Hot Wheels: Rift Rally feels like a natural evolution of Mario Kart Live

destructoid.com:

Several years ago we covered Mario Kart Live, the “mixed reality” RC-car-like game from Velan Studios.  I had a blast playing it (and my family even ended up buying a Luigi cart to race with our kid), but you could clearly see that it was a bit limited in what it was trying to do. Well, Velan is back with Hot Wheels: Rift Rally, and it feels like a more fully-realized experience. Given the cost, that’s ideal!

Hot Wheels: Rift Rally (iOS, PS4, PS5 [reviewed])Developer: Velan StudiosPublisher: Velan StudiosReleased: March 31MSRP: $129.99 (standard edition), $149.99 (collector’s edition)

Just like Mario Kart Live, Hot Wheels: Rift Rally uses a remote control car (with a camera) that interfaces with software to simulate a racing game in a real life environment. While Mario isn’t poking out of the driver’s seat being cute, this iteration is cleverly called the “Chameleon Car,” which can morph into tons of different classic Hot Wheels racers in-game.

By placing four “gates” throughout your house, you’ll be able to see the track on the screen, which includes any real hazards or layouts you devise on your own. The tech is slick, and Rift Rally supports PVP as well as AI opponents.

Setting it all up was painless for me. The car has a little side panel that can be opened for USB charging, and from there you need to load up the iOS or PS4/PS5 app. Rift Rally will walk you through everything organically (including connecting the car and instructions for building the gates by hand); a format that really reminded me of the step-by-step process Nintendo uses for Labo.

There are two potential connection types for Rift Rally:

This is a huge step up from Mario Kart Live, as the Rift Rally Wifi option hosts a significantly more stable