Mattel and game developer Velan Studios, the maker of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, have teamed up for the next big augmented reality racing game, Hot Wheels: Rift Rally, which will let players drive more than 140 virtual cars through real-world environments when it launches on March 14.
Unlike Mario Kart Live, Hot Wheels: Rift Rally will be available for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, as well as iOS. The game itself will be free to download and will have cross-platform play, with the white Chameleon RC Car and four Rift Gates (which are used to set checkpoints for races in the game) coming in at $130. A $150 deluxe edition box will include a black-and-gold Chameleon car and a limited-edition die-cast McLaren Senna Hot Wheels car for collectors that will also be playable in game.
There’s only one physical type of car, but in-game the Chameleon can morph into 22 different models, with over 140 variations between them. As you drive around in the real world and stream footage via the car’s 1080p camera, you’ll see your selected car cruising around instead on your system of choice. Each car and variation handles differently, with different top speeds, boost abilities, and traction, and you can further customize each. This is reflected not only in-game but is mirrored by how the Chameleon handles in real life.
How does it play?
Credit:
Mattel / Velan Studios
In-game, the Chameleon is replaced with your car of choice.
I had the chance to go hands-on with Hot Wheels: Rift Rally at a developer’s presentation before the game’s release, and I can confidently say that the car just feels good to drive. You can boost, drift, pop wheelies, do donuts and other tricks in the game, and it’s easy to forget that your RC car isn’t doing the same. The developers have built a great sense of speed into the video game part.
The controls are simple and intuitive, and if you’ve played the last Hot Wheels game, Hot Wheels Unleashed, the controls and user interface will be immediately familiar. I tried the game both on a PlayStation build using a DualSense wireless controller and on iOS using a Backbone One controller, and both felt equally as responsive.
In addition to the car options, the tracks you can build in Hot Wheels: Rift Rally are more ambitious than Mario Kart Live. Whereas that game connected directly to the Nintendo Switch, Rift Rally is limited only by the range of your Wi-Fi network. We had no trouble driving the test cars into other rooms, under beds, and over carpet without losing connection or traction.
Playing in both realities
Credit:
Mattel / Velan Studios
Each car features different stats, and players can customize the colors, and enhance their abilities.
Rift Rally will feature a full campaign mode spread out across multiple worlds, as well as a freewheeling stunt mode where players can string together tricks wherever they’d like to rack up high scores.
The meat of the game is in campaign mode, where players will set up both race and challenges courses themselves by laying out the included Rift Gates. You can make the courses as long or short as you’d like, and move the gates around for near-infinite replayability. The world we were shown at the demo was Chinese-inspired, and one racing stage involved waking up a sleeping dragon as you rang bells whenever you passed through a gate.
Eventually, the dragon became so enraged that it started flying around the track spewing fire and all of the racers scrambled to dodge it. Another stage in the same world was more of a mindfulness puzzle than a race, as players were tasked with clearing the track of cherry blossoms before it could be used.
Racing with other virtual cars feels seamless, with your real-life Chameleon slowing down or stopping when it’s nudged in the game world. Smacking into things when you’re driving also feels harrowing until you notice that your RC car isn’t actually going that fast. They’re also built to be durable; the developers told us that each Chameleon was designed to bump into walls, though you probably shouldn’t drive them down the stairs. The sense of immersion is broken a bit when you encounter reflective surfaces (you’ll see the Chameleon instead of the car you’ve selected), or when you pass another real-life car in a race.
The technical side
Credit:
Reviewed / Jonathan Hilburg
The white Chameleon bundle will retail for $130, while the collectors edition will cost $150.
Each Chameleon is 3.93 inches tall by 3.97 inches wide and 3.58 inches long, meaning it likely won’t get lost easily. A full battery will provide about two hours of playtime, and you can charge 50% of the battery in about an hour, and back up to 100% in two to three hours. While we were told that you can engage in multiplayer with up to four people using only one car, I wasn’t able to test that out in person, or the cross-platform capabilities.
Still, Hot Wheels: Rift Rally represents an intriguing step forward for AR games, and if the final game is anywhere near as good as Hot Wheels Unleashed, it’s worth getting excited for. We’ll have a more in-depth look available closer to the game’s release on March 14.
The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews, and more.
Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
