Yes, I know other arcade racers have attempted such control schemes before; 2020’s Inertial Drift, for instance, already embraces twin-stick driving, but having not played it before I wasn’t primed. Shmups and other twin-stick shooters I have played copiously, but their training was no help here. No, Screamer feels a different beast entirely. The best way I can sum up its unfamiliarity is to ask you to imagine writing with your non-dominant hand: see, you know how pens work, and you might be able to grasp firm enough to put ink to paper, but the lines and squiggles that emerge aren’t your usual handwriting.

"Braking is ultra-sensitive. The slightest tap slows you enough to slide through almost any turn, whilst drifting, especially, needs only the deftest tilt of the thumbstick."

Thankfully, Screamer’s racing lines do become deliberate with practice (something that my left hand and a pen will probably never attain). Despite its unorthodox controls, Screamer shares common ground with any of your go-to arcade racers: pre-corner positioning, timing, and maintaining flow reveal themselves as you grow accustomed to your car’s particular brand of handling. Layer on boosts, perfect shifts, strikes, and other character-specific actions, and what initially felt clumsy transforms into one of the most mechanically involved racers I can recall.

Certainly, at first, Screamer’s vehicles feel heavy, powerful, and planted, like sci-fi muscle cars more than precisely tuned track weapons. This physicality only adds to the friction. Early on, I felt like machine and I were wrestling, with neither able to get a foothold over the other. But, after burning through the miles in Screamer’s numerous arcade modes I was surprised, actually, when I realised that these vehicles should be handled with finesse, not brute force.

Braking is ultra-sensitive. The slightest tap slows you enough to slide through almost any turn, whilst drifting, especially, needs only the deftest tilt of the thumbstick. Its sensitivity means that it’s often only feasible once a corner’s apex is passed, depending on your approach speed, trajectory, the width of the curve, tightness of its angle, and so on. Unwielding controls and my constant over-corrections gradually faded. Blasting through the unobstructed roads of Time Attacks and Checkpoint Challenges, eventually I found expressive driving. Drifts began to flow through sequences of corners, blending into one fluid, satisfying movement.

"Using Sync generates Entropy, which is your car’s fighting aggression and defence."

But, in Screamer, races aren’t just about clean lines. Upshifting gives driving a rhythmic pulse, where tapping the left shoulder button just as your tachometer hits the required RPM gives your engine a momentary push. Generous timing windows and clear visual cues signal the optimal moment to switch gears, alongside reinforcing controller vibration that makes it easy to keep focus on the road.

Crucially, the game avoids punishing mistakes too harshly, with early upshifts not killing your momentum outright; only denying you the micro-boost. This is a small, but important, distinction, and one I appreciated the developers for. See, while flow, fluidity, and momentum are achievable on isolated circuits, chaotic races make chasing perfection near-impossible.

Now, this isn’t a negative. I embrace the chaos. I’m just pointing out that the freneticness of Screamer’s wheel-to-wheel combat makes pre-corner positioning, apex kissing, and perfect drifts secondary to survival. In fact, upshifting became the only mechanic I was able to execute with consistently.

And that’s just as well: see, each of Screamer’s vehicles is outfitted with an Echo device, a futuristic contraption which gathers charge to be spent on two intertwined resources: Sync and Entropy. It’ll fill independently through collision-less driving and timely upshifts, with your Sync able to execute Boosts and Perfect Boosts, the latter a slightly more difficult version which relies on releasing its input command after a specific duration.

Using Sync generates Entropy, which is your car’s fighting aggression and defence. The Strike system slams you into opponents, blowing their chassis into flaming pieces. Overdrive transforms your car into a rocket ship, blasting any foe whilst keeping you momentarily invulnerable.

"Screamer’s story mode is where the game’s anime inspiration comes to the fore, where high-speed clashes within a dangerous tournament are framed within themes of revenge, rivalry, and corporate espionage."

When you’re in control of these systems, it feels great. A well-timed hit can swing momentum in your favour. The problem is that this sense of control is inconsistent. Opponent strikes can be difficult to anticipate, often arriving with little room to react, making certain collisions feel less like tactical plays and more like unavoidable setbacks.

Combined with the game’s lack of rubber banding, then falling behind can quickly become an unrecoverable struggle. Even if Sync generation increases when you’re further down the order, allowing more frequent boosts, its impact during the heat of battle is difficult to assess (on balanced difficulty, at least). The result: Screamer’s combat adds excitement and unpredictability, but occasionally at the cost of fairness, especially when you’re limping at the back of the field through no fault of your own.

Beyond the standard Arcade modes already mentioned, Score Challenge and Team Races highlight a couple of Screamer’s other imbalances. The former is one of the primary avenues for unlocking customisation options, where team “members” are pitted against “leaders”, highlighting a clear disparity between vehicle performance, where leader cars are noticeably faster and more competitive. Using member cars in this mode can feel like an uphill battle, creating a progression loop that feels needlessly punishing unless difficulty is lowered.

Team Races, meanwhile, hint at hidden strategic layers but they never quite materialise. The idea is that teammates balance aggression with track position, but the reality is too disorderly. With so much happening at once, it is difficult to influence outcomes beyond simply racing as destructively as possible and finishing highly. In practice, Team Races function the same as Free For All’s, just with more setup for the same payoff.

Screamer’s story mode is where the game’s anime inspiration comes to the fore, where high-speed clashes within a dangerous tournament are framed within themes of revenge, rivalry, and corporate espionage. Structurally, it unfolds through bitesize, episodic chapters which introduce the various teams, their motivations, and disquiet simmering within their ranks. There’s a clear attempt at building a cohesive world here, and it broadly works. The overarching narrative flows purposely, with intrigue steadily building the more each team’s backstory overlaps.

"Similarly, performance is solid, running smoothly and consistently on base PS5 amid the high-speed, effects-heavy racing."

My issue lies in its pacing. Early chapters are particularly staccato, packed with exposition and explanation with pockets of on-track action acting as punctuation rather than defining moments. Likewise, character work shows an unevenness. With the exception of fiery Róisín, whose strong motivation is elevated by memorable voice acting, each character failed to leave an impression on me. There are hints of grounded emotional arcs – Gabriel, in particular, begins to show flashes of familial burden – but much of the cast remains underdeveloped. There’s undeniable ambition here, but the presentation is too sluggish for the racing which surrounds it.

Visually, however, Screamer impressed me more than its pre-release footage suggested. Its neon-lit cityscapes, reflective surfaces, and bold contrasts give races a striking sense of atmosphere. The cars themselves range from pristine, kitted-out cyberpunk cruisers to weathered grand tourers, distinguishing the identity of each vehicle and its racer.

Similarly, performance is solid, running smoothly and consistently on base PS5 amid the high-speed, effects-heavy racing. This is something we’ve come to expect from Milestone and their prowess for optimisation. Another area the studio usually excels is sound design, yet it is a slight letdown here. Engine notes lack the raw aggression that the cars’ outlandish designs promise, creating a small but noticeable disparity between how these cars look and how they sound.

Ultimately, Screamer is defined as an arcade racer willing to take risks. Whilst initially awkward, and admittedly tiring on the hands during long sessions, its twin-stick driving is rewarding once mastered. The games supporting mechanics are deep, and while not always as strategic as they suggest, they bring an engaging loop beyond sprinting to the finish line. Issues with balance, progression, and an uneven story detract from the racing’s intensity, but overall the game’s strengths outweigh its drawbacks.

There’s something undeniably compelling here. Screamer is a racer which might not reinvent the wheel, but it stands out precisely because it dares to try.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

An Arcade-Anime Racing Fusion

At its core, Screamer is an arcade racing throwback. It’s a reboot, after all, but that descriptor barely scratches the surface. Sure, the original’s Ridge Racer-style drifting is here, but Milestone – as closet anime fans – imbue this modern take with the style and tone of anime’s finest: Akira and Ghost in the Shell.

But wait, there’s more to this fusion: Milestone also harbours a deep love of fighting games – Tekken, King of Fighters, BazBlue, Guilty Gear, et cetera, and fighting’s influence bleeds through Screamer’s narrative setup, character drama, and on-road action. A melting pot of ideas, this may be, but rarely does an arcade racer merge spectacle, storytelling, and system-heavy gameplay with this much conviction.

Gameplay Revolves Around the Echo System

The backbone of Screamer’s gameplay is the Echo System, a futuristic tech installed on every car which fuels both racing and fighting via two intertwined resources: Sync and Entropy. Rather than simply accelerating and drifting, you’ll need to constantly manage the Echo System’s dual-gauges through skillful racing and well-timed actions. This system adds a layer of resource management rarely seen in arcade racers, where you’ll need to think beyond racing lines to consider timing, pace, and tactical use of abilities throughout each event.

Sync and What It Enables

Sync is your primary resource for maintaining competitiveness throughout races, with it accumulating independently as you drive. Once you’ve enough Sync, you can spend it on Boost (or Perfect Boost – a more substantial variant – if you time the release of your Boost input just right). Also, instead of Boost, you can wrap your car in a momentary Shield that’ll protect you from your competitor’s assaults.

Entropy and Its Combat Potential

Now, the other, offensive-minded side of the Echo System: Entropy. Using Sync generates Entropy, and this powers two attacks called Strike and Overdrive. Strike is a sharp burst of speed that’ll briefly turn your car into a powerful battering ram. Use Strike to rear-end an opponent and you’ll blast their chassis into flames Burnout-style. Yet, if you retain your Entropy, maxing it out instead of Striking, then you’ll unlock the ultimate driving weapon: Overdrive. When engaged, your car transforms into a comet-on-wheels; with shield engaged and fire trailing, destruction awaits. However, be careful: Overdrive is high-risk, high-reward. Your shield will deplete before your firepower subsides; thus, any wall tap and it’s you that KO’s.

Active Shift and Strategic Depth

Your Sync meter charges passively throughout races through dexterous driving, but the rate it accumulates can be accelerated by performing Active Shift – an optional upshift executed at the precise moment your vehicle’s RPM passes a certain threshold, giving your engine a little push whilst filling your Sync meter. You’ll need to keep an eye on the speedometer in the bottom corner, meaning there’s an extra skill layered on top of the drift-heavy driving and Echo System management. When assessed altogether, Screamer provides a range of boosts, attacking, and defensive options, meaning races flow more dynamically than simple sprints to the finish line.

Twin-Stick Controls

Perhaps the most unorthodox aspect of Screamer is its twin-stick control scheme. You’ll steer with the left stick, while drifting is handled on the right, creating a setup which feels closer to a character action game than a racer. Early footage shows an expressive driving style is attainable, although there’ll undoubtedly be a learning curve. If it clicks – and, for anyone who’s dabbled in twin-stick shmups it likely will – then this control method could prove to be Screamer’s standout feature.

An Atypically Narrative-Heavy Racer

Unlike most racers, Screamer is placing particular emphasis on its narrative arc. The game centres on an underground, high-stakes tournament orchestrated by a mysterious figure (hello, Tekken influence). Each participating team is compelled to take part, and throughout the game you’ll flick between each entrant to experience their point of view. There’s deep, sometimes dark, character motivations, illustrated in that crisp, anime style. Story beats will play out on track too; perhaps those combat abilities will be put to good use ending someone else’s tournament? While other racers have taken stabs at meaningful stories before, Screamer’s narrative looks to be especially resonant, where progression isn’t just by winning races.

Team-Based Racing Structure

Rather than focus on individual exploits, Screamer brings a team-based structure. Each team consists of a leader and two support racers, with distinct roles across the lineup. The leader’s car is tuned for speed and precision, making it ideal for more experienced players, while support vehicles lean into combat and survivability.

Five Teams Compete

Five teams are set to compete in Screamer’s tournament, each bringing their own personality, motivations, and racing approach. There are The Banshees, who have entered the tournament for payback. Strike Force Romanda are an Idol band, recently reunited after a mysterious separation, their tournament participation supposedly a guerilla marketing tactic. Visionary scientists Jupiter Stormers bring corpo energy, with one member in particular seemingly bent on answering a personal vendetta. Anaconda Corp are a powerful band, invested heavily in above-board and seedy ventures alike, from politics to arms dealing. Criminal syndicate Kagawa-Kai are the most revered racers in the tournament – decorated, unstoppable, and ruthless.

Characters Bring Unique Abilities

Each of Screamer’s fifteen characters – split in three across five teams – brings their own unique passive ability. One racer banks extra Sync if they KO an opponent using Strike, another can chain Strikes together with a lower Entropy cost, while a third can extend their boost duration so long as you drive cleanly. With drivers focused on maximising resources, speeding to the finish line, or enacting all-out on-track warfare, the lines between racing and character-action are blurred; you’ll be choosing racers which fit your goals and playstyle.

A Dystopian Overworld Awaits

Befitting of its Akira inspiration, Screamer’s overworld is bleak and dystopian. Announced so far are three distinct biomes: Neo Rey is a steaming neon metropolis; a city of contrast not unlike Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City, utopian and nightmarish alike, with winding streets promising plenty of tight, high-octane racing. Sky Road Desert is a scorching wasteland, again reminiscent of Cyberpunk’s Badlands that surround its central city. The rather prescriptive sounding Forest #13 is one-part nature reserve, one-part geothermal power plant, an indication that even the countryside can’t escape the churning wheels of capitalism in dystopian fiction.

A Breadth of Customisable Game Modes and Multiplayer

Screamer ships with various game modes. Tournament is its de facto story mode, while the arcade menu brings a slate of customisable racing. A “Free For All” with all fifteen characters, plus Leaders only or Members only. Each features numerous augmentations: race duration, powerups, Sync generation rates, participant numbers, and more. Team Race pits each team of three against each other, with final scores determined by placement and KO’s. Score challenges, Overdrive-only races, time attacks, checkpoint races, there’s plenty here that’s tweakable. Multiplayer comes in online modes and up to four-player split screen.

Release Date, Platforms, and Price

Screamer will release to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on March 26th. The base version is retailing at £49.99 / $59.99, while the digital deluxe version will set you back £59.99 / $69.99.

Digital Deluxe Inclusions and Pre-Order Bonuses

Pre-ordering Screamer’s Standard Edition nets you the Chromed Style Pack, which decks your cars out in a tasteful metallic finish. Pre-ordering the Deluxe Edition gives you the Iridescent Style Pack too, like chrome only shinier and more colourful. Speaking of the Digital Deluxe Edition, if you opt for this version you’ll gain customisation packs for each of the game’s five teams plus three days early access.

PC Requirements

Minimum PC requirements as per the game’s Steam listing including an Intel Core i5-9600K or AMD Ryzen 5 2600 CPU and GeForce GTX 1060 or Radeon RX 5500 XT GPU. Recommended specs detail an Intel Core i5-14600K or AMD Ryzen 7 7700X processor and GeForce RTX 4070 or Radeon RX 9070 XT GPU. No matter your setup, you’ll need 16GB RAM and 35GB storage.

It used to be easy to slap a fresh coat of paint on a racing franchise and call it progress. But the best racers lately have pushed forward with meaningful upgrades that elevate the experience.

Milestone is clearly taking the second route in RIDE 6, which is now very close to its early access debut ahead of its final release. It’s been promoted as the best one yet from the studio and that claim might not be too far away from the mark. RIDE 6 looks brilliant, and is going to feel just as good to play once it becomes available to its audiences.

Wondering why we think so? Join us and find out as we dive into how things are looking for a motorcycle racing simulator that’s aiming for very lofty heights in a franchise that’s already managed to achieve so much over the years.

It’s more than just the improved visuals although they’re genuinely impressive to see. RIDE 6 works well thanks to how its systems come together to render the action, the shift to Unreal Engine 5 allowing the game to blur the lines between a simulation and reality in ways that bode well for its success once it hits the shelves.

Let’s take a look at the factors the game needs to nail down in order to achieve its photorealistic quality. The game needs to account for lighting, particles on the track, surfaces, physics, weather systems, audio, crowd rendering, and streaming, all in real time. That’s definitely a lot for any racer, but RIDE 6 is clearly up to the challenge based on our time with the review build, delivering a seamless racing experience that’s quite striking from the minute you’re on the track.

From the moment you take to the track, it’s obvious that RIDE 6 is a very impressive title that’s built around a major visual and systems upgrade. The sunlight bounces gently off the ground, flooding the screen with carefully curated, ray-traced light that makes you feel like you’re actually at the track you’re looking at. It glances off surfaces, glints off the metal on your bike, and bathes your racing uniform in a warm glow.

But at night, that same light is now produced by artificial lamps that light up the track, their reach being far more limited. Pass one, and everything we’ve been talking about happens, but it’s restricted to those few moments when you’re in range of a light, the shadows taking over as soon as you pass one. You’re constantly left wondering how the game is managing to keep up considering you’re speeding along on a machine that accelerates brutally quick off the line.

The bikes themselves are another showcase of how brilliant the game’s lighting system is, and are made all the more magnificent because of it. Paint jobs showcase subtle variations with glossy finishes contrasting well with the matte ones. The rubber on the tyres does well to showcase wear and tear, your tire tracks shining through with incredible detail. On the track, you see them interacting with the road based on your braking, leaving visible marks where nearly every pebble looks distinct, giving the impression that each track you race on has been painstakingly created to reflect real-life accuracy.

The key is in the details, and Milestone has clearly paid attention. Even visors on helmets reflect the world around them, the track streaking past as riders tear corners at speed. Take a look at one of the roads in the newly introduced dirt bike races, and you see the tires throwing up a trail as they go by, their tracks a reflection of the precise lines that their riders take in their effort to get past their opponents.

On a rainy day, the conditions come across as so natural we wouldn’t blame you for trying to wipe droplets of water off of your face in your gaming room. The roads glisten with a wet sheen while the game’s physics account for wet conditions, and it’s looking like you’re going to have to pay attention if you want to stay on the track.

Turn your attention to the bikes when they’re doing what they do best, and the motion blur takes over, accurately conveying your speed when you accelerate, and tapering off remarkably smoothly when you brake. It’s quite surreal to look at and is so immersive we were tempted to forget about the race just to keep watching it in action.

The camera angles in cutscenes are suitably cinematic, and the level of detail is as astounding as it is when you’re in control. The crowds that are out to watch you race, however, feel a little too similar in our opinion.

At the moment, the crowds do look like they’re not going to stand out, with most of Milestone’s focus being on rendering the riders and tracks as realistically as possible. However, what’s on offer is definitely serviceable and does add to the impression that you’re at a racing event, a facet of the experience helped along by great audio synchronization.

The visual state of the world matches the simulation so seamlessly it’s hard to find gaps where the illusion can drop, dragging you back to the reality that you’re not really piloting a machine that’s capable of speeds you couldn’t dream of achieving out on the streets no matter how experienced or skilled with motorcycles you are.

That attention to authenticity carries over when you’re in control, the game’s physics working in real-time to handle weight transfer convincingly as you brake into corners and drive out of them. Make a mistake and you’re going to lose your racing lines, just like you would in the real world.

The collision physics work well, too, with grip loss communicated quite well as, and losing control of your vehicle looks and feels nasty. Coming into contact with a fellow racer is something we’re not going to do in a hurry. Seriously, it hurt even though it wasn’t us who crashed.

Your rider’s body language is another area where we believe RIDE 6 has done a stellar job. They aren’t static, not in the slightest, and lean into turns as you take them, immediately straightening out to account for their own weight and the role it plays in guiding their bike along. Their hands and feet interact with their pedals, and there’s even a setting to alter how your rider holds their brakes, alternating between two and four fingers.

The game’s audio is quite easy to gauge and it’s decent. Every rev of your engine comes through with a satisfying punch, and your acceleration and braking are communicated so well as you tear down tracks. It syncs up very well with the player’s actions, and along with the roar of the crowds, it’s quite immersive and really helps the simulation maintain its spell over you.

The game’s UI takes a minimalist approach when you’re on the tracks although it doesn’t hold back from giving you options to tweak the experience to your liking once you hang up your helmets for some well-earned rest and relaxation after a long day on the tracks.

Customization brings the same level of quality that the rest of the game has sold us so far. You can expect distinct looks to each paint finish and your decals to react to the curves of your chosen vehicle, along with some excellent details on your uniforms based on their materials and the like.

All in all, it looks like RIDE 6 is making the best of its tech, its visuals popping out with near-perfect accuracy to convey the mood, weather, and time of day at the track you’re on. Its physics simulations look like they’re spot-on so consistently, we were just itching to swing our leg over one of the many bikes it has to offer. From its surfaces to its weather systems, this is a game that isn’t afraid to show off a level of polish that its teams have surely worked very hard on.

Ride 6 is a showcase of what focused tech direction can achieve when lighting, materials, physics, and audio all pull in the same direction. But at this moment, RIDE 6 is definitely up there with the best simulators we’ve seen.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

All three of these games got trailers showing off how they would make use of Nvidia’s RTX and DLSS 4 features. Resident Evil Requiem, for instance, will be capable of running at over 200 frames per second with path tracing enabled thanks to Multi Frame Generation. Phantom Blade Zero will similarly launch with all of these features available on day one of its September 9 release, and 007: First Light will be able to make use of these features to get improved visual details while still maintaining high and steady frame rates.

Similar videos have also been released for Active Matter, DEFECT, and Screamer, which you can check out below. These videos showcase gameplay making use of features like path tracing and ray-traced global illumination with high frame rates thanks to the use of DLSS 4 and technology like Multi Frame Generation. All of these showcases were recorded with the games in question running at 4K.

A number of developers from IO Interactive, including franchise art director Rasmus Poulsen, principal engineer and development manager Henrik Schlichter, and the studio’s CTO Ulas Karademir spoke about how 007: First Light will make use of these features.

“The primary tech that we are developing together with Nvidia is all the DLSS features, especially of DLSS4,” said Schlichter. “Everything from Multi Frame Generation to Super Resolution is incredibly useful and something that we have integrated very very closely into the game. We’ve made a new volumetric smoke system that really tries to push the limits of how we can represent smoke and fog and explosions in the game. And this is something that’s not been done anywhere before.”

“Having software and hardware working together and getting the best out of it while using these techniques really helps us to push the limits,” said Karademir. “To give us the freedom that our designers can really go beyond the limitations of the hardware.”

Phantom Blade Zero creator “Soulframe” Liang also spoke about some of the PC-exclusive features that will be available in the action title, thanks to the collaboration between developer S-Game and Nvidia.

“The very good thing for PC gamers is they have different ways to experience the game,” said Liang. “I think RTX and DLSS 4 are the main features that enhance our game a lot. The rain is one of our core environmental features, so having a convincing presentation of anything in the rain is important, and we count on ray tracing systems for this. It’s difficult to maintain the frame rate while you have the frame rate while you have top notch graphics. So DLSS 4 and other Nvidia technologies support us to get stable frame rates while getting the best graphics.”

007: First Light was originally slated for release in February. Last month, however, IO Interactive announced that it is pushing back the title’s release to May 27 instead. The earliest of these releases is going to be Resident Evil Requiem, which is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on February 27. DEFECT and Active Matter will be coming out later this year, while Screamer is coming out relatively earlier; on March 26.

Spend Sync to boost with extra payoff for perfect timing, or to shield through incoming hits. Using Sync, in turn, generates Entropy, setting up the game’s offensive layer.

Entropy fuels two fight mechanics. Strike is a short, violent lunge that can KO rivals on contact. Overdrive cashes out a full bar for a blistering, shielded surge that KOs anyone you touch until the invulnerability ends, at which point one bad angle into a wall will pop your car.

The team frames this as a race that evolves across laps: open conservatively with Sync building, decide moment-to-moment between defense and pace, then convert that pressure into Entropy-driven takedowns.

Bottom line: By tying speed, defense, and aggression into a single resource loop, Screamer looks less like a drift-and-boost throwback and more like a fighting game on wheels. Win the meter game, and you win the race.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged features a host of new content over its predecessor, including over 130 vehicles, bringing ATVs, motorcycles, and other new vehicle classes to the game. On the race courses side of things, the title features five new settings: an Arcade room, a revamped Backyard area, a Mini Golf Course based on the Wild West, a Dinosaur Museum, and a Gas Station with a diner.

Taking part in races will allow players to earn and invest skill points in a new skill tree composed of three branches, allowing players to improve their boost capabilities, handling, or the ability to navigate obstacles. The game also brings with it single and double jumps and a new lateral dash ability.

Milestone has a host of content planned for Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged, including new vehicles and settings. The content was elaborated through a roadmap revealed back in September. For more details on the game, check out our review.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged will feature two season passes, with planned content extending well into 2024. Grabbing the Deluxe Edition will get players access to Season Pass 1, will include the Twin Mill Unleashed Edition and Acceleracers All-Star pack in October, the Speed and Style pack in November, the Fast X Pack and Acceleracers expansion pack in December, and the Honda Modern Classics Pack and Made in Italy expansion pack in February.

The second Season Pass, available to those who pick up the Legendary Edition of the game, will feature the Highway 35 World Race pack in March, the Monster Trucks pack and the Fast & Furious expansion pack in April, the Old But Gold pack and Alien Encounters expansion pack in May, and the Mercedes-Benz pack in June.

Each expansion pack will include one new environment, four vehicles, and a player profile customisation set. The studio has also stated that it plans on releasing free content for Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged throughout this period.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged is coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch on October 19.

The short 30-second trailer showcases some of the new game modes in Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged, including the new Elimination mode where the slowest vehicle in a race is eliminated every few seconds, or Drift Master, where players have to focus on maintaining long drifting lines.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged will also feature a new Waypoint mode that has players explore and uncover all of the secrets in the game’s five environments. The game mode will have players leaving the iconic Hot Wheels orange tracks behind in favour of more on-the-ground exploration as they race through checkpoints.

The single-player campaign in Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged will be a story-focused affair that revolves around Robert, Darla and their robotic assistant XR046, as they try to save the city. The campaign will feature animated cutscenes, as well as boss battles.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged is slated for release on October 19, and will be coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Iconic cars from the Fast and Furious franchise, like the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody will be available for players to drive in the game, and the developer has stated that more cars from the franchise will be coming as post-launch DLC.

The last time we saw Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged come up was with the release of its first official gameplay trailer back in June, showing off different vehicles and environments that will be available in the game.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged will feature 13 vehicles from across the Hot Wheels line-up, including all terrain vehicles and motorcycles. The game is also bringing with it the Jump and Lateral Dash abilities.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: TUrbocharged is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch on October 19. Check out the PC hardware requirements for the game here.

Gameplay

Many racing games these days, whether they’re realistic or arcade-like, aim to provide true-to-life renditions of real cars. Hot Wheels Unleashed is a mix of the two genres though, aiming to recreate the joys of racing one’s miniature vehicles across over-the-top tracks. Each car is created at 1:1 scale which means you’ll be racing them like they’re actual vehicles. They also have their own individual stats for handling, acceleration and so on while some manner of realistic physics is at play (cars can sometimes be on the verge of tipping over due to the sheer amount of force exerted, reinforcing their status as toys).

Then again, this is a Hot Wheels title so you’ll be launching off of ramps, driving through loops and using boost to get ahead while also drifting around corners, overtaking opponents and avoiding obstacles (like T-Rex Escape, a figure which spews fire). It also doesn’t hurt that the tracks themselves look incredibly sharp and detailed.

Modes

Career Mode seems a given in any racing game and Hot Wheels Unleashed is no different. It sports different events and other features, key among them being boss fights. There’s also an online mode for competing against up to 12 players, a Livery Editor for customizing stickers and liveries for each car, Time Attack to compete for the best times and the Track Builder for customizing and creating one’s own tracks along with racing on community-built tracks.

Splitscreen Support

Online support is nice, though we’re yet to learn more about the challenges that can be completed. But there’s also support for split-screen local multiplayer, allowing people to compete against each other from the comfort of their own couch. There’s only support for two players but it’s still a nice thing to have at launch.

Tracks

The approach to Hot Wheels Unleashed’s track design is pretty unique – since you’re racing in miniature vehicles, normal everyday rooms turn into giant sprawling environments. Throw down a Hot Wheels track and suddenly, you’ve got a perilous race course on your hands. Some of the environments you’ll be racing through include Garage, an abandoned car shop littered with tires and parts that make for fun obstacles; Skyscraper, a construction site with different floors, including an outside perspective overlooking the city; College Campus with a classroom, library and science lab; Skatepark with its graffiti, half-pipes and ramps (not to mention a basketball half-court); and Track Room, which is completely empty and allows complete freedom in building one’s own track layout. Six environments are touted for the final release with over 40 tracks in total. However, fans will get the most mileage out of the game’s Track Builder.

Track Builder

Arguably the star of the show alongside the cars is the Track Builder. This tool-set allows for building tracks from different modules, which can be bent, stretched or twisted in a number of ways to form different loops and jumps. There are over 20 modules which can be customized with different colors and styles while various obstacles like the Hungry Cobra, T-Rex Escape and Spider Ambush can be used to spice things up. Along with building one’s own tracks and racing on them, there are also community-built tracks to partake in. Whether players can upload their own tracks or have them curated is still unknown but the Track Builder looks very potent while being easy to use.

Cars

In terms of vehicle selection, there’s quite the smorgasbord on offer. The Audi Sport Quattro and FIAT 500 have been spotted and other manufacturers like Mini Cooper, Ford Mustang, Dodge and Ford also have cars to control. But there are also a variety of fantasy vehicles that change up the dynamic completely. K.I.T.T., the talking car from Knight Rider is here, along with Back to the Future’s time-traveling Delorean, the Batmobile, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Party Wagon. This is all in addition to Hot Wheels vehicles like Nightshifter, Sharkcruiser, Tanknator and so on that fans love, providing some 66 cars to race in at launch.

No Microtransactions

Cars have different rarities, starting with Common and going up to Rare, Legendary and Super Treasure Hunt. Dismantling any vehicles that aren’t being used will provide Gears which can be used to enhance cars and increase their rarity (though the Super Treasure Hunt rarities must be obtained through other means reportedly). Coins are also received for winning races and completing challenges. However throughout all of this, Milestone has confirmed that there will be no microtransactions. Everything is earned from simply playing the game.

Personal Room

One interesting bit that the development team hasn’t showcased yet is the player’s personal room. It can be furnished with “a huge number of elements” that players will collect while playing. Naturally, you can also have races inside it but what furnishings can be expected? Perhaps these are purchased with Coins or unlocked through different challenges? Time will tell but you have to be able to display your entire collection of Hot Wheels racers here. It just has to happen.

Standard, Collector’s and Ultimate Stunt Edition

Along with the Standard Edition for $50, there’s the Collector’s and Ultimate Stunt Editions. The Collector’s Edition costs $70 and includes the base game, Hot Wheels Pass Vol. 1 and the Beefed Up Pack on pre-ordering, which offers the HW Armored Truck and Baja Bone Shaker as extra vehicles. The Ultimate Stunt Edition costs $90 and includes the base game, three days early access, Hot Wheels Pass Vol. 1 and 2, the Beefed Up Pack and the Street Beast Pack which contains the Shark Bite and Tomb Up vehicles. Pre-orders for all three editions also receive the Sportscars Pack with the GT-Scorcher and Track Manga cars for free.

Season Passes

Quite a bit of content is coming post-launch via the season passes, starting with Hot Wheels Pass Vol. 1. It has one expansion which contains a new environment, one new track builder module, a customization pack and five vehicles. Aside from this, it also has 10 other vehicles, three customization packs and three track builder modules. Vol. 2 is pretty much the same – it offers an expansion with five vehicles, a track builder module, one new environment and a customization pack in addition to three track builder modules, three customization packs and nine more vehicles. Overall, there’s a fairly good amount of content on the way though when it’ll begin rolling out is still unknown.

PC Requirements

On PC, the minimum requirements aren’t too harsh. You’ll need an Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD FX-6350 with 8 GB of RAM and either a GeForce GTX 960 or 1050. Of course, if you want to really appreciate the visual fidelity, then a Core i7-5820K or Ryzen 5 2600, GTX 1060 or Radeon RX 580 and 16 GB of RAM will be needed. In both cases, 22 GB of installation space is needed.