Growing up, we all had fun with Hot Wheels cars racing across playsets we’ve built or on various pieces of furniture around our homes. In recent years, modern racing games based on toy cars have realized the dream of bringing racing at home to life on the TV screen.
Infinite Rush takes that concept to a Forza Horizon–inspired open world, introducing new layers to the Hot Wheels experience. Here are a few tips and tricks for driving around open islands on September 10th, 2026, across all major gaming platforms.
Picking Your Ride – Different Car Types
When you start your racing adventure, Hot Wheels Infinite Rush offers four types of cars. From the fast Speed cars to the heavy-duty Titan, each one has its uses in the open world. I loved using the Speed type for the insane speeds going through the many loop-de-loops scattered on the islands.
The game also tells you what each car type is best for when you select it. That, alongside the game’s races locking you to one type of car, does a great job teaching players the best rides for the job.
Destruction Derby – Driving a Hot Wheels Car
Part of learning the best rides for the job is realizing that you are driving with a Hot Wheels car. When going into Infinite Rush, my muscle memory is racing in Forza Horizon. While in games like those, your car had a lot of weight to the steering; in Infinite Rush, players race toy cars.
The handling’s different for each car class, but they all share the same sensation: the ability to drive anywhere and crash through things without any consequence. Cars take no damage, tire traction is nonexistent, and player control feels unbounded.
Driving in the game’s open world feels like you are playing in a real Hot Wheels playset.
Keen Eyes – Collecting Stickers and Island Tour Missions
Like a kid’s Hot Wheels playset, stickers can be used for player expression. Collecting them involves driving around the game’s open world and taking pictures using the game’s in-game capture system.
The game will tell you when a sticker is nearby, so you always know when to take out the camera and give the area a look-a-round. It also teaches you how to use the camera, and that’s important for the Island Tour missions. These have racers tasked with taking shots based on the mission requirements.
Learning how to use the camera when collecting stickers organically feeds into these missions, but racers aren’t only taking pictures.
Staying the Lead – Tips for Main Races
Racing through the game’s many islands, the main race type has drivers speeding across sectioned-off parts of the open zones.
Similar to the race tracks in Forza Horizon, players need to race within a highlighted border, and whenever you leave it, you can press R to warp back to the race. But one strat I used for several races was searching for a better route just slightly outside the border and taking the lead with a careful boost or drift.
Learning how to drift can help you dominate races, as Infinite Rush doesn’t feature hard braking. By starting a drift and letting go of the gas, you can make tighter corners and build up your boost gauge faster (though some car classes, like the Titan, build up the boost gauge quickly).
Speaking of the boost, that mechanic has some fun nuance to master.
Pedal to the Metal – Using the Boost Ability, Boost Pads, and More
Boosting in Infinite Rush sounds basic on the surface, regenerating on its own for all car classes as you race. However, learning how your car builds up the boost can make or break a race. For example, the Speed Class builds up one bar of boost somewhat quickly, so you can hold down the boost button.
This will activate fast speeds the moment the boost is replenished, helping a lot during racing. In addition, scattered throughout the world are boost pads, roads to drive across to replenish your boost gauge quickly, and more. Chaining your activated boost with these will make you dominate races.
While leveraging your boost and the environment can help you win races, tuning up your ride also helps.
Tuning the Engine – Upgrading Your Cars and Frequently Riding New Ones
My last major tip for Infinite Rush is upgrading your cars and utilizing your full lineup of rides. You can equip upgrade gear, using one of four slots. These offer upgrades that extend to all your cars, with an early-game one improving my handling.
However, the game has several Hot Wheels cars to use across all four car classes. Each has unique stats, specialized for different goals. Want better handling? Something focused on raw speed? Or do you want your boost gauge insanely large?
Earning different cars and using your full line-up is not only beneficial for races, but it’s just fun. Who doesn’t want to amass an overflowing bin of cool cars to play with?
Ready to Race? – Early Impressions of Hot Wheels Infinite Rush
Playing through the first two Islands of Infinite Rush, I am eager to dominate every race across the game’s various island locales. It scratches that Forza Horizon itch on my Switch 2, with tight controls, fun open worlds, and tons of cool cars to play with, making me eager to continue my racing adventure.
Stay tuned for our review of Hot Wheels Infinite Rush!
A code was provided for the purposes of this tips & tricks editorial.
