BrokenLore: DON'T LIE and Hot Wheels Infinite Rush review roundup

Two very different games landed on Steam on September 10. BrokenLore: DON'T LIE is a $15.99 psychological horror game you can finish in an evening. Hot Wheels Infinite Rush is Milestone's $49.99 attempt to turn its toy-car racing series into an open-world game. Neither is a critical smash, but both have clear reasons to pick them up, and the BrokenLore: DON'T LIE and Hot Wheels Infinite Rush reviews agree on more than you'd expect: the core is good, and the parts around it are thin.

Here's where the scores landed and what critics are actually arguing about.

BrokenLore: DON'T LIE review scores: no Metascore yet

BrokenLore: DON'T LIE is developed by Serafini Productions and published by Wired Productions on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It's the latest short entry in the BrokenLore horror anthology, and a companion piece to DON'T WATCH: you play Junko, a young woman shut away in a small apartment, trying to reconnect with two men she met in a rehabilitation center while her reliance on medication starts to warp reality around her.

Coverage is thin. Metacritic doesn't show a Metascore yet: it lists only a handful of reviews per platform, and it needs at least four before a score appears. OpenCritic lists ten reviews but only one from a Top Critic, so it doesn't display a Top Critic Average either. Its median score is 69, and 30% of critics recommend it. The scores below are from outlets that reviewed it in launch week, so treat this chart as a sample rather than a consensus.

What critics like about BrokenLore: DON'T LIE

The environments. Almost every review singles out the places Junko's mind drags her into. Lyle Pendle at Loot Level Chill (8/10) calls it "a real return to form for this horror anthology," and says "the liminal spaces in the game especially are such a beautiful thing to behold." Netto's Game Room "appreciated the wide range of environments on display."

Critics also like how restrained it is. Game Critix says it "rarely feels like it is desperately trying to prove that it is scary," leaving the player to do the frightening. It also mixes things up more than a pure walking simulator. GameSpew's Richard Seagrave points to 2D platforming sections inside Junko's in-game video game, a cartoon sword, and chase scenes, calling it "unpredictable and engaging."

Where BrokenLore reviews split: length and lore

The complaints come down to how much it asks of you and how little it gives back. Loot Level Chill finished it in under an hour, and Netto's Game Room, which calls it one of the stronger entries in the series, still says "its brief runtime will leave players wanting more."

The story is the other sticking point. Game8's Allisandra Reyes (68) says it "works best if you've already invested in the BrokenLore franchise," and Netto's Game Room notes that plenty of the series' mysteries still go unanswered. GameSpew (6/10) found it "pretty devoid of any real scares" and not very polished, with visual artefacts and performance issues. Game8 calls the stabbing combat "somewhat janky," with tiny enemies you have to angle the camera down to hit.

Hot Wheels Infinite Rush review scores: 73 on Metacritic

Hot Wheels Infinite Rush is developed and published by Milestone, the studio behind Hot Wheels Unleashed and its sequel, on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Switch 2. Metacritic lists it at 73 on PS5 from 35 critics (19 positive, 16 mixed, none negative). OpenCritic has it at a 74 Top Critic Average with 57% of critics recommending it, a "Fair" rating.

The big change is structure. Instead of orange-track circuits, Infinite Rush gives you four toy-scale islands to drive around, each with a Rush Master boss to beat, 150+ cars to collect, and a Track Builder that lets you bolt track pieces onto the world itself. It also has four-player split-screen and online multiplayer with cross-play.

What critics love about Hot Wheels Infinite Rush

The handling survived the move. Even Push Square's 6/10 credits "the same great handling from the Unleashed titles." CGMagazine (8.5/10) calls it "a feature-rich, open-world arcade racer that anyone can jump into." Hardcore Gamer (4.5/5) says it "manages to draw the magic of Hot Wheels in an open world video game," and GamingTrend (85) says "the open world is a fun space to explore."

GameSpew (8/10) describes it as Hot Wheels Unleashed and Forza Horizon smooshed together, "resulting in an open world arcade racer that's a huge amount of fun to play." Critics also like how approachable it is for kids, with plenty of cars to unlock and secrets to find.

Where Hot Wheels reviews split: the open world

The argument is over whether the open world adds anything. Push Square (6/10) says the switch to an open world "does little to add to the experience; if anything, I think it detracts from it." Press Start Australia (7.5/10) says that "a certain dash of magic has been sacrificed at the open-world altar." Finger Guns (7/10) calls it "nowhere near as good as its two fantastic predecessors."

Metro GameCentral's 5/10 is the harshest, calling it "a peculiarly drab attempt to make a more family friendly version of Forza Horizon." Several reviews also flag practical problems: MonsterVine points to limits on local co-op and "immersion-breaking load screens," and But Why Tho? says loading times are long on Switch 2.

BrokenLore: DON'T LIE vs Hot Wheels Infinite Rush at a glance

Which one to play

These two games have almost nothing in common, but the reviews ask the same question of both: are you happy with a good core and not much around it?

BrokenLore: DON'T LIE is for players already following the BrokenLore anthology, or anyone who wants a short, strange horror game for a single night. At $15.99 and roughly an hour or two, it's an easy experiment. If you want real scares, or you've never played DON'T WATCH, GameSpew and Game8 suggest waiting. If short horror is your thing, our piece on why small horror games are still the internet's campfire and our Halloween: The Game review deep dive cover two very different takes on the genre this season.

Hot Wheels Infinite Rush is for families, split-screen households and anyone who liked Unleashed's handling and wants somewhere to drive between races. If what you loved about Unleashed was its giant, detailed track circuits, read Push Square and Press Start first, and Switch 2 players should expect long loads.

If you pick up either one, log it in Perthro with a quick note on how long it took you. BrokenLore's length is exactly the kind of thing worth remembering when the next one comes out, and it's a good test case for our question of whether video games are too long.

Sources

• Metacritic: BrokenLore: DON'T LIE
• OpenCritic: BrokenLore: DON'T LIE
• Loot Level Chill: BrokenLore: DON'T LIE review
• Game8: BrokenLore: Don't Lie review
• GameSpew: BrokenLore: Don't Lie review
• Game Critix: BrokenLore: DON'T LIE review
• Netto's Game Room: BrokenLore: DON'T LIE review
• Steam: BrokenLore: DON'T LIE
• Metacritic: Hot Wheels Infinite Rush
• OpenCritic: Hot Wheels Infinite Rush
• Push Square: Hot Wheels Infinite Rush review
• CGMagazine: Hot Wheels Infinite Rush review
• GamingTrend: Hot Wheels Infinite Rush review
• Press Start Australia: Hot Wheels Infinite Rush review
• Steam: Hot Wheels Infinite Rush