Game Review: ‘Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds’ is Chaotic Karting Fun
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a kart-racing-style game in the Sonic Racing series, developed by Sonic Team and published by SEGA. The game comes with an extensive offline mode plus a fun, yet chaotic, online multiplayer mode. In this game, you’ll come across a total of 39 unique tracks; 15 of those are the titular “CrossWorlds,” with currently 23 standard racers to choose from, with more being available later post-release.
This game is available on PC and all current consoles, and as a bonus, there is crossplay between all the different platforms, making it easier than ever to play with your friends. Even if you don’t have friends who own Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, the online play allows you to race against 11 other players from across the world in an attempt to see who is the best.
What’s Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds like to play?
If you’re not familiar with the Sonic Racing series, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds continues the franchise by showcasing some of the better kart-racing mechanics available today in racing games. The typical kart-racing experience involves you competing against CPU-controlled racers or racers controlled by other players. In each race, you’ll not only try your best to come in first place, but along the way you’ll gather item boxes containing power-ups that can either sabotage other racers, or use defensive items to protect yourself from being sabotaged.
You can play the offline mode that will typically be just for a single player, but there’s also the option of having three other local players join in. If a single-player campaign isn’t for you and you want to really push yourself to the limits, then the online multiplayer mode might be what you’re looking for. Even though I found the single-player fun, I kept going back to the more engaging gameplay of racing against other people.
Even as I’m writing this review, I am itching to get back to the action and try to prove to myself and to others that I am not going to give up in my pursuit of coming in first place. If I am being completely honest, racing versus others is really difficult. Most of the time while racing online, it’s apparent that coming in first place is a much harder task than you’d imagine. The feeling of leading a race in first place is always alluring, but even if I don’t always place first, I’m still having a blast with the racing mechanics of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds!
The race has only just begun with a wide array of choices, characters, and tracks
In Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, there are by default 24 racers you can choose from, more if you have any of the Day 1 DLC purchased and installed. Among these characters are regulars such as Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Knuckles the Echidna, but you will also have the option of racing as more obscure characters like Charmy the Bee, Espio the Chameleon, or even Sage from the game Sonic Frontiers.
Hatsune Miku, Joker from Persona 5, and many other non-Sonic cameo characters are either already released or will be released as both free and premium downloads in the near future. The only downside about these guest racers, from what I understand, is that Hatsune Miku will be the only cameo character that is voiced, while others, such as the upcoming SpongeBob SquarePants and Mega Man, will not.
The major standout in this game is the wide array of racing tracks to choose from because while there are 24 tracks you can directly choose, there are also 15 extra tracks that are known as the CrossWorlds. CrossWorlds are segments that racers will come across when racing on their initially selected track. After the first lap of your race, whoever is in the lead will be able to select either an assigned CrossWorld on the left or let the game randomly choose a different CrossWorld that can be selected on the right of the track.
This CrossWorld mechanic is what really stood out to me because while you can easily and quickly become familiar with the selectable 24 race tracks, having a bit of randomness in the middle of the race adds to the excitingly chaotic nature of the game. Having some chaos thrown in on top of everything else the game has to offer helps prevent the game from becoming stale and was always to keep me on alert.
Offline or online play: the choice is yours
Whether you’re racing on or offline, the main objective of the race is to come in first. But going against 11 other racers can be somewhat of a challenge in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds due to the inherently chaotic nature of this game. There is so much going on, from bumping into other racers, getting knocked into walls, collecting rings, voice line callouts, and other sound effects that can make focusing on racing a little difficult.
In single player, the star of the show is the Grand Prix mode. In Grand Prix mode, you’ll be given a rival that can be one of the other racers in the game, each with their own difficulty and rival callouts. It is your goal to beat them in each of the four races that make up a Grand Prix cup, so expect to see a lot of back and forth between you and your chosen rival. Sometimes you’ll be given the option of either the pre-selected rival or another randomly chosen one. Be careful with your choices because one of the rivals may be more difficult than the other based on their rival rank.
I adore the open rival system in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds because in other kart racing games, such as Mario Kart World, there is usually a rival per cup, but the game never really points this out. It is disappointing that other games haven’t really done what this game does in regard to the rival system, and my only wish is that this will become an industry staple in future kart games.
When I describe that Sonic Racing: Crosswords’ entire gameplay loop as chaotic, I don’t mean this negatively. Much like the games in this series that came before this one, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is very much a fun game, and it’s easy to embrace the wild nature of this one.
From cars and hoverboards that can transform to allow you to race in the air and on water, the variety of customization for vehicles can really help you control some of the anarchy this game embraces. I found myself toying around with customizing my vehicles of choice so often, always striving for the perfect ride.
The super Sonic sights and sounds
It wouldn’t be a Sonic racing game without a wonderful presentation of stand-out visuals and a catchy soundtrack. I’ve never been disappointed in the way that the developers at SEGA have designed these racing games. Even though you have to go fast when you’re up against 11 other racers, it’s easy to appreciate the amount of effort that has been put into designing the courses. I was initially worried that everything was going to end up in a blur when careening around tight corners and bumping into other competitors, but within the first minute of racing, I was awed by the level of detail the courses have.
Now when it comes to Sonic the Hedgehog games and their adjacent spin-offs, the sound design and music are and always have been phenomenal, and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is no exception. The vehicles, power-up sound effects, and voiced characters are all unique and, while there may sometimes be a cacophony of sound, are all standouts of great sound design.
The soundtrack is gloriously composed by Takahiro Kai as the lead composer, with many others contributing to this soundtrack, such as Jun Senoue, Tee Lopes, and many others. Every track gets me excited to tackle the race, and I frequently sought out listening to individual tracks on my own even outside the game, so I’m going to wish that SEGA somewhere has an official release of the entire soundtrack soon. If you’re as much of a fan of the music artists who worked on the game as I am, then you’re in for a treat!
Final thoughts on Sonic Racing: Crossworlds
If you’ve been waiting for a worthy successor to the previous games in this franchise, then there is no doubt in my mind that you’re going to enjoy this game. From picking your favorite Sonic characters to customizing your vehicle with different silly parts, colors, decals, and even horns, this is a game that’s hard to pass up. If you’re looking for an alternative to the sometimes over-complex nature of Mario Kart World for Nintendo Switch 2, then this might be the choice for you.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is not a perfect game, but it is already bringing so much joy to Sonic and racing fans alike. I truly believe it may end up more beloved than Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed from 2013. I specifically mention this other game because up until the release of CrossWorlds, it was my favorite, but now that this newer game has been released, this game is the new champion in my heart.
My rating for this game: 4/5
I love kart racing games, and the Sonic Racing series is one of the most consistent racing franchises out there. I give Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds 4 stars out of 5 because the game is pure adrenaline, always leaving me wanting more even if I am not the best racer in the world.
I would give it a higher score if it were a little less chaotic with the barrage of sound effects you can encounter, especially during an online race. I’m going to keep racing, and with the amount of new playable characters coming out, there will be plenty to do.
Sonic Racing: Crossroads is now available to play on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
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