''Wheel World'' is an

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

racing game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a motor racing, racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more re ...

developed by

Messhof Mark Essen, better known as Messhof, is an American video game designer and artist best known for '' Nidhogg'', its sequel, and '' Flywrench''. He is currently developing a new game, '' Wheel World''. Career In college, Messhof made games wi ...

and published by

Annapurna Interactive Annapurna Games, LLC (trade name: Annapurna Interactive) is an American video game publisher and developer. The company is a division of Annapurna Pictures, and was founded in 2016, and has focused on publishing innovative and emotive indie games ...

. The game was released on July 23, 2025 for

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...

and

Xbox Series X and Series S The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in the Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Xbox Series X and lower-end Xbox Series S are part o ...

Gameplay

''Wheel World'' is an

adventure video game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an Interactive storytelling, interactive story, driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus ...

played from a

third-person perspective Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to storytelling, convey a narrative, story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to del ...

. In the game, the player assumes control of Kat, a

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

"chosen by ancient cycling spirits" who must collect legendary bicycle parts to perform a ritual that saves the world. Players can explore several large regions while riding on Kat's bike, and encounter various

non-playable character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...

s. As they progress, they will earn "Rep" through challenging other characters in a race, and performing difficult tricks with Kat's bike. The bike can also be extensively customized with various parts, which can further improve its performance while navigating difficult terrain.

Development

The game was developed by

, which is most known for creating '' Nidhogg'', its sequel, and '' Flywrench''. ''Wheel World'' is a significant departure from the studio's past games, as it is its first 3D game and its first game with a proper narrative. It is also Messhof's first game with a publisher and the first to be produced with a significantly larger team. The game was announced in June 2023 by

as ''Ghost Bike''. Originally, the game had a more somber tone, and its narrative focused on a cyclist who was transported to a "cycling

Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla ( , ; , )Orchard (1997:171–172) is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. There were five possible realms the soul could travel to after death. The first was Fólkvang ...

" after being killed in a

road traffic accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Tr ...

(See

ghost bike A ghost bike (also referred to as a ghostcycle or WhiteCycle) is a bicycle roadside memorial, placed where a cyclist has been killed or severely injured, usually by the driver of a motor vehicle. Apart from being a memorial, it is usually inten ...

). However, as the studio refined its gameplay systems, it also changed the game's tone to be more lighthearted and decided to change the game's title to reflect its new focus. According to Mark Essen, the founder of Messhof, ''Wheel World'' is about finding the "joy and freedom of living around bikes," though the story retains its supernatural elements. Technical lead Sam Loeschen also described the game as "a goofy, irreverent, and kind of chill experience". The game features an original soundtrack from the indie label

Italians Do It Better Italians Do It Better is an independent record label based in Portland and West Hollywood. It was started by Johnny Jewel and Mike Simonetti on July 20, 2006, to focus on Jewel's projects Glass Candy and Chromatics and later Desire, Symmetry an ...

Reception

''Wheel World'' received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. ''Eurogamer'' awarded the title 4/5 stars, calling it "lovely" and "focused". ''Polygon'' praised the title's "well-executed cycling" mechanics. ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' described the game as "easy-going" and praised the game's use of music and soundtrack. They noted how incomparable the game was from Messhof's previous titles, such as Nidhogg.

References

External links

* {{Annapurna Interactive Adventure games Cycling video games Windows games PlayStation 5 games Xbox Series X and Series S games Video games developed in the United States Annapurna Interactive games Racing video games Sports video games Open-world video games Single-player video games Video games featuring female protagonists 2025 video games

Gameplay

Development

Reception

See also

References

External links