I want your skulls: Wheel World Review
All images are from Wheel World by Annapurna Interactive and Messhof Games, all images are by me
We might be in the thickest traffic jam of the 2025 release calendar, but don’t let Wheel World skitch past you in the vast Q3/Q4 bike lane.
Wheel World is an open world racing game with incredible vibes. In the opening, Kat, our protagonist, forms a partnership with a floating skull (named “Skully,” of course). His bike has been looted by local gang leaders and you’ll need to work together to rebuild his cycle so they can keep the chain of life spinning by leading souls to the moon.
Your progress through the story is tied to your reputation. The legendary riders that hold the plundered parts won’t race just any old scrub (the scrub is us), so you’ll need to prove yourself against the thematic clubs that litter the villages and countryside. Each event has four objectives that range from finishing in the top three to collecting K-A-T (the latter usually translates to hitting a jump or checking an alley that runs parallel to the track). I recently finished the Tony Hawk remakes so my tuning (bike) fork was already calibrated for glowing, hovering letters of the alphabet. Each of these objectives nets you additional rep. Complete more on the way to the podium and you’ll bunny hop up the ranks more quickly. It’s worth noting that after the tutorial island, you’re free to roam the open world without training wheels. Your progression is never artificially gated, the showdowns will be there when you’re ready. To fill the void, you can complete tasks, earn stamps, and cash them in. Most of these tasks are mundane or things you’d be doing anyway, but framing them as stamp cards makes them exponentially more thrilling.
The controls are simple. Pedal with the right trigger, brake with the left, and on Xbox, boost with X and get on and off your bike with Y. That’s it. There is no reverse. The speed at which all this takes place, especially hopping off your ride, is one of the best things Wheel World has going for it. The warp between “Portal Johns” might be the most instantaneous fast travel I’ve experienced in a video game.
Once you’re acquainted with the basics, for 75% of the story, you’ll be on auto pilot. There is a difficulty spike during the final stretch but that doesn’t change the fact that I only felt the need to restart a race maybe three times during my first three hours. However, with that aforementioned lack of a reverse, there is the potential for things to go bad in a hurry. Nothing ever feels insurmountable (most events max out at three minutes so losing in the final turn is rarely frustrating), but players that have been spoiled by Forza’s rewind function might be in for a tough time.
One common complaint I’ve seen online is that your opponents have the pesky habit of phasing through traffic. Considering the rules of this world, perhaps they’re ghosts? While I sympathize with the sentiment (especially since, regardless of the location of whatever race I was in, I seemed to always be in danger of slamming head-on into a tractor), your rivals’ pathfinding is pretty predictable and it’s easy to make up any advantage they might have by cutting a few corners here and there.
The various vineyards and villages are packed with bike parts to collect. From saddle to spokes, you’ll be able to switch out everything piece by piece to boost stats. This could be a side effect of my exploration addiction, but once I found something that worked for me, my tinkering trailed off substantially. It would have been a nice touch if swapping to offroad tires made a meaningful difference for an offroad race. Not a cozified Armored Core necessarily, but just one more reason to engage with the systems.
The best joke in the game comes moments after you’ve finished reassembling your legendary ride. Skully reminisces about the gauntlet you put yourselves through–but can’t remember the names of some of your opponents. It’s funny–but also draws attention to one of the few areas that I feel Wheel World is at its wobbliest. The writing is excellent (and the devs never pass up the opportunity to drop a pun) but all the cool characters are introduced and then out of the narrative just as quickly. We’re talking one minute of screen time maximum. I respect that striking the perfect balance between story and action isn’t easy. After all, that’s not what the game is about, it’s not why you’re playing–but I wanted just a little more. I wanted to remember their names.
I experienced frequent framerate drops while playing on a Series X (Wheel World is currently available to Game Pass subscribers) but they never affected the outcome of a race. The invisible forces that would occasionally yank me to the side of the path were much worse (I would randomly cut across lanes diagonally with no control until I was in a ditch). I can’t confirm if this was a technical issue or some putrid protein shake crafted from the ingredients of uneven terrain and the specific bike parts I was using. It felt bad–but I don’t know whose fault that is.
In contrast, the best I felt were the moments I took to bask in the soundtrack. It’s simultaneously relaxing and more techno influenced than I would have expected. Sweet Adrenaline by JOON is a standout. I’ve been humming it nonstop since my first sitting.
My semi thorough playthrough came in at just under five hours (I discovered/cleared every icon on the map but only completed half the stamp cards). I imagine the loop could get repetitive but chances are you’ll be in the end credits before the thought of quitting becomes intrusive. Wheel World isn’t meant to be some complex enduro obstacle course. It’s not trying to be Downhill Domination. It’s meant to be the breeze through your hair as you crest the final hill on your ride.
75/100