“Hot Wheels Let's Race: Ultimate Speed” is the latest video game based on the Netflix series “Hot Wheels Let's Race”. It is aimed at children, especially fans of the series. The game was released on October 24, 2025, for PC and all consoles. We played the PlayStation 5 version. The developers are 'Bamtang Games' (“Looney Tunes Wacky World of Sports”; “Dreamworks All-Star Kart Racing”; “Nickelodeon Kart Racers”), and the publishers are 'GameMill Entertainment', for whom we recently reviewed the games “Nicktoons & the Dice of Destiny”, “Snoopy & the Great Mystery Club” and “Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition”, as well as many other games aimed at children. The game is made using Unreal Engine.
'Hot Wheels' cars are a global phenomenon known to everyone. Some time ago, they also started producing short and feature-length animated films in collaboration with the streaming service Netflix. This game is based on their “Let's Race” series on the mentioned service. Since it is based on the animated film, the game features all the main characters from it, as well as the well-known types of cars and tracks that are present. The game has several modes. The main mode is story mode, which in this game is called 'Racing Camp'. In it, we race on 12 tracks, choosing one character from the series (Coop, Spark, Axle, Cruise, Mac, or Brights). In later races, we must also team up with other characters from the series and defeat bosses. The initial bosses are not too challenging, but it becomes a bit harder to defeat them later on. We defeat them by avoiding their attacks and collecting items to hit them until their health drops to zero. The controls are simple and straightforward. The most interesting gameplay mode is, as in all similar games, the split-screen multiplayer mode. I played this, as usual, with my daughter and we had a lot of fun. The tracks are colorful and the graphics are excellent. Each track is based on the famous orange roads, so they become repetitive over time. However, the more tracks we race on, the more cars we unlock and collect. Each car has its own specialties and they differ in speed and handling levels. Before each race, it is possible to choose one specific special turn or part of the road, as a special section where stunts can be performed. One of the modes is 'Track Builder', a mode where we assemble orange tracks, just like they can be assembled in real life. We played around with that and found out that after some time, really impressive tracks can be built. Other modes include 'Cup Champ' where we compete in various cups, as well as 'Free Race' and 'Speed trial' modes where we can try out tracks and vehicles on our own, but it can also be played in split-screen with up to 4 players. As in other games from these developers, the online multiplayer mode is missing.
All in all, "Hot Wheels Let's Race: Ultimate Speed" is a fun, kids' game aimed primarily at fans of the cartoon. However, that doesn't mean that someone who isn't a fan won't have fun with it. For fans of kart racing games, this will also be a short diversion. The game is nowhere near the quality of 'Crash Team Racing', but its good graphics and numerous content will entertain many.
A copy of the game for review purposes was provided by distributor Colby and publisher GameMill Entertainment
