Wheel World: Put the Pedal to the Medal
Developer: Messhof | Publisher: Annapurna Interactive | Release: July 23, 2025
Platforms: Steam, PlayStation, Xbox | Played on: Steam (PC) | Runtime: ~ 5-8 hours
This has been an unexpectedly cycling-filled summer for me (a person who hasn’t really ridden a bike since college). Not only has my time after work been taken up by casual rides around the neighborhood — usually in search of a café or hangout spot with AC to avoid the heat — but I’ve been keeping an eye out for Wheel World: a cycling game that, normally, wouldn’t capture my attention. But, the Steam Next Fest Demo had such smooth controls that I couldn’t help but await the full release, eager to see if there was finally a racing game that I would enjoy. Was it all a smooth coast through sunlight vineyards? Not quite, but it still is a game I enjoyed my time with while playing.
FIXING THE CHAIN OF LIFE
As Kat, a cycling aficionado, you’ve stumbled upon a rusty junker inhabited by a spirit - Skelly - who has had the parts to their legendary ride stolen. Without these parts, they’re unable to help guide spirits to the afterlife and complete the Chain of Life, so you’re enlisted to help them restore these legendary objects so they’re able to complete this ritual. Luck has it that each of these parts was commandeered by a notable bike gang leader of each area in the region, five total, who will only accept challenges from other bikers with the appropriate levels of notoriety (“reputation”).
Immediately after meeting Skelly, he’ll enlist you to help out with his conundrum!
The story does a decent enough job of providing an impetus to go around the region and garner the reputation to challenge each of the five major riders of each area — gym leader style — but it wasn’t something I paid too much attention as the game really got going. While Skelly and the guardians at each of the Bell Shrines (locations where you can reveal the map and locations of interest) do refer back to the main quest of restoring the spirit sewers and the Chain of Life, the dialogue felt generic enough that I found myself speeding right through to be able to get back to riding (sorry, Skelly!) Similarly, while there are plenty of biking puns, references, and in-jokes that I’m sure a more seasoned cyclist may appreciate, the dialogue among the wider inhabitants of the world and even the challengers didn’t quite capture my attention.
While a weaker story and generic character dialogue may be something I take more umbrage with in nearly any other type of game, for me, the main point of Wheel World wasn’t necessarily about the story, but in the ways I wanted to ride around the world and explore, so I was okay just letting the story coast along, paying attention when needed, but otherwise, letting the other strengths of the game carry my experience.
BIKING POWER FANTASY
Wheel World straddles two primarily modes of play: chill bike-riding simulator and racing game. While there are portal-potties (heh) you can use to teleport around the world, I consistently found myself choosing to take the long way and ride my bike, especially once it had a few solid upgrades. Riding on the roads, through forests, and even amidst busy traffic in the city feels intuitive and fun: no having to struggle going uphill, no cramping calves, and no sore seat from hours of riding. Really, it’s the the ultimate biker power fantasy. Even falling or crashing into something barely takes you out as the game resets and gets you back up in a matter of a second or two (although it could be slightly jarring and a bit comical because the cause of crashes seemed a bit inconsistent — for example, I was able to bump into a car with no ill effect, but a small rock took me absolutely out). Overall, riding your bike around the countryside — specifically in the first half of the game — was one of my favorite things to do in the game, letting me zone out, enjoy the music, and appreciate the absolutely stellar sound effects and, when it popped in, soundtrack.
Before we get to the racing, I do need to give a hearty shoutout to composers Johnny Jewel, JOON, and Orion for this OST. I couldn’t help but bop to the synthy-pop tracks as I was cruising through this world. This is absolutely a soundtrack to download and listen to post-game.
The whole soundtrack is lovely, but my highlights include Sweet Adrenaline, Cosmic Ghost, I Want It All, and Villain of Love.
Racing feels tactile and intuitive, and the controls are one of the highlights of this experience…although many of the races can feel a bit too similar after the first couple of hours. While playing on PC, I used an Xbox controller, and adored the way that as you pedal and coast, you can almost feel the bike’s movement in your hands. There’s a boost to help you close distance, and using the break or letting up the acceleration to more sharply turn and drift felt great. As a person who doesn’t often play racing games, I felt like it was approachable, even finding myself attempting the bonus challenges for each race — they’re the same four goals for each: placing in the top 3, placing first, beating “Tom’s Score” (a benchmark score set by the game), and collecting KAT (letters placed in strategic places around the course). Each goal you achieve by completing a race gives you one reputation: earn enough, and you can take on a leader. I found out later that scores and leaderboards are shared with Steam friends, and my race times were posted for anyone wanting to asynchronously compete with them, which is a fun added bonus for anyone wanting to take on an additional challenge.
The races that you’ll complete before each leader are found through exploring and encountering a bevvy of local biking groups as well as “Lone Wolves”. This is where Wheel World feels a bit more formulaic, and where I was slightly disappointed. You’ll get to the location > challenge local racers > challenge the leader until you earn 50 reputation points (and then, in the second half of the game, 50 more). While races take place in different settings, they mechanically felt virtually the same. Off-road biking felt similar to city riding, and while there’s a delightful BMX track that forced me to strategize a bit, nearly every other race I was able to employ the same strategy. It was a bit too straightforward for my preference, and perhaps I could’ve benefited from spreading out my playthrough over multiple days versus two longer sessions to help combat some of the same-ness. I was anticipating a bit of that formula (it IS a racing game after all) but I had hoped there would be just a bit more variety.
I did love how clearly the courses were marked for every race: even my first time through, I never felt at a loss of where to go!
Ultimately, as far as racing and customization went, I wished that there was more impetus to discover and equip new parts for your bike. I felt like I found the parts that I used for the first half of the game within my first two hours. And as soon as I got all the legendary parts, by the second half of the game, I was able to just stick with those parts without having to change it up to find success. I would’ve loved to feel more necessity to use specific parts for specific races, or feel more excited about changing it up. While there are some more goofy parts (like a hot dog bike upgrade), I found myself not feeling encouraged to experiment.
SECOND HALF SWITCHBACK
After an incredibly chill experience exploring and racing along the countryside, a major shift in the story changes the vibes in the second half. Narratively it made sense, but it did feel jarring compared to what the first half of the game reinforced with my play style. Open roads became littered paths, traffic cluttered the area, and obstacles filled each track, reminding me of Mario 64’s Toad’s Turnpike. Races also felt more urgent and like someone had turned up the challenge level. This wasn’t an unwelcome shift — in fact, I felt like the racing in this second half was much more engaging because of it — but it did take a few races to really settle in and get used to what now felt like a Racing Game (TM) rather than a biking sim with racing.
The scenery - and difficulty - changes up in the second half of Wheel World (which I felt was to its benefit) - although I did miss the gentle hills and sunny vineyards.
OVERALL: AN ENJOYABLE RIDE
While at times it felt a bit rote and that there weren’t too many meaningful choices to be make in terms of customizing my bike build, there’s no denying that this is one of the most relaxing biking and racing games out there, made by people who love bikes and bike culture.
I’d recommend it to
folks looking for a game where they can zone out a bit, but still scratch a bit of a competitive itch.
cycling fans
anyone wanting to complete a game within a weekend
people who used to drive their cars “like normal” in games like GTA wanting to relive that but with a bike
7/10
