If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to drive a car that handles like a bar of soap in a toddler’s bath, Hot Wheels Let’s Race: Ultimate Speed has your answer. Based on the Netflix cartoon, this neon-smeared racing game tries to bring the magic of the toy tracks to the screen – and, to its credit, it does. Unfortunately, it also brings the physics, patience, and precision of a five-year-old smashing toy cars together.
Gaming Heaven
There’s no denying Hot Wheels Let’s Race: Ultimate Speed looks the part. The tracks are bright, twisty, and unashamedly nostalgic, the cars are delightfully ridiculous (yes, there’s one shaped like a duck), and the music is so energetic you might burn calories just listening to it. It’s also mercifully hard to fall off the track – every time you try, a tractor beam politely puts you back. Kids will love the colours, the chaos, and the fact that everything explodes in confetti rather than flames.
Gaming Hell
Adults, however, will find the handling more terrifying than any horror game. Turning corners feels like steering a hovercraft through jelly, and the AI drives like it’s late for school. The difficulty scaling is random at best, with “Ultra Speed” sounding exciting but mostly meaning “watch yourself bounce off every wall at Mach 3.” The Track Builder mode could have been brilliant, but instead it’s like assembling IKEA furniture while being serenaded by hyperactive cartoon children.
Final Judgement
Hot Wheels Let’s Race: Ultimate Speed is loud, shiny, and occasionally fun – if you’re under ten or very drunk. For everyone else, it’s like reliving childhood, but with all the sugar highs and none of the joy.
