WheelMates Review (PC)

Initially, I was all for the idea of bolting into the blue to relight my adolescent imagination—to take ahold of an RC car, and to pilot it into a brick wall before being told that I was doing it all wrong, and that I was essentially spoiling what was supposed to be an early Christmas gift. I wanted to love WheelMates, and I wanted to sit with it through to the bitter end, if only to wax a sense of primordial rage and to unravel what was left behind in a professor’s laboratory. Sadly, it just didn’t come to that, as I quickly lost sight of the asphalt, the imaginative spirit, and the purpose of the journey.

If you can treat WheelMates as a means to an end, or better yet, as an affordable opportunity to chat about nonsensical topics with old friends whilst romping around in souped-up RC cars, then you will probably enjoy the game for what it is. If, however, you have this idea that it will provide more than the traditional vehicle-based platforming excursion, then you might want to plug your remote into an alternative socket. WheelMates is a lot of things, but a game that has all of the bells and whistles of a cult classic co-op game isn’t one of them.

Aside from its server issues and troves of technical teething problems, WheelMates just doesn’t have a lot going for it. Don’t get me wrong, it has a good idea, as does it have a clear image of what it wants to achieve with its gargantuan laboratory setting. The problem is, it lacks drive, as well as a true story that can keep you glued to your steering wheel. There’s something about a professor, an old laboratory that’s teeming with hidden secrets, and a well-oiled duo who simply want to unravel said secrets whilst sitting aboard a couple of RC cars. That’s the brunt of it, anyway.

As I said, if you can overlook its lack of a strong plot and accept WheelMates as an open-ended sandbox with RC-based obstacles and platforming puzzles, then you will more than likely find an easy way to scratch an itch for an hour or two. Given that it adopts several different biomes—rooms, libraries, offices, and ventilation shafts, to list just a handful—you can, in all honesty, spend a considerable amount of time simply rolling around and experimenting with various tricks. And that’s a good thing here, because without a great world, it wouldn’t make for an entertaining game.

Here’s the good news: WheelMates is, fortunately, a fun game to play with your friends. Frustrating, at times, I’ll admit — but fun. See, while there isn’t much of a point to any of it, you do have a good deal to work through, with numerous obstacles, mazes, and light platforming challenges to keep you busy as you slowly unpack the laboratory and unlock its various wings and mysteries. Completing a set of trials, for example, grants you access to another section of the board, and with that, more challenges to shake your fist at as you desperately close the gap and jackknife to and from various obstacles.

Like any matchbox racing game, getting behind the wheel in WheelMates comes with a huge disadvantage that can cause you to keel over every twenty seconds. The cars are light, flimsy, and irritatingly skittish. The good news is that, while the act of bolting around in an RC car can be an uphill battle, the game does offer some interesting benefits. For example, you can strap magnets to your wheels, a rope swing to your chassis, as well as several other useful power-ups to the body of your palm-sized vehicle. And of course, adding more to your vehicle means more room to explore the world and tap into uncharted territories. It’s a simple way to keep you engaged for the short haul, though it’s also a far cry from an original idea. But, as the saying goes — if the shoe fits.

To give credit where it’s due, WheelMates does have some solid world-building and architectural elements. As paper thin as the plot is, it does make an attempt to keep you active with a plethora of challenges, most of which will either get your blood pumping or your fists ricocheting back and forth like a pensioner with a back problem. Like It Takes Two, the game bolsters its hazardous environment with the aid of creative set pieces and a vibrant atmosphere. It’s nice to look at, is what I’m trying to say here. Or at least, it is, until you fail the same obstacle multiple times over and begin to question your purpose in life.

As with most split-screen and online co-op chapters that harbor a gimmick, WheelMates is a game that is far better suited for like-minded duos who can relish in their own triumphs and laugh at their frequent failures. As tedious as it often seems, there is a lot of fun to be had here, with numerous obstacle courses, puzzles, and challenges that befit the beloved It Takes Two format. Combined with a handful of upgrades and hidden quarters, I’d say that it just about holds its own as a budget-friendly co-op game.

Sadly, even with a good set of ideas, WheelMates is still in possession of a few major flaws. Alongside its server issues, it also suffers from a lot of frame drops and technical jitters. Granted, there is nothing here that would disrupt you from enjoying the ride. That said, to call WheelMates a complete game with all of its nuts and bolts in the right place just wouldn’t be true, either.

Verdict

WheelMates clearly has a brilliant idea, as does it have the means to realize it and bring it forward. The thing is, it can be rather difficult to appreciate it without acknowledging the elephant in the room: the frequent jitters. While not astronomically bad, there are still a few bits and pieces that could do with a bit of extra time in the oven here. But other than that, I can just about vouch for it. WheelMates might not be a perfect co-op game, but it is one that brings the heart of the nineties and all of its post-school hobbies back to your front room. In other words, it’s a real treat for RC fans, just not for those who want a modern-day cinematic masterpiece.