For a licensed racing game, 2021’s Hot Wheels Unleashed was a fun and respectable start, and now we’ll see how developer Milestone builds on that foundation with an upcoming sequel.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged arrives October 19th and retains the fun “little toy car in a big world” presentation with new additions under the hood. Players can now get behind the wheel of motorcycles and ATVs, and the game has over 130 total vehicles at launch.
Players run in five different environments using new skills: double jump and side run. The double jump can be performed at any time to jump over rivals and obstacles, while the dashing is ideal for sweeping nearby opponents or dodging hazards. Milestone boasts increased interactivity between vehicles and objects on and off the track, and playstyles can be customized using perks earned by earning skill points.
Modes include a revamped story-driven campaign featuring four original characters, with animated cutscenes. Other challenges include events designed to test player skills, such as drifting and crash avoidance. For online multiplayer, the game supports cross-play (except on Switch) and players can now create groups of friends. Local two-player split-screen is also making a return.
The first game’s popular creation suite now features a refined track editor with expanded functionality and an update to the livery editor introducing the sticker editor for creating and saving custom patterns and shapes. Best of all, all user-generated content will be shareable across multiple platforms at launch, though it’s unclear if any player-generated content from the original can be imported into this game.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch and PC. Check out some of the cars from the sequel in the screenshot gallery below.