We've documented 23 accessibility features for Hot Wheels Unleashed, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), Select Difficulty, No Repeated Pressing, Remap Buttons and Play Without Hearing. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Getting Started but it also has features in Reading, Difficulty, Navigation, Audio and Visual to reduce unintended barriers.
This report is created with input from accessibility experts and the player community to help people find games that have the accessibility features they require. Once you have found potential games on the database, there are excellent specialist accessibility sites that offer in-depth reviews to guide your purchasing decisions.
Our accessibility examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked Hot Wheels Unleashed accessibility 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Andy Robertson and updated 2 years ago.
Accessibility Notes
The minimap is quite large and clear, but due to the fast-paced nature of the races, you rarely have time to look at it.
There is no speech in the game, but some of the game text is quite small and often doesn't contrast well with the background.
Game Details
Release Date: 27/09/2021
Out Now: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox X|S
Players: 1-2 (12 online)
Genres: Action, Race (Collecting and Creative)
Accessibility: 23 features
Components: 3D Third-Person and Cartoon
Developer: Milestone Italy (@MilestoneItaly)
Costs: Purchase cost, In-Game Purchases and In-Game Pass
Controls
We've documented 10 accessibility features for Controls in Hot Wheels Unleashed which deal with how you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.
Gamepad
Can play with the following:
Multiple Buttons & Two Sticks: Can play with multiple buttons and two sticks.
Mouse And Keyboard
Can play with the following:
Mouse and Keys: Can play with mouse and multiple keys.
Remap Controls
Can customise the controls for the game as follows:
Remap Buttons: Can re-map all buttons so that you can use alternatives that better suit your play.
Swap Sticks: Can swap the sticks over so that you can use the opposite sticks to control the game.
Remap Sticks: Can remap the stick controls to controller buttons for easier access of direction controls.
Remap Mouse and Keyboard: Can remap mouse and keyboard key bindings, on systems that support these controls.
Remap Extra Mouse Buttons: Can remap additional buttons on mice that provide more than the two standard buttons, on systems that support these controls.
Invert X/Y Axis: Can invert the direction required to control looking and aiming. This enables you to match your instinctive orientation when looking.
Button Combinations
Specific button operation required to play
Rapid Repeated Pressing Optional: Quick, repeated button pressing (more than 2 times a second) is not required, can be skipped or switched to holding a button to trigger a repeated action.
Controller Vibration
Informative Vibration: Controller vibration indicates events or interactions in the game, echoing visual and audio cues. This can provide additional information about progress, approaching enemies or hitting a target.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play Hot Wheels Unleashed, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Crossout (14 Controls Features)
- Forza Horizon 5 (12 Controls Features)
- Forza Horizon 4 (12 Controls Features)
- Gran Turismo (12 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Difficulty in Hot Wheels Unleashed which deal with how you can adjust the challenge of play, and whether this is locked once chosen or can be adjusted as you play.
Difficulty Options
Select Difficulty: Select the level of difficulty from a range of presets. This not only offers a way to adjust the challenge of a game but enables you to do so without dealing with individual criteria.
Adjust After Setting
Adjustable Between Levels: You can adjust the difficulty between levels/rounds. Although you have to restart your checkpoint or level, this enables you to adjust the difficulty after selecting it at the beginning of the game.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Difficulty
If you want to play Hot Wheels Unleashed, but it doesn't offer the Difficulty accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Difficulty accessibility:
- Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (3 Difficulty Features)
- Dirt (3 Difficulty Features)
- Forza Motorsport 7 (3 Difficulty Features)
Getting Started
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Getting Started in Hot Wheels Unleashed which deal with what support is offered to get started with the game. This includes customising the experience when you first open the game via any onboarding processes it provides as well as tutorials and other assistance when you first start playing.
Assistance Getting Starting
These features aid your play of the game in terms of cognitive load on learning controls, dealing with pressure and coping with the environment and challenges.
Tutorials: There are helpful tutorials and instructions on how to play. Information is provided in a timely manner, with appropriate level of detail.
Practice Area: You can practice freely without opponents or time pressures. This can be a specific practice option, or the ability to play levels with the easiest opponents to improve understanding and skill.
Assistance For Progressing
These features aid your progress through the game offering different ways of maintaining your progression.
Save Progress Anytime: The game automatically saves progress or you can save any time. This doesn’t mean you never lose progress, but it does mean you can stop whenever you want (without having to get to a save point) without losing progress.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started
If you want to play Hot Wheels Unleashed, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- Forza Horizon 5 (8 Getting Started Features)
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (6 Getting Started Features)
- Gran Turismo (6 Getting Started Features)
- Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (5 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Reading in Hot Wheels Unleashed which deal with how much reading or listening comprehension is required, how well the game provides visual and audible access to the text and whether subtitles and captions are a good fit for purpose.
Reading Level
How much reading is required to play the game's main path or story and how complex the language is. The presence of voiced characters doesn't reduce this requirement, as it's recorded as a separate datapoint.
Simple Minimal Reading: Minimal reading is required. The quantity and complexity of reading are at a level that a primary/elementary student (9-year-old) could understand.
Subtitles
All Speech Subtitled (Or No Speech In Game): All spoken content has subtitles, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to hear spoken dialogue or narrative to play the game.
Voice Acted
All Dialogue is Voice Acted (Or No Speech In Game): All of the game dialogue and narrative can be voiced, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to read the dialogue and narrative text to play the game.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading
If you want to play Hot Wheels Unleashed, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
- Forza Horizon 5 (7 Reading Features)
- Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (5 Reading Features)
- Crossout Mobile (4 Reading Features)
- Tectonic (4 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Navigation in Hot Wheels Unleashed which deal with how the game provides guidance and assistance to navigate its worlds. These are only for games that have traversal and exploration in 2D and 3D spaces.
Clarity
Large Clear Navigation: The in-game navigation and maps are clear to read. They offer large text and offer markers that are large and of high contrast. Where text or information is small, there are settings to zoom-in and increase visibility.
Head-Up Display
Game Map: View a map of the game world during play, with the landscape, points of interest and missions highlighted throughout the entire game. This enables the orientation of the player and the world, confirming a direction of movement and the location of destinations or points of exploration.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation
If you want to play Hot Wheels Unleashed, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Forza Horizon 5 (10 Navigation Features)
- Crossout Mobile (5 Navigation Features)
- Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (4 Navigation Features)
- Dirt (4 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Visual in Hot Wheels Unleashed which deals with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.
Audio Cues for Visual Events
Audio Cues for Visual Events: Audio is provided to indicate visual events. Game events or progress highlighted by visual icons, effects or animations are also accompanied by audio to signify that progress. This is useful for blind players.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual
If you want to play Hot Wheels Unleashed, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:
- Forza Motorsport 7 (4 Visual Features)
- Forza Horizon 5 (3 Visual Features)
- Rally 2020 (3 Visual Features)
- Descenders (3 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Hot Wheels Unleashed which deal with how you can adjust the audio of the game and whether audio cues compensate for aspects of the game that are hard to see.
Adjustable Audio
Balance Audio Levels: Set music and game sound effects separately. This enables you to select your preference as well as ensure critical game sounds aren't obscured by other audio.
Play Without Hearing
Play Without Hearing: No audio cues are necessary to play the game well.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Audio
If you want to play Hot Wheels Unleashed, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
- Inertial Drift (4 Audio Features)
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (3 Audio Features)
- Crossout (3 Audio Features)
Communication
We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Communication in Hot Wheels Unleashed which deal with how you can communicate with other players in the game and what options are available to customise and control this interaction. The following games are similar to Hot Wheels Unleashed, and offer accessibility features for Communication:
- Forza Horizon 5 (4 Communication Features)
- Crossout (3 Communication Features)
- Forza Motorsport 7 (2 Communication Features)
- Haste Broken Worlds (1 Communication Feature)
System Accessibility Settings
In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:
Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch has some built-in features, including a lockable zoom, that can be used on all games.
PC
Windows has extensive accessibility features. Some, like colour correction, work with games. Lots of accessibility software can be used with PC games, from voice recognition to input device emulators.
PlayStation 4
PlayStation 4 has a range of accessibility settings. Some are system only, some work in games (invert colours and button mapping).
PlayStation 5
PlayStation 5 has a range of system-wide accessibility settings.
Xbox One
Xbox One has a system features, the excellent co-pilot share controls mode and adaptive controller support for all games.
Xbox Series X|S
Xbox One has a system features, the excellent co-pilot share controls mode and adaptive controller support for all games.
Read more about system accessibility settings.
Accessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors Ben Kendall and Andy Robertson