Brace yourself for a rip-roaring adventure where speed, strategy, and creativity collide!

Hey there, Hotwheelers!

From today on, you can get behind the wheel of Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged, the hottest arcade racing experience of the year.

Are you curious to see what’s under the hood?

Let’s dive in, but before we start, a shoutout to those awesome peeps who enjoyed the early access* thanks to pre-ordering the Legendary Edition. The track is now open for everyone, so let’s get the party started!

First off, you’ll be able to dive into fresh gameplay mechanics across diverse terrains.

From racing in a nostalgia-filled arcade room and dino-packed museum to burning rubber at a Wild West mini-golf course, the game’s worlds offer out-of-this-world fun. Explore them in over 130 super-cool vehicles, each with its own perks, because more wheels mean more fun!

Still got that Hot Wheels itch? Don’t sweat it! We’re rolling out both premium and free DLCs every month, stacked with goodies our community’s been raving about. And just a heads up: we’ve got 4 epic Expansion Packs coming at you after our big drop on October 19, 2023!

Make no mistake, it’s not just about speed this time around, as you’ll need to engage your brain just as much as your reflexes!

Dive into a fusion of race strategy and sharp skills, with a revamped Skill System and cool gameplay additions like Single/Double Jumps and Lateral Dash – on top of the classic Drifting and Boost.

Wondering where to showcase these skills?

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged has so many modes, you’ll soon realize there’s more action than you have ever dreamed of! 

And if you want to get artistic, unleash your creativity with upgraded design editors, allowing you to jazz up your car or design insane tracks.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged has also a Story to get lost in!

With quirky characters like Robert, Darla, their robot buddy XR046, and the clumsy Professor Tanabe, you’re in for a wild ride filled with suspense, challenges, and boss battles.

And if you love to compete online, this time around we’ve really stepped up our game with a multiplayer experience like you’ve never seen before!

The fun never ends!  Gear up for some post-launch goodies that are seriously revved up, which means a combo of premium and free DLCs each month, until June 2024!

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged is now available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. Whether you’re all about setting new speed records, plotting your next win, or just here for some good old-fashioned fun, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged is where you wanna be. Get ready to fuel your passion for arcade racing! Game on!

*For PlayStation, Xbox and Switch, check availability for your country

The post GET READY TO BURN SOME RUBBER: HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™ 2 – TURBOCHARGED IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE! appeared first on Hot Wheels Unleashed 2.

A 2-hour livestream where creators will play 14 online matches in the following game modes:

–Elimination: Creators will need to rely on their survival instincts. Every few seconds, the slowest vehicles will be eliminated from the race, urging players to drive mindfully, considering their position, risks, and when to strive for a better placement.

–Drift Master: Creators will need to drive with precision and style to amass points and dominate the competition with their drifting skills.

–Waypoint: Creators will leave behind the iconic orange tracks to immerse themselves in free-roaming action.  They will explore the environment in search of secret shortcuts to quickly reach checkpoints.

–Grab the Gears: This mode requires a perfect blend of racing skills, strategy, and a touch of frenzied action. Creators will engage in thrilling online battles to collect as many Gears as they can and bring them to the bank before the time is up. 

–Clash Derby:This is the ultimate online duel amongst Monster Trucks. The harder you crash into your opponents, the higher the points you’ll earn. Brace yourself to witness a hurricane of chaos as creators battle for supremacy on the track.

Saturday October 21^st at 11am PST for the US Showmatch, and Sunday October 22^nd at 7pm CEST for the EU Showmatch.

Mark your calendar, watch them on Twitch and be ready to get on track!

CREATORS FROM US:

• AdmiralBahroo
• BarbarousKing
• trihex
• FireDragon
• SirLarr
• ProtonJon
• TigerWriter
• Nikolarn
• LokenPlays

CREATORS FROM EUROPE:

• KillaRh1no
• MiyukiPanda
• JustHun_
• pretendasaur
• AngleDroit
• Pearja
• LyeGaia
• TheRealMarzaa
• FlorentinWill
• Gustingorriz

The post HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™2 ALL-STARS! appeared first on Hot Wheels Unleashed 2.

Hello hello, Turbochargers!

Happy to see me so soon? I bet you are, because this is our last appointment and I want to do things big: no more hide-and-seek, no ambushes, nothing of the sort. I’m no longer the person I once was.

Pomposity detected. Processing… a perfect match. Some things never change, annoying reporter.

Shush. You won’t ruin the moment, B.o.C., not this time. Now, where was I? Ah, yes. To thank all of you, I prepared something special: not one, not two, but three VIPs will be my guests tonight, here in the studio. Two of them even got here before me today!

«We’re always ahead of time! How can we call ourselves racers, otherwise?»

Miss Darla! Such a pleasure to have you here. How about a selfie, to celebrate the moment?

«How can I say no to my number one fan?»

This alone could make my day. But where’s Mr. Robert? I thought he was with you.

«He was. But you know him, he can’t resist a Hot Wheels vehicle when he sees one. And you got a pretty good model parked out of the building. Don’t worry, he’ll join us in three… two… one…»

«I’m here, I’m here! Sorry, but a Prototype H-24? Didn’t expect to see it, it’s so cool! Is it yours?»

Ah, that one. I was wondering what you were talking about. Seems our last guest is here, too.

«Wait, are you for real? How did you manage to get in contact with him?»

Heh, glad you appreciate the effort, Miss Darla, but professionals never tell their secrets.

Checking database… The annoying reporter simply sent an email. If you want to know the details-

I swear I leave you with no recharge for a week if you say another word.

«Good evening. Am I interrupting something?»

Mr. Caletti! No, of course not, don’t mind it. Thank you for your time and for joining us.

«Pleasure is mine. Darla, Robert, it’s nice to see you again after so long.»

Right, you know each other!

«Know? Buddy, he’s the one who wanted us for the major roles in the story!»

And that’s exactly why we’re here. Please, take a seat. We can start whenever you’re ready.

«Ladies first. Darla, the stage is yours.»

«You don’t mind, do you?»

«Look at her! Her eyes are almost sparkling.»

«Says the one who goes crazy every time he sees a Hot Wheels vehicle. Anyway, where to start. Me and Robert practically grew up together, sharing the same dream: becoming the best racers out there. Or, at least, among the best. He’s always been the reckless one, you know? Ready to get into quarrels, whenever he had the chance. No one believed he could ever become a brilliant racer, but I did.»

«You and your fists. Jeez, you were scarier than me when you got mad. You still are, in fact.»

«What was the name? Ah, yes, the “Red Gale”. For a time, I used it during my very first races.»

You started to race when you were young, right Miss Darla?

«Are you implying something here, my dear?»

«C’mon, D, you’re not that young anymore. And, you said yourself, it’s a good thing.»

«Did I mention he also had a knack for making situations worse? Michele, say something.»

«My lips are sealed. But I think it’s pretty clear why I want Robert and Darla to be our stars.»

There’s indeed a lot of chemistry between them!

«I never expected to be starred for such a role, and I’m sure Robert felt the same.»

«Totally! It was like, I don’t know, my first podium: I was so…excited but also stunned.»

«You kept your mouth open any longer and you would have caught flies!»

«Look who’s talking. You weren’t any better, you were already thinking about how to fill your Wheelgram profile with backstage reels and stuff!»

«Fan loyalty, Robert. These are the bases, I told you a gazillion times.»

How did you find out about Miss Darla and Mr. Robert? I mean, there’s no shortage of Hot Wheels enthusiasts in our city. No offense, of course, I’m just curious and so is our audience.

«Having a story for our second game was pretty much the first thought when we started thinking about what to do next. But it was like, you know, something was missing in that colorful stage that was – and still is – Hot Wheels Unleashed: we had the tracks, the cars, the city, the bosses… the only missing pieces were the main characters. And what is a story without its main characters?»

«Couldn’t agree more.»

«We discussed it with Mattel and found out about their web series. Initially, our story was supposed to be a spin-off of that universe but we found ourselves faced with two obstacles: it’s never easy to work on something that you didn’t write in the first place, considering the varied cast and knowledge of lore that we couldn’t insert entirely into the game; secondly, the web series is very much children-oriented, while our game is open to everyone, from the youngest to the oldest.»

«I know that series. I caught Professor watching it a few times.»

«Say that again?»

«He said he was curious about the evil mastermind and wanted to determine how much genius he was. You know what it’s like when one genius meets another, even on a virtual level.»

Ahem. So you decided to make your own universe, instead of trying to squeeze ideas into something that could have not worked out well. It’s a fair approach, all considered.

«Exactly. Our game has action at full speed, hence the need for main characters that would have fit well, plus some supporting ones. Four would have been perfect: two main, and two support. We had all of them perfectly in mind, it was time to search for the ones in the city who could fit the roles. I’ve heard about the Hot Wheels Racing Team, they were quite famous: I reached out to Darla thanks to her Wheelgram account, while Robert was a little more difficult to get in contact with.»

«I literally clogged your phone with calls and messages, and you noticed them hours later!»

«Hey, I was busy, you know? Doing really important stuff.»

«Sure. Fool someone else. You’re not like that Cobill guy who almost lost a role in a major film-»

«Because he was playing video games, exactly. If he can, why can’t I?»

«So you were playing, after all!»

«Of course, it was the last time attack to beat!»

«As you can see, they were perfect for what I had in mind. They’re naturals. But the real acid test would have been behind the wheel: we needed captivating and charming characters, but not too much idealized. Everyone could have imagined themselves in their shoes, and be heroes – or simply really fortunate people who manage to guide a lot of Hot Wheels. More importantly, we needed ones who knew their way through stressful situations. You know, high speed, big monsters…»

«Man, those animatronics were soooo good! Do you still have them in your studio?»

«Naturally. Feel free to pay us a visit anytime! Anyway, I spoke to both Robert and Darla, explaining the project and why I thought they were the best choice. What I didn’t know is that they also had someone to introduce who could have played the so-called antagonist.»

«Poor Professor, so clumsy and yet so perfect for the role.»

«XR046 he didn’t stop teasing him. I think he confiscated all its reserves of its favorite oil for a week.»

«As funny as it may seem, Professor Tanabe’s clumsiness suited our needs perfectly: we needed an antagonist but we couldn’t afford to give them a proper screentime to deepen them. How to solve this? “Easy”. Let someone be an antagonist by accident, making them the one behind the real deal: the monsters. They are the true enemy but we can still have an origin story to build a background.»

«Professor loved the idea. I still remember him saying “This way I will be more brilliant than him while remaining one of the good guys”.»

«Should we tell him…?»

«No, let him live out his fantasy.»

Well, I’m afraid our time is almost over! I think we can use these last minutes to answer a few questions from our fans if you’re okay with it.

«Gimme your best shot!»

This has been asked by some enthusiasts, who were very impressed by your style. Your style is so cool, guys! It reminds me of Acceleracers: were you inspired by its racers?

«You have a keen eye! When it comes to style, I personally always go for the best: the Hot Wheels Racing Squad put out an internal contest to choose our new uniforms and after a little debate, here we are. It suits me, doesn’t it? Even D admitted it.»

«I didn’t admit that.»

Miss Darla, this one is for you. Well, we received a lot of questions like this so… uhm… yeah. I try to…

«Are you blushing?»

NO! I mean, no, I’m not. Here we go. This comes from several of our fans. Darla, will you marry me?

«I’m trying not to laugh, I swear.»

«That’s because you are as sensitive as a pebble. How nice of you to ask! Unfortunately, right now in my heart, there’s room for the Hot Wheels only. But don’t give up, maybe one day…»

Really?! I mean, you heard her Turbochargers: she’s very faithful to her work. Now, Mr. Caletti, some of your fans showed their appreciation for the previous game sometimes by going… let’s say, out of boundaries. We know that Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged will feature an anti-cheat system to protect the players and let them enjoy the game. However, some expressed their concern regarding the use of mods: there’s no specific question, but I think a word from you might be good.

«Yes, I’m aware of this concern. From my end, we strongly advise against the use of mods precisely because of our new anti-cheat. This system has been specifically designed, as you said, to safeguard players from any unfair advantages that may be gained through file modifications, such as in races or any unintended alterations not endorsed by the developers. I want to clarify that engaging in such activities is done at your own risk. The same goes for the Track Builder, where limitations have been implemented to ensure optimal performance across all platforms, as some members of the community have highlighted. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation on the matter.»

Well, an exhaustive answer indeed, as well as a fine way to end this amazing evening! It has been a wonderful journey with you all. Now it’s your turn to show us what you can do!

«See you on track, Turbochargers!»

The post THE INSIDE TRACK – chapter 4 appeared first on Hot Wheels Unleashed 2.

Prepare to rev your engines and embark on the most electrifying arcade racing adventure!

6 Categories of vehicles, each with its own unique characteristics to impact the gameplay: Rocket, Balanced, Swift, Drifters, Off-Roads and Heavy Duty.

In case you missed our focus on this topic, check The Inside Track Chapter 1 to discover what the Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 Devs revealed about the vehicles in the incoming game!

• Bassline
• Hollowback
• Power Rage
• RD-02
• Rivited
• Synkro
• 2010 Aston Martin DBS
• 1964 Aston Martin DB5
• Audi Sport Quattro
• Audi R8 Spyder
• BMW R nineT Racer
• M3 GT2
• BMW 3.0 CSL Racing
• 2016 Bugatti Chiron
• Snoopy
• 14 Corvette Stingray Convertible
• Copo Camaro
• ’55 Chevy
• ’71 El Camino
• Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody
• 1967 Dodge Deora
• 1199 Panigale
• Desert X
• Diavel
• FIAT 500
• 2018 Ford Mustang GT
• ’32 Ford
• 1956 Ford Truck
• Ford Hot Heap
• Deora II
• 2009 Honda S2000
• 24 Ours
• 5 Alarm
• Bad to the Blade
• El Superfasto
• 16 Angels
• Bone Shaker (Monster Truck)
• Aristo Rat
• Bump Around
• Bye Focal II
• ATV
• Bad Bagger
• Baja Jump Truck
• Blast Lane
• Bully Goat
• Canyon Carver
• Car-de-Asada
• Demo Derby
• Dragon Blaster
• Count Muscula
• Cyber Speeder
• DAVancenator
• Diesel Duty
• Drift King
• Exotique
• El Segundo Coupe
• Fast Gassin
• GT-Scorcher
• Hot Seat
• Glory Chaser
• Hot Wheels High
• Hot Wired
• HW Prototype 12
• Invader
• HW450F
• Jet Threat 3.0
• La Fasta
• Maelstrom
• Mattel Dream Mobile
• Mountain Mauler
• MS-T Suzuka
• Night Burner
• Night Shifter
• Power Pro
• Power Sander
• Prototype H-24
• Quad Rod
• Roadster Bite
• Sand Stinger
• Seared Tuner
• Power Rocket
• Sol-Air CX4
• Splittin’ Image II
• Street Noz
• Race Ace
• Rip Rod
• Street Stealth
• RocketFire
• Rodger Dodger
• Roller Toaster
• Super Blitzen
• Sandivore
• Group C Fantasy
• Sharkcruiser
• Solid Muscle
• Twin Mill
• Street Creeper
• Way 2 Fast
• Street Wiener
• Supercharged
• Surf ‘N Turf
• Tanknator
• Tiger Shark
• Time Attaxi
• Tricera-Truck
• Veloci-Racer
• Winning Formula
• 2020 Koenigsegg Jesko
• 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
• Mini Cooper S JCW Challenge
• Liberty Walk Super Silhouette Nissan Silvia S15
• Nissan Z
• Time Machine
• K.I.T.T.
• 2018 Custom Volkswagen Bug (1968)
• Volkswagen Drag Bus
• Volkswagen Golf GTI
• 2012 Custom Volkswagen Bug (1968)
• Bone Shaker
• Classic Packard

These are just a glimpse of the incredible content you’ll have at your disposal in Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged, with more than 130 vehicles available on Day One. Have you already had a look at our incredible post-launch plan? Here we go! https://hotwheelsunleashed.com/post-launch/

Get ready to unleash the turbocharged power of your dreams, starting October 19th, when Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged will be available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, Epic Games Store, and Nintendo Switch.

The post Introducing the Hot Wheels Unleashed™ 2 Day One Roster appeared first on Hot Wheels Unleashed 2.

DIVE INTO THE SEASON PASSES

Grab one of our two Season Passes to unlock the very best of post-launch content. Choose between the Deluxe Edition and the Legendary Edition when pre-ordering, and be among the first to experience heart-racing challenges with our top-tier DLC packs.

SPECIAL EDITIONS, TURBOCHARGED!

Ready to expand your collection and tackle new challenges in Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged? Stay updated https://hotwheelsunleashed.com/dlc and keep an eye on our social channels!

The post GET READY FOR A TURBOCHARGED POST-LAUNCH WITH HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED 2! appeared first on Hot Wheels Unleashed 2.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2- Turbocharged

TURBO CHARGE THE FUN WITH FIVE NEW GAME MODES

Put your strategy and survival instincts to the test in Elimination mode, where every few seconds, the vehicle in last place will be eliminated from the race.  Harness your drifting skills to maintain precision and style as you light up the score board in Drift Master mode.

Abandon the iconic orange tracks to explore new environments as you venture into a free-roaming race where creativity and curiosity lead the path to victory in Waypoint mode.Compete in exhilarating online battles to collect as many gears as possible in Grab the Gears mode.

And finally, chaos will reign supreme in the Clash Derby mode. Choose your Monster Truck and hit your opponent as hard as possible to become the king of the track in thrilling online duels.

SAVE THE CITY IN A CAPTIVATING STORY-DRIVEN CAMPAIGN

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged will take you back to the city, where a series of creatures mistakenly released by Professor Tanabe are sowing panic and wreaking havoc. So, Robert and Darla, along with their robotic assistant XR046, are called in to save the day and restore peace. Enjoy exquisite animated cutscenes that introduce the background and personality of each character while you play through breath-taking battles against five bosses to rescue the city and its inhabitants.

LET YOUR IMAGINATION RUN WILD WITH OUR CREATIVE EDITORS

Use exciting new modules to create the track of your dreams or explore community creations with Track Builder. Plus, the new Sticker Editor implemented within the Livery Editor allows youtocreate, save, and share original patterns and shapes.

CROSS THE FINISH LINE

Featuring five fun new game modes, a riveting story-driven campaign, and powerful editors with unlimited possibilities, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged is revved up and fun for the whole family.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged is available now for pre-order on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.

The post HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™ 2 – TURBOCHARGED TRAILER – NEW GAMEPLAY TRAILER appeared first on Hot Wheels Unleashed 2.

Hey Turbochargers!

Are you enjoying this hot summer? I hope so because I want you to be fully rested and eager to race when Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged comes out! However, we still have a month and a half ahead of us, so I’m sure you’ll be more than ready. In the meantime follow me, your favorite reporter from “The Inside Track”, on my never-ending quest to find juicy new information to share with you.

Devs are nowhere to be found and it’s evident they’re hiding from me. Tsk, that’s so unprofessional… I’m just doing my job. But I won’t give up. If they won’t come to me, then I must come to them.

What? Wondering what I’m gonna do with this computer? Well, uhm, you know. Things. I mean, talking to people isn’t the only way to gather info. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything bad! I’m a fair reporter after all. I’ll simply use this tool I got thanks to my sources last time I spoke with the team. Why that look? Of course, I’m telling you the truth! Would I ever do something reckless like using an unchecked program and a password from a not-completely-reliable source that happened to contact me recently?

Wait. Why’s the computer acting on its own? No no no no, what’s happening? A virus? Please no!

Threat detected. Initiating defensive measures. All data on this system will be erased.

Hold on! I’m not a threat! Please don’t do this. This is my only computer, they won’t give me another one.

Analysis of input: Incoherent speech detected. Processing… … … Threat level: minimal. Source evaluation ongoing. Still not reliable.

Hey! Who are you calling unreliable? I’m the best at what I do, thank you very much.

Identification of overconfident tone. Matching data. Accessing the database… … … Welcome, annoying reporter.

Annoying? You, rude pile of cod- wait. Welcome? What even are you? How do you know me?

I’ve been trained by developers. Through data correlation, I got “the annoying reporter” result. You are allowed to ask. Info is limited to a single topic only. No exceptions. What do you wish to know, annoying reporter?

Well, isn’t that something? They’ve gone all out with this. I suppose I need to refine my stealth skills.

Self-critique detected. Processing… … … Your analysis is correct. Well done, annoying reporter.

Stop calling me that! Anyway, one topic, uh? Since you’re an AI, what about the online system?

Checking the database. Two relevant entries found: the R&D folder and the Lead Designer folder.

Two even? This day is finally taking a lucky turn, I can’t believe it. Let’s start with the R&D one.

Processing… … … Crossplay & Lobbies. Fabio Segantin, Lead Online R&D Programmer. Initiating video playback.

We decided to facilitate playing with friends without affecting the chance to play with other unknown players. To achieve this, a so-called group system has been created This system allows you to form a ‘party,’ simplifying the process of entering and exiting lobbies without unnecessary disruptions. The Party System aligns well with our matchmaking approach. In addition, to foster this cohesion among the party members, we’ve chosen to restrict voice chat exclusively to party members. Here’s a diagram of how it works.

As you can see, each Party operates within its dedicated voice channel, even while sharing a session with other Parties. By doing this we wanted to assure a space as safer as possible while keeping communications between Party members on – even if some of them are not in the session, they can still hear and talk to others.

To sum this up, the new online experience commences with inviting friends to join a Party, followed by transitioning to a specific lobby through our matchmaking system. This means that lobbies will no longer revolve around grouping individual users but rather different Parties, united by a more intricate and comprehensive matchmaking mechanism.

Since I know who we are dealing with, yes, this is only the surface of the Online System. Perhaps you could consider this an appetizer of sorts. Feel free to ask any questions you may have; I’m here to provide answers.

Am I that predictable…? It’s a rhetorical question, computer, no need to answer that, thank you.

So, prior to the lobby comes the Party. And when discussing this topic, we can’t ignore the elephant in the room: the whole cross-platform/crossplay matter. Looking back at the first game, we knew that this would have been one of the first features to implement: listen carefully, or better, use that recorder you always carry as I have to make a few clarifications to let you understand all of it.

We have three distinct scenarios to consider, two of which are fixed and one that is temporary: no cross-platform play, mild cross-platform play, and finally, full cross-platform play. The first and last options are, as you might anticipate, the fixed setups. If you are not fond of the idea to play with users from other platforms, simply disable the cross-platform function. But if we have full cross-platform, what about the mild – I’m sure you’re wondering. Well, as I said is a temporary measure to let you play cross-platform while we refine the full one: learning from the first game, we don’t want to give you a feature that is incomplete or that may conflict with other aspects of the game: to make sure you can still play with users from all platforms, even though you cannot invite them to your Party for the time being, we added the aforementioned mild cross-platform. And this raises your next question: how does all of this work? Again, let’s look at the following diagrams.

The first scenario is quite straightforward: with the cross-platform function disabled, not only will Parties consist exclusively of players from the same platform, but the sessions will also be limited to that platform. This setup is tailored for those who prefer a straightforward online experience.

Moving on to the second scenario, which I’ll reiterate, will serve as our temporary solution during the initial days after the game’s launch. In this setup, while you won’t be able to invite players from different platforms to your Party, the matchmaking process could land you in a lobby alongside Parties from other platforms. As illustrated, Session 1 showcases a combination of a PlayStation and a Steam Party; Session 2 features an Xbox and a PlayStation Party; and finally, Session 3 exhibits two Steam Parties alongside one Xbox Party. It’s important to note that these are merely examples; the possibilities extend to various combinations like Xbox/Steam or even Xbox/PlayStation/Steam.

Lastly, the third scenario is the most comprehensive. Here, not only can you invite players from different platforms to join your Party, but you can also find yourself in a lobby with a diverse array of Parties. The examples provided above are by no means exhaustive; they are merely intended to provide a general understanding of the mechanics at play.

Ok, seems pretty straightforward up to this point. Now, I wonder about the invites…

As for the invites, the most crucial aspect to remember is that an invite serves the sole purpose of joining a Party. It’s important to exercise caution, as accepting an invite while actively participating in a session will result in being removed from said session and added to the inviting Party. If you receive an invitation while engaged in a race, it’s advisable to wait until the race concludes before responding—there’s no need to rush. The decision to limit invitations to joining a Party rather than a session not only addresses technical challenges but also prevents the potential disruption of the user experience within a matchmaking game by introducing a player who was not accounted for during the initial search phase. Here are other diagrams to better explain the various cases.

As you can see, in the PlayStation scenario, two Parties are currently engaged in a Session. If Party 1 extends an invitation to the player from Party 2, and that invitation is accepted, the recipient will be exited from the ongoing session and seamlessly incorporated into Party 1. Conversely, within the Xbox scenario, the outcome differs: the action results in a player transferring between Parties without any interruption due to the absence of an ongoing Session. This works fine for the full cross-platform too.

This shows the same procedure as before but applied to a full cross-platform. Party 3 invites Xbox from Party 1, who’s playing a session: Xbox accepts and must leave the session to join Party 3, which is not involved in any Session yet. Meanwhile, Party 1 invites Party 2, who accepts and joins the new Party without, though, enteing the ongoing Session. They’ll wait until it’s over to play another one.

All of the above, except of course for the matchmaking, will also work for private sessions: the only difference, as said, is that there will be no matchmaking before going to the actual gameplay. I know you’ll probably ask more about this, so allow me to delve deeper: the Party Owner, the one who creates the Party, has some privileges like removing Party Member or promoting a Party Member to Party Owner.

Among these, they can also choose between public or private session/lobby. A private lobby can hold a maximum of ten players and while setting it up the Party Owner can set different options:

• They can select the game mode by letting all the party members vote, or they can select it personally while also choosing to toggle or not vehicle collision. The same applies to track selection, which can be selected by voting or by the Party Owner, as they prefer.
• They can limit participation in the race to only one vehicle category using the following filters: Any, Stock, Powered, Ultimate.

If a party member doesn’t have vehicles listed under one of the categories above, except for Any, they can still play the session thanks to the Loaned Vehicles: as the name suggests, they are vehicles that let the players play in a session even if they don’t have any vehicle for a specific category. The Loaned Vehicle roster is made up of vehicles given to the users on the first boot. We thought it could’ve been a nice touch to the game since it lets players enjoy a session even if they don’t have some vehicles.

I think I got it. Invites work for Parties, not Sessions. If you accept while playing, you’re out. If you accept while not playing but a Party is racing, you’ll join the Party and then wait ‘til the race’s over. And then there’s the Loaned Vehicles thing, that’s really amazing! This ensures that nobody gets left out due to a lack of certain vehicles. This leaves… yes, only the track and vehicle selection. After that, we’re done with all the R&D stuff.

Last thing from me for our fancy reporter out there, tracks and vehicles. Track selection will follow the matchmaking process. Once in the lobby, participants will cast their votes for the track they wish to race on, utilizing the same straightforward approach employed in the previous game. This uncomplicated method is designed to cater to everyone’s preferences, so we’ve opted to retain it as is.

As for the vehicle, players can choose a default one before entering the vehicle selection: this will set it as the first on the list but if it’s not right for that particular track they can always choose another.

That’s all about it. Hope you note everything down because you won’t access this video twice. You know, safety measures: the sort you might have overlooked when you installed that rather dubious program.

I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. So, to sum it all up: we have a Party System with a dedicated voice channel; invites work for Parties, and yadda yadda, I’ve already said that; there’ll be a provisional mild cross-platform while the devs polish the full cross-platform – which will let the players invite users from every platform; once in a lobby, in order, you search for a race, then select the track, then select the vehicle and finally you can start the race. Seems flawless and easy to understand.

That is 100% correct. Good job, annoying reporter. Do you want to check the Lead Designer folder?

What do you think, my friendly and surprisingly sarcastic bunch of codes?

Processing… … … Online System & progression. Francesco Riggi, Lead Designer. Video starting.

Well, if it isn’t our restless reporter. I can’t see you, of course, but if you’re watching this it means you got yourself in trouble with some program, right? Let me cut to the chase, then. Knowing you, you’ve already listened to Fabio’s explanations regarding Parties, crossplay, and all the technical stuff. This only leaves us with the Online System within the game itself, with progression, rewards, and so on.

First things first, there is an online player level. It’s like a ranking, though we don’t call it that way, but same as every other ranking it’s affected by your position at the end of a race, whether it’ll be a classic online race or any other online mode available: the closer you are to the podium, the more exp you gain. Ten is the max level you can reach and to level up you need more experience every time. Since we have an offline and online player level, let me clarify this: remember when I said that the shop refresh time would have been shorter based on your player level? I was referring to the offline player level. It’s fair to those who play little online or don’t at all. We don’t want to make preferences between players.

In addition to this journey to the top, we have badges for you to show other players whom they’re dealing with. From the first one you gain, the others will be added automatically when you reach the designated level. The Leaderboard will show every player that has gained at least one Flame (this is what we call the online exp), listed by the total Flames they have. Try to reach the top, or at least the very first positions! You may wonder, if the online level cap is ten, how does the Leaderboard work then? Well, things don’t end when you reach the max level, because your position in the Leaderboard depends on how many exp points (flames) you have: you’ll always need to fight to maintain your rank! Last, while in the Leaderboard menu you can filter to see your friends’ position.

As for the rewards, there are no differences between game modes – you’ll obtain the same reward regardless of what you’re playing but it’s subject to your performance – and they are the following: coins, online experience, and offline experience (yes, offline player level increases when you play online).

I think it’s all for now. I’m confident you’ll be back with other questions since we still have a lot to show, but today you gained lots of information. Don’t be a stranger and watch out for suspicious programs.

Very funny, really. But he’s right, this is really juicy info. Don’t you agree, B.o.C.?

Irony detected. Processing… … I suppose it’s fair to call me Bunch of Codes, annoying reporter. Especially considering I’ll now be a permanent resident on our computer, we need to get acquainted [WHAT DID YOU SAY?]. For all our readers, see you on the scoop by your new “The Inside Track”.

The post THE INSIDE TRACK – chapter 3 appeared first on Hot Wheels Unleashed 2.

Howdy, HotWheelers!

It’s me again: your tireless, irreplaceable, infallible voice from “The Inside Track”. I know, it has been only three weeks or so since the first scoop, but hear me out: I was, you know, enjoying the beautiful weather a few days ago and absolutely not slacking off when I saw them. To everyone, they could have been any citizen but not to me, oh no – I’ve got a very keen eye for this. They were developers.

Can you believe it? Normally, they don’t wander around and if they do, they tend to keep a low profile. They’re like VIPs here in the city. They know things; things I bet you wanna know too, huh?

Anyway, I saw them and thought to myself: this is your chance, last time they almost sued you because clearly, they don’t understand that the end justifies the means, and you had to gather them in one way or another. But this time they’re the ones who went out in the open, ergo no complaints.

So I followed them, as any good reporter should, and this you can’t even imagine: they were scouting! Yes, you heard me right. They stopped in front of a house, then circled around to look at the backyard, all of it while taking notes and muttering to themselves. Intriguing indeed. Then, they went into our museum – where we proudly exhibit a giant T-Rex, and yes, yes, I know T-Rexes are giant but this one is really big – and stood there for a while. They’re into something, it can’t be otherwise. That’s why I’m here today. Hidden. Quiet. Hoping no golf ball hits me. I just have… to… wait…

Gotcha! I knew you were up to something and that sooner or later you had to come here.

You again? Unbelievable. Can’t you give us a break?

Domenico Celenza (Game Producer)

Yes but actually no. I have a job to do, for our faithful readers. Plus, bills don’t pay themselves.

But you don’t even… Ah, fine. Guess it’s on us, we’ve been careless. What do you wanna know?

Francesco Riggi (Lead Designer)

Everything! Oooor, if you’re not willing to share that much, at least what you were doing nosing around the neighborhoods and the museum. And now here. These sites are oddly specific.

Well, we were observing. Don’t give me that look, you need information firsthand if you want to recreate things right. You’re in no position to lecture anyone, you know, much less us.

Paolo Giannico (Lead Artist)

It’s… fair. So, our city is your muse if I’m getting this right. And since we already talked about vehicles, now you need places to let them race. Not tracks, those are obvious. New environments and maybe something more? To increase the challenge and give purpose to all those categories?

Pretty accurate for a guess, but… you’re right. This time we want to offer not only a fresh set of environments but also add terrains to the pack. Starting from the latter, and from an artistic point of view, we wanted to enrich our environments by giving them more purpose and a better sense of challenge. That’s why we decided to add grass, wood, dirt, and carpet as new terrains: players will learn that each of them has its own rules and not every vehicle is suitable for every terrain. Moreover, it would have been too easy if we added only one terrain per environment, that’s why it’s possible that you will deal with more than one terrain in a single environment.

Paolo Giannico (Lead Artist)

I just want to add that for the sake of the gameplay, the situations you can find yourself in are mixed and not always coherent. Meaning there are no environments ascribable to a single terrain. You’ll never find yourself in a situation like “Oh, here there will surely be grass!”. There can be grass, of course, but you can also find wood and/or dirt. That’s because we wanted the gameplay to be fun, unpredictable, and always challenging. A single car can’t handle all the terrains, which is why you have to choose the one you think is right for the job and then add your own rider skills – plus, the Skill System itself will come in handy.

Francesco Riggi (Lead Designer)

I see, I see. It has indeed a lot of potential. Can you give us an example?

The museum is the perfect embodiment. It’s almost entirely floored, of course, and yet we managed to add terrains thanks to the dino stands while maintaining as much coherence as possible: they’re made of ground and grass, and while they’re not a core feature of the museum as environment, they fit well. By doing so, we can give a sense of diversity to almost every environment.

Another example could be the Backyard: grass is the main terrain here, and yet there’s also the inside of the house where the surface is completely different. The same goes for Mini Golf, where we’re standing in, and don’t forget the Arcade, which plays differently from the Backyard or the Museum due to the carpet sections: while the grass is more slippery, the carpet has more grip and forces you to handle the curves in a unique manner. Different environments call for different, and not always predictable, measures.

Francesco Riggi (Lead Designer)

So much to learn! Let’s put this aside for now and focus a bit on our readers – meaning, the players: I get that your tracks are carefully made so you can use as many terrains as you want. But when it comes to the so-called, let me check my notes… ah, yes, UGC? How do these new terrains improve the players’ experience in terms of their own creations?

First, it needs to be clear that these terrains are not parts that you can add or remove as you please. They are intrinsic to our environments, but this doesn’t mean you can’t experiment. Quite the contrary: players can choose where to build their tracks, so if I don’t like grass at all I’ll avoid that part and build my track elsewhere in the environment (e.g., inside the house in the Backyard, or by using modules to cover the grass). If I prefer the track to be only on the grass instead, well, I can do that by choosing the best area to build it and use the modules accordingly. Finally, if I want to offer other players a real challenge by mixing various terrains, it’s up to me to build the proper track by using everything the environment and the track editor itself can offer.

See this as our challenge to the players. It would have been much easier to offer them every piece (terrains included) and tell them to build. What we wanted, instead, was to see how they’ll manage to build something crazy and creative starting from preset terrains: it’s like saying “Here’s the base, impress us”. So, I’m talking to our fanbase now. Do it. Impress us more than you did with the first game.

Paolo Giannico (Lead Artist)

Getting cheeky, are we now? Well, you heard them, HotWheelers: when the time comes, give them your best shots! Now, back on track. So far, we have four environments: Backyard, Mini Golf, Museum, and Arcade. And even though I have the feeling you’re hiding something, I have to play along. What led you to choose these environments? One of them feels particularly nostalgic.

The Backyard, yes. Well, it’s as you said: the Backyard it’s not only the epitome of nostalgia but also something our players asked many times. We did our research and discovered that lots, if not every, Hot Wheels fans who happened to have a house with a backyard built their own real, crazy track there. It couldn’t have been a better environment to start.

The Backyard evokes a sense of family but also reminds us of childhood. This is why it’s characterized by a cheerful, carefree mood. In keeping with the Hot Wheels pillars, it was important for us that this level gave off the vibe of being distinctly American, using the surrounding vista and props. It needed to be a place that every person could relate to and feel nostalgic for. It’s big but with a rustic edge.

Again from an artistic perspective, by using both indoors and outdoors in the same environment, we also had the chance to play with dynamic lighting, which was both satisfying and challenging.

Generally speaking, our main keywords when choosing these environments have been fun, nostalgia, and entertainment: if we were given the chance to build a Hot Wheels track without limits, where could we, or rather should we have done that? The answer lies in these environments.

The Mini Golf is a very crowded open environment, characterized by a messy yet warm mood. The setting is late afternoon, after closure. By looking around, it’s clear that, until mere moments before, the place was crowded with families and golf enthusiasts. The level represents a small, Wild West themed area, of a much bigger Mini Golf. Wild West is a widely established imaginary in everyone’s mind, so it was an obvious choice from the start.

The Arcade kinda speaks for itself: I think it’s the most throwback environment of all because even if we still have arcades today, this “culture” is mostly related to the 80s and early 90s. It’s a closed environment with large open spaces alternated by niches and cavities. The level theme recalls, as I said, an 80s-style Arcade. The setting is the middle of the night, after closure. By looking around, it’s clear that, until mere moments before, the place was crowded with gaming enthusiasts. Moreover, this is by far the environment that lets us play with verticality: it has three floors and two escalators.

Then we have the Museum. While being less retro, compared to the others, it is still linked to childhood. I mean, what child wouldn’t want to have a museum as their personal playground? Especially one that is full of dinosaurs?

Last, something you didn’t know about: The Gas Station. It’s a mixed environment featuring an outdoor Gas Station area and an indoor Diner. It has classic American diner theming, with the twist of being desolate and neglected in tone.

Paolo Giannico (Lead Artist)

I knew it! They’re all very accurate, now I get why you spent so much time in these spots – not that I tailed you, of course. Now the million-dollar question: what came first, the terrains or the environments?

The environments. What kind of mood do we want to establish? What are the core gameplay mechanics? These and other questions have guided us in choosing the environments. Then, we set the terrains, which have been a challenge precisely because we had to figure out how to introduce them without making them seem excessively out of place. The environments are like the pillars of these new terrains – foundations over which we built the overall experience.

Francesco Riggi (Lead Designer)

You’ll be glad to know that I can finally let you go BUT not before answering this last question. What was the greatest challenge in developing terrains and environments, and what was the greatest satisfaction?

The outdoors was the greatest challenge, no doubt. Having dynamic lighting meant carefully managing the shadows and other effects. In Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged we added new terrains, new VFX (especially for Jump and Lateral Dash), the ruts left by the vehicles, lots of materials with their own physics… all of this needed to be optimized, and given that our game is multiplatform, it required much effort and time. This led us to set specific measures for every environment which couldn’t be overcome.

As for the greatest satisfaction, it’s the brainstorming: we work alongside other teams to come up with a whiteboxing of the environments and test it out. When an environment is on the right track, you can tell even if it’s still bare: you can feel that it’s shaping up as it’s meant to be. It’s almost like the environment itself is telling you that. I think it’s the greatest part of the job because it highlights our teamwork: seeing something born from all the teams’ synergy is the best feeling because together you managed to do something that works the way you wanted to.

Oh, yes: we also had a lot of fun adding easter eggs here and there. I wonder if our players will find them all.

Paolo Giannico (Lead Artist)

This concludes our second scoop, dear readers. And let me say, what a scoop! Tons of information to be processed, waiting for our next chat with the devs – which, for the record, disappeared as soon as I let them go. How rude. Anyway, it’s time for me to head to the Arcade and relax by playing some good old games. See you on the next scoop from your ever-trusty “The Inside Track”!

The post THE INSIDE TRACK – chapter 2 appeared first on Hot Wheels Unleashed 2.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged

And that’s not all! Thanks to the collaboration between Mattel, Milestone and Universal Games and Digital Platforms, additional vehicles from the Fast & Furious franchise will be available in the game through post-launch updates*, keeping the excitement going!

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged, will be available on October 19 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Steam, Epic Games Store, and Nintendo Switch.

*Fast & Furious post-launch content available as DLC purchase

The post HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™ 2 – TURBOCHARGED TO INCLUDE FAST & FURIOUS VEHICLES appeared first on Hot Wheels Unleashed 2.

Hello, HotWheelers!

After the announcement of Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged, the last month has been incredibly exciting for us.

We have been thrilled by your warm and enthusiastic response to this new chapter.

Your enthusiasm is contagious because there is so much we want to share with you.

However, due to obvious reasons, we can’t reveal all our tricks at once, right? So, we’ll proceed step by step, feature by feature, giving you even more reasons to be excited about the game.

With that said, where should we begin? First, we need a developer. Maybe two… or even three (the more, the merrier).

While we wait to bring them here, let’s dive a little deep into this opening chapter of “The Inside Track” – what? Do you want to know who we are? Ah, but that’s a secret! Let’s not lose our focus. We’ve put a lot of thought into what to bring up first, and the obvious choice is Vehicle Customization.

The possibility to customize your favorite vehicles in multiple ways, creating a variety of cars among your favorites and filling your garage with the best ready-to-race Hot Wheels: in short, the brand new Skill System.

Racing is about more than just speed. Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged will put you to the test in various ways, asking you to overcome obstacles while paying attention to your opponents as well as your surroundings. You can’t rely on speed only, because each vehicle is unique, and you might as well want to prioritize other features. This is where the Skill System takes center stage, by letting you choose the best skills for a specific vehicle on a specific track – and if you change your mind, don’t worry. You can select other skills and try out a different build.

Now that we’ve captured gathered the devs, time to nose around…

Let’s break the ice with a simple yet necessary question: what is the Skill System?

The Skill System is a response to the needs expressed by our users after the release of the first Unleashed game. Looking back, we realized that what we did was good but maybe not flexible enough to let them fully customize their vehicles to fit their ideal builds. Just as every Hot Wheels is different, so are our players: the Skill System is that little RPGish feature that allows them to experiment and potentially create multiple useful builds for each vehicle. Still, we’ve thought that the Skill System alone could have led to identical builds, so…

Domenico Celenza (Game Producer).

Oh, we know this: you decided to spice things up by adding the so-called Vehicle Categories.

That’s right. You can look at those and think “What’s so special about it” but in fact, Skill System and Vehicle Categories go hand in hand. As a famous character once said, “One does not simply customize a car.” It could be easy to only purchase a skill and then choose to add it or not, but with Vehicle Categories you actually need to think about the kind of vehicle you’re customizing before purchasing a skill.

Domenico Celenza (Game Producer).

How many Vehicle Categories are there in the game?

Six in total.

Rocket includes Race Cars that excel in high-speed straight-line performance;

Balanced are Speed Cars that can handle well both speed and handling;

then we have Swift: Street Cars and Bikes fall under this category, known for their lightweight and agile nature, allowing for quick acceleration and maneuverability;

Drifters are Muscle Cars that speak for themselves, and they’ll be your first choice when it comes to spectacular drifts;

Off-Roads, on the other hand, thrive on various terrains, so if you need a Quad or a Jeep to do the job right look no further.

Finally, Heavy Duty is the embodiment of the expression “who needs caution when you have weight?”, and includes Vans, Monster Trucks to give players plenty of choices.

As you can imagine each Vehicle Category has its pros and cons, It’s up to you to choose the most suitable category for winning races or overcoming specific challenges. Drawing another comparison to RPGs, you can think of these categories as different “classes,” with each car having its own unique role on the track.

Francesco Riggi (Lead Designer).

With the introduction of Vehicle Categories, what’s to become of the Rarity System?

We won’t get rid of it. In fact, it’ll remain the same, however, it will no longer have any impact on vehicle customization. We carefully considered whether to keep this feature, and we believe it can still add a cool element to the game, but it needed to be “scaled down”. Now, the rarity system is solely tied to collecting vehicles. The rarity of a vehicle will affect the chances of it appearing in the shop for players to acquire.

Speaking of the shop, it refreshes every thirty minutes and offers a range of vehicles for players to browse and potentially purchase. The number of vehicles available in the shop varies, ranging from six to twenty-five, depending on the player’s level. Additionally, players have the option to force a shop refresh by spending in-game coins.

Francesco Riggi (Lead Designer)

Back to the Skill System, how much freedom does the player have while customizing a vehicle?

A lot, in fact. There are no limitations on which perk you can apply to a vehicle, and you’re not forced to use every perk you purchase. You can, for example, buy two perks and decide to use only one after trying both: this means you have the freedom to put and take off perks to your liking. Again, we looked back to the first Hot Wheels Unleashed and realized that one of the major complaints from the community was the actual lack of customization apart from the Rarity System. In the previous game, once you upgraded a car, you couldn’t revert the changes, which restricted customization unless you obtained another copy of the same vehicle for testing purposes. We wanted to address this issue and avoid a similar situation in the sequel. That’s why we implemented the Skill System with interchangeable perks. It’s important to note that unlocked perks only work for the specific vehicle they are associated with. In other words, you can’t unlock a perk for one car, like K.I.T.T., and use it on another car, such as Snoopy. You must work hard if you want all of them to be fully customizable! That said, in terms of balance we kept the logic behind the Rarity Upgrade and applied it to the Vehicle Category Upgrade.

Domenico Celenza (Game Producer).

So you’re saying there’s a fixed Upgrade System, this time related to Vehicle Categories?

Exactly. You can’t go back after upgrading a Vehicle Category though this time the upgraded stats of the category are just one aspect of the overall customization process: upgrading a Vehicle Category to Stock, Powered and Ultimate will give you more perk slots, which are essential to fully customize your vehicle. As we said earlier, Skill System and Vehicle Category go hand in hand, following a carefully balanced design.

Francesco Riggi (Lead Designer).

Another basic question: how many perks can a player apply to a car?

There are a total of Six perks available for customization, plus a seventh bonus that I’ll explain shortly. The number and type of perks you can use are tied to the Vehicle Category Upgrade:

at level one you obtain some perks to unlock but you can only apply one of them;

at level two you obtain more perks and you can add two more;

finally, at level three you gain access to even more perks and you can unlock the remaining three slots. It’s very simple, one-one, two-two, three-three. We call the seventh one the “unique” perk because you can obtain it only by using four perks of the same type and it’ll automatically be added to your build. Remove one of the said perks and you’ll lose the unique one too but not permanently, of course: you can gain it back by applying four perks again.

Domenico Celenza (Game Producer).

You just said “type”, and type usually means strategy…

You can say that loud. In Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged we have three types of perks: Handling, Boost, and Obstacles.

Handling favors, apart from – well – handling, speed, and acceleration at the expense of boost charge and boost capacity: therefore, it’s recommended for Off-Roads (Quad, Jeep, Street Car) and Heavy Duties (Van, Monster Truck), while it’s not useful for Swifts (Bike, Muscle Car) and Drifters (Race Car).

Boost, on the other hand, favors boost charge, boost capacity, and boost speed at the expense of handling, speed, and acceleration: this makes it ideal for Swifts and Drifters but it’s not recommended for Off-Roads and Heavy Duties.

Finally, Obstacles is a perk type introduced mostly for new players: it grants invincibility against different obstacles, and similar to the other perk types, you can fill all the perk slots with Obstacles perks if you choose to do so. However, keep in mind that dedicating all slots to Obstacles perks means you will have fewer slots available for managing the rest of your build.

Keep in mind that, apart from the obstacles ones, every perk has its pros and cons: for an advantage that it gives you, there’s also a disadvantage. There’s a lot to think about this time when it comes to a build.

Domenico Celenza (Game Producer).

And if we want to change the type of boost completely? Bet we catch you off guard with this.

Nice try! We listened to the community and this time around you can change the type of boost.

Francesco Riggi (Lead Designer).

That’s on us, we had it coming. How about what we need to manage our vehicles?

First thing first, there’s a player level system that rewards you with experience points as you play the game. You also gain coins, which have partially the same usefulness as before, meaning you can use them to buy new vehicles from the store (we got rid of the blind boxes). Then there are Skill Points and Upgrade Kits: the former is needed to purchase skills, while the latter are the ones you spend to upgrade the Vehicle Category. You will also come across Spin Tokens, which give you the opportunity to spin the Fortune Wheel. It provides a chance to obtain special vehicles and other rewards such as coins, skill points, and more. It serves as a small boost to your overall experience and progression within the game.

Francesco Riggi (Lead Designer).

We’re almost done! One final question: what about the design choices behind the Skill System?

As I said before, looking back to the first game we wanted to expand the concepts of making your own build and give the players as much freedom as possible, while ensuring accessibility for both experienced and casual players.

Along with the Vehicle Category, the Skill System must lead the player to make interesting choices but also be accessible to a casual audience: on one hand we needed skills that would have given both advantages and disadvantages but on the other, it was mandatory for us that the Skill System was easy to understand. That meant not too many skills or nodes and, overall, the skills descriptions needed to be simple (no numbers or percentages).

Last but not least, an upgrade, whatever it might be, needed to be a crucial moment for the player: meaning that every skill had to have an actual impact on the gameplay, leading the players to want to immediately test it on track. The entire design process was a constant back-and-forth to reach the ideal balance: one that could satisfy more experienced players while also remaining accessible to new ones. Given how many builds you can make this time, it will be fascinating to witness the diverse and creative builds that players will develop, including those that might initially seem unusual but prove to be surprisingly effective on the track, the ones you never thought could work. Give it your best shots!

Domenico Celenza (Game Producer).

That’s all for today. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this first chapter and are looking forward to learning more from behind-the-scenes of the game over the coming weeks! See you at the next scoop by your trusty “The Inside Track”!

The post THE INSIDE TRACK – chapter 1 appeared first on Hot Wheels Unleashed 2.

Up until today we told you about what awaits you in Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged. Now it’s time to see it for yourself! A brand-new trailer is now available, showing the amazing features of the upcoming game. But let’s go into even more detail!

With the Jump or Double Jump, you’ll find a fun new strategy to overtake opponents in tight spaces within the track boundaries, discover new shortcuts or, in certain instances, access previously unreachable sections of the track. Lateral Dash is another fresh mechanic that will enable you to swiftly shift to the side, colliding with opponents positioned on either side of your vehicle.

These new moves will add an extra layer of excitement in the new stunning environments with a range of surfaces significantly impacting vehicles’ handling: a Backyard of a residential house transformed into a thrilling racing arena, a Mini Golf Course nestled within a Wild West township, a Museum where you can race among reproductions of dinosaurs and other fossil artifacts, and a Gas Station housing a once tranquil diner serving juicy hamburgers. Additionally, a Track Room will be available to let you craft your crazy tracks in a neutral space.

Make racing even more exciting by choosing from more than 130 vehicles from the Hot Wheels universe, including all-new classes such as ATVs and Motorcycles, each with its own style and character depending on the category it belongs to: Rocket, Balanced, Swift, Drifter, Heavy Duty, Off-Road.

To truly dominate the competition, a combination of muscle and brain is essential. That’s why Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged introduces a brand-new Skill System allowing you to customize the driving experience of your vehicles during races.

Finally, you will unleash your creativity using the Livery Editor and the brand-new Sticker Editor, creating personalized masterpieces that will stand out on the track, and share them with the world.

We think we said enough for today, but so much more is still to be unveiled. So, keep on following us to stay updated!

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged, will be available on October 19^th for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, Epic Games Store, and Nintendo Switch.

The post HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™ 2 – TURBOCHARGED GAMEPLAY TRAILER appeared first on Hot Wheels Unleashed 2.

Will you be the new champion of Hot Wheels tracks?

New mechanics, new environments, a wide variety of vehicles, and new game modes: Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged promises to be the best adrenaline-fueled adventure that will take your racing skills to new heights, like never before!

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged will indeed arrive in grand style with over 130 vehicles, including new additions such as motorcycles and ATVs! Three new categories will distinguish their performance, and you can customize their driving style using Skill Points to enable specific advantages, thus creating the loadout of your dreams.

Five amazing settings await you, each with unique terrains that will affect the vehicle’s performance, offering you a more dynamic and immersive racing experience. Vehicles will also engage with numerous objects both on and off the track, adding to the unpredictability of the races.

As if that wasn’t enough, the game will encourage you to dare with new mechanics like the lateral dash, allowing for epic impacts with the opponents, breathtaking last-second dodges, and surprising overturns of the leaderboard until the very last lap. With jumps, you’ll be able to overtake rivals while also discovering shortcuts and secret sections of the tracks. These thrilling additions, combined to the drifting and boost mechanics, add hugely to the strategic depth of the gameplay, turning every race into an unforgettable adrenaline-filled experience.

Among the innovations of Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged the brand-new Campaign stands out, with a storyline that will revolve around four original characters. Coming from different backgrounds and with unique personalities, they will be introduced through animated cutscenes that will turn your adventure into something unforgettable.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged will offer all this in a variety of new game modes, including racing against time and rivals, mastering the art of high-speed drifting, or simply colliding with opponents to score points. It’s all about fun and challenge, both in single-player and multiplayer, which includes cross-platform races thanks to cross-play*. And if you love sharing the fun with your friends, the split-screen mode will let you engage in exciting duels side-by-side on the couch.

With over 1 million liveries and more than 400,000 tracks created, user-generated content played a crucial role in the success of the first chapter. Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged further encourages your imagination with a refined track builder that will introduce new special modules and features, expanding the variety of tracks you can invent. And since style is a personal matter, the livery editor will allow you to create your original designs, made unique by the brand-new sticker editor to craft, save, and share specific patterns and shapes.

Get ready to unleash your thirst for adrenaline and amaze everyone with your imagination starting October 19, when Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged will be available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, Epic Games Store, and Nintendo Switch.

*Cross-play not available on Nintendo Switch.

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