WheelMates is a cooperative adventure game that takes a simple idea and turns it into a surprisingly creative journey. Instead of controlling a human character, you and a friend take control of two tiny remote-controlled cars and explore the enormous home laboratory of a mysterious professor who has disappeared without explanation. What looks like an ordinary house from a human perspective becomes a massive playground when viewed from the tiny cars’ point of view.
Developed and published by Firevolt, WheelMates launched on PC on September 1, 2026. The game is built specifically around two-player cooperation, combining driving, platforming, puzzle-solving, exploration, and adventure mechanics. Players need to communicate, coordinate their movements, and work together to overcome obstacles that cannot be solved by one car alone.
Game Information
- Title: WheelMates
- Developer: Firevolt
- Publisher: Firevolt
- Release Date: September 1, 2026
- Genre: Adventure, Indie, Racing, Puzzle, Platformer
- Game Mode: Two-player cooperative multiplayer
- Perspective: Third-person
- Platform: PC
- Engine: Unreal Engine 5
- Storage: 15 GB
- Minimum RAM: 8 GB
- Recommended RAM: 16 GB
- DirectX: Version 12
What Is WheelMates?
WheelMates is a two-player driving and puzzle adventure where tiny RC cars explore a giant scientist’s home. The unusual scale difference is one of the game’s defining ideas. A normal desk becomes a huge obstacle course, shelves become platforms, cables and household objects become pathways, and ordinary rooms become enormous environments that the players have to navigate.
The game combines several genres without becoming overly complicated. Driving gives players direct control over their vehicles, platforming challenges require careful movement, and puzzles demand communication between both players. Exploration then ties everything together by encouraging players to search for hidden paths, collectibles, and clues.
The result is an adventure where simply reaching the next room can sometimes become a cooperative puzzle. One player may need to activate something while the other drives through a newly opened path, or both cars may need to coordinate their movement to overcome a difficult obstacle.
The Professor’s Mysterious Home
The main setting is the home laboratory of an eccentric professor who has mysteriously vanished. Instead of finding the answer immediately, players gradually explore the building and discover clues about his work.
The professor’s home is intentionally designed like a giant playground. From the perspective of tiny RC cars, everyday furniture and household objects become enormous structures. Players can race across shelves, drive around desks, explore rooms, and search for hidden routes.
The environment is therefore not simply decoration. It is an important part of the gameplay. Players need to understand the layout of each room and look at familiar objects from a completely different perspective. BOMBANANA!
Two-Player Cooperative Gameplay
The most important feature of WheelMates is cooperation. The game is designed specifically for two players, meaning communication and teamwork are essential.
Both players have their own RC car, and the game gives them situations where working independently is not enough. A puzzle might require one car to hold something in position while the other reaches a previously inaccessible area. Another challenge may require both players to coordinate their movements at exactly the right time.
This makes the experience different from a normal multiplayer racing game. You are not simply competing against your friend to reach the finish line first. Instead, both players share the same goal and need to help each other progress.
Driving the RC Cars
Driving is one of the most enjoyable parts of WheelMates because the RC cars are small, responsive vehicles rather than conventional racing cars. Players need to understand how their cars turn, accelerate, stop, and navigate narrow surfaces.
The game includes adjustable camera and driving settings, allowing players to customize how the cars feel. The developers added options for follow and free camera modes as well as steering sensitivity and throttle adjustments during development.
Driving becomes especially interesting when players are navigating shelves, desks, platforms, and other oversized objects. A simple turn that would be meaningless in a normal driving game can become a major maneuver when the player is balancing on a narrow surface.
Puzzle Solving
Puzzle-solving is another major component of WheelMates. The puzzles are designed around the abilities of two RC cars, so players need to communicate and understand how their actions affect their partner.
Instead of relying purely on traditional switches and keys, the game uses environmental interactions. Players may need to move objects, activate mechanisms, pull something using a gadget, or coordinate their positions to create a route forward.
The cooperative design means that solving a puzzle can become a conversation. Players need to explain what they see, decide who should move where, and then execute the plan together.
Special Abilities and Gadgets
As players progress, their RC cars gain access to different upgrades and gadgets. These tools expand the ways in which players can explore the professor’s home.
The game includes abilities such as rope swinging, magnetic wheels, magnet grabs, and other power-ups. Each gadget introduces new possibilities for movement and puzzle solving.
These upgrades also give previously explored areas additional value. A location that seemed impossible to access earlier may become reachable after obtaining a new ability. This encourages players to remember interesting areas and return to them later.
Exploration and Hidden Paths
WheelMates is not simply a linear drive from one objective to another. The professor’s home contains hidden rooms and alternative routes that players can discover while exploring.
As new abilities become available, additional sections of the house can be accessed. This gradually opens the environment and encourages players to look beyond the obvious path.
Exploration also connects with the game’s mystery. The more players investigate, the more information they can discover about the professor, his experiments, and what happened before the adventure began.
Collectibles and Lore
The developers added a Journal system to help players keep track of collectibles and narrative information. Players can scan objects around the house, collect memory cards, and learn more about the professor’s daily life and unusual experiments.
This gives exploration another purpose beyond simply reaching the next puzzle. Players who enjoy discovering hidden details can spend additional time searching rooms and investigating objects.
The Journal also helps connect the different pieces of the story. Instead of presenting everything through long cutscenes, the game allows players to discover information as they explore.
Different Rooms and Environments
One of the most interesting aspects of WheelMates is how differently ordinary rooms can feel when explored by tiny vehicles. A kitchen can become a large platforming environment, while a workshop can turn into a complicated maze filled with machinery and obstacles.
The scale of the environment creates variety without requiring an enormous open world. Each room can introduce new challenges based on its furniture, objects, and layout.
Players might race across a table in one area, navigate a complicated laboratory section in another, and then discover a hidden route through an unexpected part of the house.
My Personal Experience
What makes WheelMates stand out is its scale-based concept. Controlling a tiny RC car inside a normal house makes ordinary objects feel completely different.
The idea works particularly well because the environment is designed around the vehicles. Shelves, desks, laboratory equipment, and other objects are not simply background decorations; they become roads, platforms, obstacles, and puzzle components.
The cooperative requirement also makes the game more social. You cannot simply rush ahead and ignore your partner because many situations require both players to participate.
For friends who enjoy cooperative puzzle games, this can create a strong sense of teamwork. You have to communicate, experiment, and sometimes laugh when your carefully planned solution goes completely wrong.
Friend’s Pass
One of WheelMates’ most useful features is its Friend’s Pass. The system allows the owner of the full game to invite a friend to participate without requiring the friend to purchase another full copy.
This is particularly valuable for a game that requires exactly two players. Instead of asking both people to buy the game before they can experience the adventure, one player can purchase the game and invite their partner.
The Friend’s Pass makes it easier for players to find someone to play with and lowers the barrier to experiencing the game’s cooperative campaign.
Is WheelMates Multiplayer?
Yes. WheelMates is specifically designed as a two-player cooperative game. Both players control an RC car and work together throughout the adventure.
The game supports online co-op and local multiplayer/split-screen options. The developers have also confirmed that Steam Deck is supported.
It is important to understand that this is not a traditional single-player adventure with optional multiplayer. The cooperative relationship between the two cars is central to the game’s design.
Platform Availability
WheelMates launched first on PC on September 1, 2026. The game is available through Steam and supports Steam Deck.
Console versions for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch are planned for the first half of 2027 according to the developers’ August Q&A.
This gives the game a PC-first release while allowing console players to look forward to future versions.
Pros and Cons
Pros
WheelMates’ biggest advantage is its strong cooperative concept. The game is built around two players from the beginning, so teamwork is not simply an optional feature added to an otherwise single-player experience.
The oversized house also provides an excellent setting for this concept. Ordinary household objects become interesting obstacles and platforms, giving the environment a playful sense of scale.
The different gadgets provide additional variety, while hidden rooms and collectibles encourage players to explore beyond the main path. The Friend’s Pass is another major advantage because it makes it easier for two friends to experience the game together.
Cons
The biggest limitation is also part of the game’s identity: WheelMates requires two players. Someone looking for a traditional solo adventure may not find the game suitable.
Because communication is important, the experience can also depend heavily on the quality of the partnership. Players who do not communicate well may struggle with puzzles that require precise coordination.
The game has also received some community reports about online synchronization problems, including desync during co-op sessions. The developers have released demo updates addressing connection stability, so players should keep the game updated when playing online.
Latest Update and Current Status
WheelMates officially launched on PC on September 1, 2026, after the developers moved the release forward from the previously announced September 7 date. The launch includes the complete two-player adventure and Friend’s Pass functionality.
Before launch, Firevolt released an updated demo with improved car handling, camera options, a Journal system, optimization improvements, and Steam Deck support.
The developers have also confirmed that console editions for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch are planned for the first half of 2027.
Should You Play WheelMates?
WheelMates is a strong choice for players searching for a cooperative game that feels different from the usual multiplayer experience. Instead of shooting enemies or competing in traditional races, two players explore an enormous house as tiny RC cars and solve environmental challenges together.
The scale of the world is particularly appealing. A normal household becomes an adventure environment, and everyday objects suddenly become massive obstacles. This creates a playful atmosphere while also providing plenty of opportunities for creative puzzles.
The Friend’s Pass is another reason to consider the game. Since the experience requires two players, being able to invite a friend without requiring them to buy the full game makes the cooperative campaign much easier to access.
Conclusion
WheelMates is a creative two-player adventure that transforms an ordinary house into a giant playground for two tiny RC cars. Developed by Firevolt, the game combines driving, platforming, puzzle-solving, exploration, and storytelling while making cooperation the central part of its design.
The story follows two players investigating the disappearance of a mysterious professor. His home laboratory is filled with strange experiments, hidden areas, collectibles, and environmental challenges. As the players explore, they gradually uncover clues about what happened and learn more about the professor’s unusual work.