Hill Climb Racing 2

My Experience with Hill Climb Racing 2

So I finally caved and downloaded Hill Climb Racing 2 last Tuesday evening because my 8-year-old son, Tommy, kept begging me for a racing game he could play on my phone during our long car rides to soccer practice. He’s obsessed with cars and trucks, and I thought, “How bad could a free racing game be?” Well, the first night was actually kind of fun. Tommy picked out a beat-up jeep and we laughed as he flipped it over a dozen times on some snowy mountain track. The controls are simple enough—tilt the phone or tap buttons—so he didn’t need my help every five seconds. But by day two, I noticed he was tapping on stuff constantly to unlock new vehicles, and that’s when the in-app purchase pop-ups started. I had to take the phone away twice because he almost bought a “tank” for $4.99. On Saturday morning, I let him play while I made breakfast, and ten minutes later he was crying because some online player beat him in a multiplayer race. The game itself runs fine on my A54—no crashes or lag—but honestly, my experience has been more about managing his frustration than enjoying the game together. It kept him busy for a bit, but I’m already thinking about deleting it.

Features Worth Noting

There’s a lot packed into this app, I’ll give them that. You’ve got like 20 different vehicles—cars, bikes, trucks, even a freaking monster truck—and each one can be upgraded with better engines, suspension, and tires. My kid loved customizing his “buggy” with bright orange flames. The tracks are varied too: snowy mountains, muddy jungles, deserts, and these crazy moon-like maps where your car bounces around. Graphics look decent on my phone—not blurry or low-res like some free games. The multiplayer mode is a big deal for Tommy because he can race against random people online, though I wish there was a way to disable it for kid accounts. There’s also a career mode with tons of levels to unlock, which gives you some structure instead of just aimless driving. The steering feels responsive, and you can flip your car in mid-air by tilting, which is actually pretty satisfying. But the best feature for me personally? The game saves your progress automatically, so Tommy didn’t lose his upgrades when I had to restart my phone last night. That saved a meltdown.

What Needs Work

Okay, here’s where I get honest. The ads and in-app purchases are a nightmare for a parent. Every time you finish a race, there’s a 15-second video ad for some other game, and Tommy kept accidentally clicking them because the “skip” button is tiny. I swear, half his playtime was just watching ads. And those purchase pop-ups? They’re designed to trick kids—big shiny buttons saying “Get 500 coins now!” but they cost real money unless you know to back out. I wish the developers would add a “kids mode” or at least a toggle to block purchases entirely. Also, the difficulty curve is weird. Some tracks are super easy, then suddenly you hit a level where you need a fully upgraded vehicle just to finish, which forces you to grind for coins or pay up. Tommy got frustrated and gave up on career mode because he couldn’t get past the third mountain stage. And the multiplayer? I don’t love that strangers can message you after races—thankfully my son can’t read well yet, but that’s a red flag for older kids. Finally, there’s no offline mode for most content, so if we’re driving through a dead zone, he can’t play. That’s a dealbreaker for car trips.

Pricing

The game is free to download, which is how they got me. But the real cost sneaks up on you. There are coins and gems you can earn slowly by playing, or you can buy them with real money. A small coin pack is $1.99, a bigger one is $4.99, and there are bundles up to $19.99 for “premium” vehicles and outfits. There’s also a subscription thing—$4.99 a month to remove ads and get bonus rewards. I didn’t buy anything because I refuse to spend cash on a mobile game, but Tommy begged me for the “free” trial, which I had to explain is not actually free after a week. Honestly, for a family, I’d say the game is pay-to-progress after the first few hours. Without spending, you’re stuck replaying easy tracks to farm coins, and the ads never stop. It’s not a scam—you can play indefinitely without paying—but the pressure to spend is constant and aggressive. For a more honest experience, I’d rather pay $3.99 upfront and have no ads or microtransactions.

Developer Notes

Fingersoft has been updating this game consistently since it came out, which is cool. I checked the app store reviews and saw they at least respond to complaints about bugs and glitches. I haven’t had to contact support myself—no crashes or lost data—so I can’t speak to their responsiveness. But the reviews mention that customer service can be slow for purchase refunds, which worries me given how easy it is for kids to accidentally buy stuff. The game itself seems well-made technically; it never lagged or froze on my A54 even during chaotic races. I wish the developers would add a parent dashboard or a restricted mode for children, especially since this game is rated for ages 9+ but attracts younger kids like Tommy. They have a privacy policy that mentions collecting data for ads, which is standard, but I’d love to see them prioritize family safety over ad revenue. The game is popular—4.5 stars with millions of downloads—so they’re doing something right, but to me, the focus feels more on monetization than on making it a wholesome experience for families.

Security & Privacy

This is important to me as a parent. The app asks for permission to access your device’s storage (probably to save game data) and internet connection for multiplayer and ads. The privacy policy says they collect things like your device ID, IP address, and gameplay data to serve targeted ads and improve the game. They share data with third-party ad networks, which is standard but still creepy. There’s no login requirement to play, which is actually good—Tommy can’t accidentally share personal info. But the multiplayer mode does let players choose a username and communicate via preset chat messages (like “Nice race!” or “Try harder!”), which is limiting but still opens the door for strangers. I turned off wifi when he plays solo, but the game still shows banner ads. I didn’t find any option to disable data collection in the settings, and the privacy policy is a wall of legal text no normal person would read. For a kid-friendly app, I’d like to see clearer disclosures and maybe an option to play fully offline without ads. Honestly, it feels like most free games from big developers these days—your data is the real product. But for now, I’m monitoring Tommy’s play closely.