Despite that negative-sounding title, I really enjoyed my time with Wheel World. It's just unfortunately one of those games that felt SO close to being something special but was just a few parts short.

As far as vibe and overall concept, the Olli Olli World meets Sable meets Burnout mashup is wonderful. The mix of both chill and competitive somehow works - as much as those things seem at odds. The aesthetic, graphics and presentation are beautiful and the most important part - the racing - feels great. On top of all of this, the music is top notch and does a fantastic job of making some of the racing moments become almost cinematic.

Now for the missing parts - why are there so many bike parts when they're almost never necessary? By the time I was done with the game I had to be well over a hundred of them. Wheel World misses a huge, huge opportunity in which races could have actually required some of these different parts and configurations but instead it throws you up against AI that are so ridiculously easy that you can basically brute force your way through on whatever you feel like racing with. On that note - even the hardest races are short and barely a challenge. Wheel World could have desperately used some end-game (or even post-game) levels with much harder AI and races longer than just a couple minutes. Just a small amount of extra content and balancing would have gone such a long ways and it is such a shame the game ends after just a few hours without ever even coming close to its potential in terms of gameplay.

Lastly, Wheel World has a bit more jank and bugs than you would hope to see in a final release. It's not uncommon for the game to start registering checkpoints incorrectly or for you to get stuck in or along walls. Fortunately it is never gamebreaking but it is certainly distracting and an annoyance and can sometimes force you to restart races. I would also love to understand why a game with such a simple and clean aesthetic can barely keep 60fps on low settings on a moderate PC - the performance leaves a little bit to be desired.

All these gripes aside, Wheel World is a quick and clean 4-6 hour experience that never overstays its welcome and, if anything, I wish would have stayed a little longer. If you love racing but wish you could also just chill and chat with a floating skull, give it a shot.

I've never really enjoyed racing games that much and this game offered many of the frustrations that hurt my ability to enjoy it. Things like spending 80% of the race in first place only to be knocked back to sixth because I got bumped into an obstacle. Or the way other cyclists seem to have hooks on their wheels that can pull you around.

But I've always loved cycling. I ride my bike to work almost every day; eight miles each way. I find it a refreshing enjoyable form of exercise, far superior to sitting in traffic or crowding onto a subway car with groups of grumpy commuters. This was what inspired me to buy the game in the first place and, along with the lovely European-inspired scenery and beautiful soundtrack, what kept me playing through the frustrations. I wouldn't say that I "got gud" but I did manage to start winning and eventually beat the whole game. I would say I fell in love with it, its cheesy but heartwarming story, and its little idiosyncrasies, like cars honking if you got too close to them or the strange outfits and styles of the racing teams you compete against. And, while it can be frustrating to be knocked out of a race, it's a hell of a lot of fun to speed down a mountain and boost your bike to get serious airtime off of large jumps. Despite it being very different in a lot of ways, its indie soundtrack, art style, protagonist, and unrealistic simulation of a real sport reminded me of Rollerdrome.

It worked fine on my Steam Deck except for a few moments when the audio stuttered.

Definitely a great game, one that made me very happy and I would definitely replay it in the future. I'm actually genuinely sad that there's no new game+ for this one.