The first footage of Wilder World’s racing car game Wilder Wheels was released over the weekend.
In the footage, the metaverse’s only human character Frank, named after the project’s co-founder, artist Frank Wilder, races AI competitor n3o around a transparent track at speeds of up to 190/mph.
Although unfinished, the setting for the race is stunning.
The track runs out over the ocean near Little Meow, one of nine neighborhoods inside the city of Wiami’s Island area, and through the Trinity Towers complex.
There are expansive views of the coastline and Wiami’s futuristic skyline.
The track is the first official race course in Wiami, a metropolis modeled on Miami and Wilder World’s first and, currently, only city. It will eventually connect with Wiami’s other highways.
Little Meow, seen in blue in the above image, is based on Miami’s infamous South Beach neighborhood and was the location for the metaverse’s strikingly beautiful pre-alpha gameplay video released earlier this year.
The project warned the footage released this weekend as part of their first dev log update would include “half-baked” concepts, and the racing mechanics on show were a little underwhelming. The slide physics didn’t look quite real and the car seemed to just be yawing in free space.
The race itself also lacked intensity. The only real excitement was when both cars struggled to maintain their grip in a downhill turn.
If you’ve played Need for Speed, Midnight Club, Gran Turismo or the Forza series then, like me, there are probably a few things you are hoping to see from Wilder Wheels in the future.
If we look at a more recent competitor with a similar level of graphics, like Forza Horizon 5 (2021), the verticality, banking, camera movement, and several other aspects make it a completely different beast.
For Wilder Wheels to stand out among its web2 competitors, the project will need to implement many improved gameplay mechanics.
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