If you don’t, you could grind out some quick races. But the shop refreshes every 45 minutes. When you refresh, this counter does reset back 45 minutes each time. However, grinding quick races only nets you about 1,500 in-game coins (and that’s if you place in first). The alternative option is to sell other vehicles in your collection.
Vehicles have different rarities. Ranging from “Common” to “Legendary.” There are also “Secret” vehicles. Depending on the rarity, you’ll get more (or less) coins for selling them. An example would be 1,000 in-game coins for selling a “Common” rarity vehicle. I believe “Legendary” was around 1,500 in-game coins. Though, honestly, I don’t completely remember the exact conversion rate.
Anyway, my complaint comes with how these “Super Treasure Hunt” vehicles are unlocked. They should not be in the shop. You should have to earn them through getting the “Unleashed” goals in the campaign. Or, at the very least, they should be rewarded in the “Extreme” levels that unlock after completing the game’s campaign. I would much rather have to play more races instead of wasting time in menus. This trophy was a pain, in other words.
The other trophy I had some problems with was to reach the podium 100 times in quick races. This, and the “Super Treasure Hunt” trophy were the last two trophies I needed for the platinum. And both just seemed to unnecessarily extend the playtime for arbitrary reasons. Basically, they ruined the enjoyment I had with the game up until this point.
Another thing to keep in mind when deciding whether or not you want to play Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged is the “Drift Master” races in the campaign. They are difficult. Essentially, you get points for drifting. The longer you drift, the more points you get. There is a multiplier that rewards you for driving perfectly, but if, at any point, you hit the side of the track that multiplier resets. These levels were my favorite in the game, personally. Despite them being the most frustrating levels to play. Thankfully, you just need to unlock the “Base” goal to progress. But I, being the completionist that I am, went for the “Unleashed” goals – not entirely realizing that doing so wasn’t necessary until near the end of the campaign. I think the “Base” goal for most of these levels is mostly fair. But a lot of those “Unleashed” goals felt incredibly tight. And I consider myself to be better than most at this game, yet even I was having a difficult time. Though, if you have played the first game then I would equate the difficulty of these “Drift Master” levels to the difficulty of some of the time trials from the first game. Not impossible. All of them are doable. But they are inconsistent, with some of the levels requiring perfect timing and precision. And sometimes, my vehicle would spin out in questionable ways. Adding to the overall frustration. Most times, actually, it felt like it was the game’s fault that I was doing so poorly and not necessarily my fault.
Last complaint, which is mostly minor (though worth noting) is that “Medium” difficulty here was maybe a bit too easy. Especially compared to the first game. I found “Hard” difficulty to be perfect, offering up just enough of a challenge to keep things interesting. “Extreme” difficulty was not necessary and was entirely unfair, not sure why they added that in here.
Aside from all that though, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged is great! Even though some of the trophies were a pain. Even though some of the levels were challenging. Even though there were some inconsistencies with the way the vehicles would behave. Even though I just wrote over 1,000 words highlighting the negatives of the game… I still very much enjoyed my time with Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged. Because despite there being negatives, there are also over 1,000 words worth of positives too. And, overall, as a whole package the positives outweigh the negatives. The sheer amount of fun I had playing the game, experiencing the story, doing the challenges, etc. Almost all of it flowed nicely and rarely felt like I was wasting too much of my time. Even with the end-game grind, I had fun. A little less so, but not enough to completely tarnish the opinion I had of the game prior.
Besides, there are a lot more vehicles to unlock in this one (compared to the first). And some of these new ones were really fun and actually quite surprising. Once I unlocked “Duck N’ Roll” I knew I would be giving this game some bonus points for that vehicle alone. I haven’t mentioned it, but I also enjoyed the variety of game modes and tracks on offer in this sequel. Everything here just felt bigger and more realized compared to the first. Honestly, I am secretly hoping we get a third game. Not sure if we will, but if we do… Then I will be there to play it on day one!
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged truly is a special experience. It taps into nostalgia whilst still being modern and feeling fresh. If you’re a fan of racers, you should not sleep on this one. If you’re a fan of Hot Wheels, you really should not sleep on this one. This is a great game and I am happy to be alive and in the world to experience it. It’s not perfect though. But rarely anything is perfect.
Recommendation Level: MODERATE (8.0 out of 10)
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