Milestone has already proven that Hot Wheels works remarkably well as an arcade racing game, but Hot Wheels Infinite Rush takes the series in a considerably different direction. Instead of building its identity around self-contained orange tracks placed in oversized everyday environments, this new entry opens things up across four distinct islands. The result feels like Milestone has taken the toybox fantasy and turned it into an open-world playground, complete with races, challenges, collectibles and plenty of opportunities to simply drive around and cause a little miniature-scale chaos. It is an ambitious change for the series, and while the larger scope occasionally exposes a lack of imagination in the content itself, Infinite Rush is generally a very entertaining evolution of the Hot Wheels formula.
There isn’t much of a story campaign to get in the way, which is probably for the best. The goal is to establish yourself as the ultimate Rush Master by completing events across the four islands, defeating lesser rivals and eventually taking on each area’s Rush Master. It is a straightforward progression structure, but one that gives the open world a clear purpose without pretending that a Hot Wheels racer needs an elaborate story. The islands themselves do much of the heavy lifting, offering different visual identities and plenty of activities to discover. Driving around is often enjoyable in its own right, especially because the world embraces the toy-like absurdity of the license: much of the scenery can be smashed or pushed aside, traffic is part of the miniature world as well, and ramps, rails and orange track sections give the environments a welcome sense of verticality.
The racing model is one of Infinite Rush’s strongest features. This is still very much an arcade racer, but the handling feels more controlled than the deliberately wild physics of the Unleashed games. Drifting is now integrated into braking rather than relying on a dedicated button, and although that takes a little adjustment for returning players, it quickly becomes natural. The four vehicle classes add considerably more personality to the driving as well. Versatiles offer an all-round approach, Drifters reward players who can maintain controlled slides, Speeders favor outright velocity, and Titans bring a heavier feel alongside their own boost-management considerations. Being able to switch between your selected vehicles while exploring also makes the open world more flexible, encouraging experimentation instead of forcing players to stick with a single favorite. Not every class appears equally successful, however, with the Speeders in particular feeling less stable than they perhaps should.
The controls remain approachable enough for younger players and casual racing fans, but there is more room for skill than the cheerful presentation might initially suggest. Learning when to brake, drift and deploy boost can make a real difference, and the available driving assists help make the experience more accommodating for players with different ability levels. There is also a welcome amount of physical interaction between racers, adding a little extra chaos to close battles. This makes Infinite Rush especially well suited to local multiplayer, where up to four players can compete in split-screen races. It is one of those games where mistakes, collisions and badly judged jumps can be every bit as entertaining as actually winning. The main drawback is that the progression system initially restricts the selection of cars and tracks available in local multiplayer, which is an odd limitation in a game that is otherwise so well suited to immediately playing with friends.
The open-world structure is more uneven. There is plenty to do, with races, drift challenges, speed events, delivery-style activities, photography opportunities and collectibles spread throughout the islands, while the huge vehicle roster gives progression a strong sense of reward. The presentation of the collection is particularly well handled, leaning into the physical appeal of Hot Wheels cars by displaying them like actual collectible toys. There are more than 150 vehicles to unlock, and the process of expanding the garage is one of the game’s most satisfying hooks. At the same time, the amount of available content doesn’t always translate into enough variety. Some events and routes are reused too frequently, and the scale of the world occasionally creates expectations that the game doesn’t fully meet. The giant creatures associated with the islands look like they should become major interactive elements, for example, but they often have less influence on the racing than their impressive designs suggest.
The Track Builder is another feature with plenty of potential, allowing players to construct Hot Wheels-style tracks within the game’s environments and share creations. It is a natural fit for the license, although the decision to build within the existing open-world spaces can also limit its freedom. Buildings and other fixed environmental elements sometimes feel like restrictions rather than creative opportunities, making it harder to recreate the unrestricted fantasy of building a ridiculous Hot Wheels track from scratch. The feature should nevertheless add considerable longevity for players willing to explore community creations, while the game’s broader multiplayer offering, including online play and cross-play, gives Infinite Rush more ways to extend beyond the single-player progression.
Visually, Infinite Rush is one of Milestone’s more impressive recent efforts. The four islands are colorful and distinctive, the vehicles have been recreated with an impressive amount of detail, and the overall art direction successfully balances a recognisable real-world environment with the exaggerated, plastic appeal of the toys. On the PlayStation side, the DualSense features also appear to add some welcome tactile feedback to acceleration and boost usage, helping the driving feel a little more physical. Performance is solid, although loading interruptions between activities can disrupt the otherwise free-flowing nature of the experience. The audio is less consistently successful. Sound effects do their job well enough, but the music can become rather aggressive and repetitive, to the point where some players may prefer turning it down and letting the engine sounds and environmental effects take over.
Hot Wheels Infinite Rush is therefore an enjoyable and generally successful attempt to broaden the scope of Milestone’s arcade racing series. The open world gives the Hot Wheels fantasy a fresh sense of freedom, the four vehicle classes make the handling more varied, and the enormous garage taps directly into the appeal of collecting the miniature cars themselves. The racing is accessible without being entirely mindless, local split-screen is a major plus, and the four islands provide a colorful playground that is fun to explore. It does not always take full advantage of its own ideas, however, as repetitive events, underused environmental set pieces, frequent loading and some restrictions around multiplayer progression keep it from becoming the definitive Hot Wheels game it could have been. Even so, Infinite Rush is a lively and entertaining racer that understands the simple pleasure of picking a favorite toy car and sending it flying down an impossible track.
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Score: 7.8/10