Crush, destroy, tip over.
Monster Trucks have always been fascinating to a wealth of children and those looking to see a massive truck crush anything that it towers over. As someone who had family associated with them, and even having the chance to ride in one, I have had my own personal history with them, despite not being one to actually attend Monster Truck Rallies or take part in many of the videogames associated with them. While Hot Wheels Monster Trucks: Stunt Mayhem can certainly entertain its demographic, it lacks solid control and weight to these towering machines and is far too repetitive for its own good.
Hot Wheels Monster Trucks: Stunt Mayhem features nearly two dozen Monster Trucks of various designs and special stunts. From Mega Wrex and Bone Shaker, to Tiger Shark and Scratch Attack, there are tons of vehicular monstrosities to command as you venture out to conquer seven locations each ruled over by a larger than life boss. The concept of a boss is actually the strongest element of this game as you track down keys or destroy their minions to then use the boss’s track to take control and perform a wild stunt. As you drive through a massive gorilla or into the mouth of a venomous snake, these bosses mimic the appeal of the various Hot Wheel track sets I knew as a kid.
While lacking in modes, as you only have the choice of single events, multiplayer, or the career, you’ll tackle objectives across each of the missions strewn across each of these seven arenas. From the Island Swamps to Toxic Town and Junkyard Valley, you’ll also explore Crush Canyon, Stunt Zone, and more. Each area also has special events that require the use of a particular Monster Truck, which you’ll unlock just prior to their challenge.
Each mission has more or less the same basic objectives as you are placed under a strict timer. While you’ll look to achieve a particular score with your stunt capabilities, you’ll smash hot dog stands, tackle a certain level of carnage and destruction, to tracking down balloons that are placed throughout the arena. Unfortunately, that is about all you do. While the arenas change and have their own look and design, these same objectives remain constant throughout all locations. While there is local multiplayer mode to shake things up, Stunt Mayhem is a very repetitive experience for those looking for any sort of depth. For younger players, I can certainly see the appeal here to attempt to earn every trophy, but there is little reason to do so apart from the satisfaction from doing so across its roughly 4-5 hour campaign.
Controlling these monolithic beasts is somewhat of a mixed bag. While I understand the reasons for doing so, the right stick doesn’t control the camera but rather your positioning in the air. You can perform air stunts by moving the stick in different directions. While the left stick can perform a flat spin in the air, the right stick is where the majority of your stunts exist. You can perform back flips, front flips, and barrel rolls in the air by moving the stick in the direction those require. You can also drive on two wheels both front and back and to their sides, performing wheelies and bicycles, and stoppies. These stunts all work well and function well enough, but despite the monster trucks feeling like heavy forces to be reckoned with, the floaty and weightless physics engine makes it difficult to not tip over at every single obstacle.
While a properly placed special, which is achieved by easily filling up a meter, can net you a perfect landing, it is the simple act of driving around to line up a jump to get yourself in the air where the control of the vehicle feels to loose to actually pull off a well-executed jump. This likely is due to the inaccurate control via the analog stick, but I never felt I could perform any sort of accurate driving while at top speed, which is required to nail more of the jumps, especially those where you are driving through a burning hoop, you are more likely to hit the side and collapse to the ground below. Had the vehicles felt a bit tighter to control and had a proper amount of weight to them, then Stunt Mayhem could have been a truly fantastic experience instead of just a “good” one, as the bulk of the game itself is extremely serviceable at providing a fun time.
As you pilot your vehicle of choice around these arenas, you’ll want to keep your combo multiplier going. A bar will fill up and you’ll want to continue earning a score before it depletes. Failing to land or tip over will end the combo chain and while it is easy to right yourself up, you’ll find yourself constantly tipping over and losing your combo score. This usually results in you taking the easier jumps and areas of the arena and performing easier to land stunts such as the flat spin which keeps you flat to the ground. Most jumps are easy to land a single front or black flip, but trying to turn a back flip into a topspin and then into a barrel roll and successfully land barely occurs due to the lack of speed of nailing the jump and the skill of actually pulling it off.
The Monster Trucks themselves all look great with all the detail you would want from recreating a toy. While the environments are fine enough, there is a simplicity to them that does feel less impressive. Crowds are made up of the same three guys in different color shirts, and the barrels, boxes, and objects you are destroying feel like assets pulled out of an Unreal or Unity-type store. Again, while the Monster Trucks all look great, I wish more care and detail were provided to the locations where you unleash carnage to offer as much personality as the trucks themselves.
As I have both a Series X and a Series S, I tried Stunt Mayhem on both. While the game is nowhere near as demanding as other titles to release on both consoles, the Series S version was blurry and the trucks lacked the detail and clarity you find on the Series X. I also found the Series S version to dip in resolution as you approach objects that have the Hot Wheels logo, only for the logo to adjust in clarity as you got close to it. It feels like the Series S version had no optimization granted to it and feels like how I imagine the game looks and performs on the Nintendo Switch. On the Series X; however, the game is crisp, clean, and looks extremely good for what it aims to do.
On the audio front, the game features an announcer and a selection of music tracks across its gameplay. For the first few locations, I kept the announcer one, but during the actual arenas, I had to mute him as he simply repeated the same five or six lines ad nauseum. The music is pretty uninspired and doesn’t energize you like it should. Monster Trucks should have a soundtrack and command their size and ferocity, but that simply isn’t here in any regard.
Hot Wheels Monster Trucks: Stunt Mayhem is certainly aimed at kids, that much is apparent in its bright and colorful nature and the appeal of driving these fantastical bruisers of vehicular destruction. The game’s focus of allowing you to crush cars under those massive tires and pull off wild stunts in the air is here to varying degrees and your mileage will vary if the feel and control of the game is suited to what you want from it. I think with more variety in its objectives and stunts, a clearer distinction in the environments to make them stand out, and a tighter feel to control these trucks, then Stunt Mayhem could be the Tony Hawk of Monster Truck games.
Developer - 3DClouds.
Publisher - GameMill Entertainment. Released - October 18th, 2024. Available On - Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC. Rated - (E) - No Descriptors. Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X and S. Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.