Two to four players can also take part in the "Beetle Battle" mode, a vehicular combat mode in which players compete to collect six differently colored ladybugs (HSV pendants in HSV Adventure Racing), attempt to destroy the other competitors, and race for the exit once all the ladybugs are collected.

Need for Speed 64 would have exclusive tracks and vehicles, Rumble Pak support and the series' trademark gameplay mechanics.

Beetle Adventure Racing received "universal acclaim" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.

[7] In Japan, where the game was ported and published by Electronic Arts Square on November 26, 1999, Famitsu gave it a score of 28 out of 40.

[11] An unnamed reviewer of Next Generation commended the gameplay, graphics, cars and tracks, and considered the title to be a competitive rival to other racing franchises like Top Gear and EA's Need for Speed.

[19] Victor Lucas of The Electric Playground called the scenery around the tracks "stunning", saying that the environments in the game feel "alive".

Lucas noted some graphical errors and felt that the game should have utilized the system's Expansion Pak for higher resolution, but considered only a minor nuisance.

[18] Shawn Sackenheim of AllGame praised the game's lengthy racetracks, its multiplayer mode, its "superb" use of various shortcuts, car models, the graphics and its overall presentation.

[23] According to senior producer Hanno Lemke, its sales numbers were small relative to other EA products, which he blamed on its "terrible box art and a virtually non-existent marketing presence”, as well as high competition from other racing games on the Nintendo 64.

[6] Lemke said it dropped the Beetle license and was titled Adventure Racing 2, featuring a variety non-licensed vehicles and more customization, but was cancelled due to the first game's low sales.