It’s not every day you get to see two sides of the same coin back-to-back. In this instance, I’m referring to a recent Milestone/Plaion game hands-on event where we got to play two racing games, each clearly catered towards two different markets.

Let’s start with the one I enjoyed the most.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 is an arcade racing game featuring Mattel’s most famous miniature car toy line; your cars are fast, can boost, and control like they do in arcade-style racing games not unlike your Daytona USAs, Ridge Racer, and Mario Kart. The first game was fun, but definitely felt more like a preview of a bigger and potentially better game. HWU 2 is clearly aiming for that.

Right from the get-go, you have a ton of modes to play with: Single Race, Time Trial, Drift, Elimination, and checkpoint mode. Single Race is standard – 3 laps across the course, while time trial has you repeatedly getting the best times per lap while running the course solo. Drift is structured like Time Trial, but you run through the course multiple times to get the most points out of drifting as much as possible. Checkpoint Mode puts your Hot Wheels car in the middle of the map, following the objective arrow to hit checkpoints that appear randomly in the open area.

Elimination is my favourite among the modes so far: all players keep racing, with the last player being eliminated after 15 seconds or so have passed. The clock will always be counting down repeatedly to kill off players at the bottom, so you need to be at pole position to win Elimination mode. It’s less a race and more an endurance contest, as you can still hang around the middle position, and then catch up. These five new game modes will have a strong focus on online, so expect to play these frequently when playing competitively against others.

The game also features two new movement mechanics: strafe and jump. The first Hot Wheels Unleashed already has great controls and driving overall, so adding in these two features are just lovely icing on the cake. While I didn’t use strafing much while racing in the usual 3-lap bout and in Elimination mode, I abused the heck out of the Jump button. Suddenly, shortcuts are now open and far-away ramps and ledges seem a lot more reachable upon getting big air from a jump. You can even do a single jump while mid-air; no double-jumping though. The new areas are also a hoot to drive on, featuring mini golf areas, new obstacles like barriers you need to boost through, and even a bedroom with a T-Rex miniature in the background.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 is essentially adding a lot more to an otherwise solid base title. The game promises more than 130 vehicles, a new skill system to differentiate between car types, improved tracks and livery editors to enhance customization, and an enhanced campaign mode with strong storytelling. No word yet on whether past HWU tracks and liveries will be transferrable to part 2, or if the game will feature some sort of non-in-game microtransaction policies (save for new DLC featuring more cars). But so far, what I’ve played is incredibly promising and sequel-worthy. No harm in further tuning up an already-excellent ride, right?

Ride 5

Ride 5 is a bike sim that aims to be the Gran Turismo of motorcycles and speedbikes, right down to the controls and difficulty curve. After coming out of Hot Wheels Unleashed 2, I was definitely in for a rude awakening.

My performance was beyond subpar, with my cool bike-riding avatar crashing -flailing like a ragdoll- and not knowing how to take turns in a too-serious-for-its-own-good driving simulation. But I’m clearly not the audience for these types of game. Bike fans and gearheads(?) will take a shine at Ride 5’s new additions in the racing sim genre of its ilk, like a new Career Mode with its own sets of challenges and recreations of real-life tracks and its plethora of customization options.

The graphics and ambience are definitely the selling point, and even if it’s in a preview state, the detail of the tracks, bikes, and riders are definitely worth the price of admission. Even with my multiple attempts and eventual crash-and-burning, it all looks splendid especially when on replay. Assuming you’re the kind of die-hard race fanatic who get their jollies from digital versions of realistic sports with a ton of motor noises running.

Me? I’m a fan of colourful arcade racers, so between the two Milestone games, I’m clearly set on Hot Wheels Unleashed 2. You can look forward to that game which is coming out for PC and consoles -Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch- on 19th October. For the other folks who prefer the serious biking fare, Ride 5 is coming out in 25 August.