I’ve played Hot Wheels Infinite Rush for 15 hours, and it scratches an itch that Forza Horizon can't

(Image credit: Milestone S.r.l. / Mattel) Hot Wheels Infinite Rush: SpecsPlatforms: PS5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, WindowsPrice: $49Release date: September 10, 2026Genre: RacingAs a child, I asked for Hot Wheels any time my birthday came around. I was obsessed with creating loop-the-loops with the orange track sets. I also have vague recollection of playing a Hot Wheels video game on my dad's PC, too, as well as Hot Wheels Jetz where you'd fly planes instead of drive cars. So when Hot Wheels Infinite Rush was announced at the 2026 Summer Game Fest showcase, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.And now, having spent nearly 15 hours playing it on my PS5 Slim, it's everything I'd imagined and more. Hot Wheels Infinite Rush takes a different approach to the franchise — it's gotten the open-world treatment akin to the Forza Horizon games. You're not bound to just races anymore. There are plenty of side quests to do, objects to destroy, and rival cars to claim as your own.As someone who's not the biggest fan of racing games, Hot Wheels Infinite Rush has me hooked, and it scratches an itch that Forza Horizon can't. It's some of the most fun I've had since the Need for Speed: Carbon days, and if you're wondering whether or not you should play it, trust me: you don't want to miss out on the chaos.Driving me loopy (Image credit: Milestone S.r.l. / Mattel)As the first fully open-world game in the franchise, Hot Wheels Infinite Rush has knocked it out of the park. When you first boot up the game, you're dropped on to WheelsWood, a bustling metropolis featuring towering skyscrapers and city streets... with a giant King Kong-style gorilla sitting atop the tallest building.As you progress through the game, you can unlock three other islands, each with its own unique environment — from lush resorts and beaches to deserts with scorching terrain and dirt roads. Unlocking islands is simple, albeit a little time-consuming, as all you need to do is complete a certain number of races on other islands and beat Rush Masters (or island bosses) in 1v1 races.That sounds like the premise of pretty much every Need for Speed game I remember playing as a teenager, but Hot Wheels Infinite Rush does things a little differently: its open-world is unlike any other I've seen. Orange loop-the-loops tower over you, and with the Track Builder, you can attach modules to the ground, build them around buildings, weave around skyscrapers, anything you want. It's exactly like playing with the actual Hot Wheels cars and track parts. (Image credit: Milestone S.r.l. / Mattel)I love that the game doesn't feel repetitive either. Because each island has its own unique terrain, you must adapt to it by choosing the right vehicle and hone your skills. What works on the dirt road won't necessarily work on tarmac. The variety of challenges is incredible, too. I've enjoyed taking my time to explore each island, finding photo ops, drift trials, and stunt challenges.Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.A favorite of mine is the Delivery Stunt challenge, where you must drive a pristine car to the dealership and every time you bump against an object, you lose a health point. Though it sounds easy enough, when you've got NPCs racing around like they've got nothing to lose, it becomes extremely tricky.When you're driving around in your own car, you don't need to worry about damaging it (and ending up with a totaled car) as you would in Forza Horizon or Need for Speed. Hot Wheels are toys, and the game constantly reminds you of that fact when you drive off a cliff's edge at full speed and incur no damage when you hit the ground. Your virtual car even bounces and flops around as your physical toy car would.Life in the fast lane (Image credit: Milestone S.r.l. / Mattel)But what good is an open-world racing game if it doesn't nail the most basic racing aspects? The races in Hot Wheels Infinite Rush are extremely easy to get hooked on, and they're ridiculously fun. Again, they don't feel repetitive as each environment is different, and each track demands a different type of car. These include Speeders, Drifters, Titans and Versatiles, and each type features a different playstyle.For instance, Titans use a progressive boost bar; overusing it makes the car less effective and slows it down, so you have to let off the gas just before the bar runs out to keep your speed up. It took me a couple of races each time to get a hang of the different types, but it feels very rewarding once you wrap your head around it. (Image credit: Milestone S.r.l. / Mattel)There are over 150 vehicles to unlock and collect in Hot Wheels Infinite Rush. You can do this by completing races and challenges across the world, but the best way to do it? By challenging Daredevils. These are NPCs roaming around in the open-world, and you can follow them and challenge them to a race. Win the 1v1 race and their car is yours. I can't tell you how much fun it is to hunt down the NPCs and wipe the floor with them.Swapping between cars can be done quickly at the press of a button, and you can upgrade them, too. Some changes are purely cosmetic, but you can add mods to elevate your drift, nitro boost, handling, and more. Similar to vehicles in Mario Kart World, some upgrades have a detrimental impact on other aspects of your car, so it's fun to find out the combination that works best for you.The only real issue I have with racing in Hot Wheels Infinite Rush is that the races feel too easy. From the first race itself, I was leaving my opponents in the dust, achieving top spot on the podium with a massive lead every time. While the four types of cars introduce a learning curve, the races themselves don't. Or I'm just too good at the game.Double, triple, quadruple the fun (Image credit: Milestone S.r.l. / Mattel)Though the majority of my time with Hot Wheels Infinite Rush was spent playing on my own, my partner and I raced together (and against each other) in split-screen co-op, too. You can play with up to three more players on your couch, or partake in online multiplayer with cross-play support.My partner doesn't consider herself a gamer but she loves playing a simple couch co-op game, and she thoroughly enjoyed Hot Wheels Infinite Rush. She liked how chaotic and destructive it felt, as you can break practically any in-game object with your car, whether that's while free roaming or racing. (Image credit: Milestone S.r.l. / Mattel)She also liked that she didn't have to worry about her car falling to pieces if she drove it headfirst into a building. It's nice to have another two-player racing game in our arsenal alongside Mario Kart World now.There's a lot to love about Hot Wheels Infinite Rush, and even though I've played it extensively, I'm itching to take to the wheel again. The open-world has been executed beautifully, with stunning toy-like graphics reminiscent of the cars and orange tracks I grew up playing with, and an indestructible car that wrecks everything in its way. The versatility of challenges and collectible vehicles is fantastic, though I wish the game was a little harder.All in all, though, it's a wheel-y good game, and Hot Wheels Infinite Rush has done something even Forza Horizon has been unable to: make me like racing video games again. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. More from Tom's GuideRanking everything I played at Gamescom 2026, including Alien: Isolation 2, Metro 2039, Silent Hill: Townfall, and moreStar Wars Zero Company is a surprise GOTY contender — but you need to switch on permadeath, trust meMetal Gear Solid 4 on PS5 is an almost perfect port of my favorite PS3 exclusive Nikita is a Senior Writer on the Reviews team at Tom's Guide. She's a lifelong gaming and photography enthusiast, always on the lookout for the latest tech. Having worked as a Sub Editor and Writer for Canon EMEA, she has interviewed photographers from all over the world and working in different genres.When she’s not working, Nikita can usually be found sinking hours into RPGs on her PS5, flying a drone (she's a licensed drone pilot), at a concert, or watching F1. Her work has appeared in several publications including Motor Sport Magazine, NME, Marriott Bonvoy, The Independent, and Metro. You can follow her photography account on Instagram here.