Reviewing Mario Kart 8 for CGR kicked off a bit of a kart racing phase during whatever free time I set aside for video games in the following month or so. Among the kart racers I was enjoying however, the all new Sonic Racing CrossWorlds has absolutely been the most dominant force. Sonic the Hedgehog has had a very complicated history with racing games, ironic considering speed is at the core of Sonic’s traditional gameplay. I have fond childhood memories playing the Sonic Riders series as well as Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed, but other titles like the underwhelming Team Sonic Racing and the infamous Sonic R seem to overshadow the good stuff in terms of fan perception.

I don’t consider myself the biggest Sonic fan so initially I was indifferent to CrossWorlds when it was first announced, but when it was revealed it would feature the return of Sonic Riders characters and vehicles as well as crossovers with other Sega franchises I started paying more attention. Closer to the game’s release I participated in the open network test and got to experience what the final product would be like and this review’s mere existence should probably tell you I liked the beta test enough to come back for more. In the spirit of the speedy blue rodent I took things pretty slow to experience everything this game has to offer. Now let’s see if it has what it takes to reach the finish line.

Believe it or not, Sonic Racing CrossWorlds does in fact have some story elements contextualizing the gameplay. This game’s immediate predecessor, Team Sonic Racing, introduced a brand new character named King Dodonpa, a portly tanokoki who devotes his planet’s resources into designing and manufacturing the best cars in the universe. Dodonpa has once again invited Sonic and his friends to participate in a racing tournament to test and promote his latest lineup of racing vehicles. To spice things up Dodonpa is also utilizing portals to take the races to new frontiers across time and space and let new racers from other realities join the competition. There’s no proper story mode with a progressing plot and proper conclusion, but the game is littered with small interactions between characters that help piece together a somewhat coherent premise which helps the game stand out a little from other kart racers.

Speaking of characters, the playable roster on offer is CrossWorlds might be one of the game’s strongest selling points. All the quintessential members of Sonic’s core cast are here without compromise, meaning oddball picks like Zavok, Zazz, Sage, and Eggpawn feel like welcome additions rather than gimmicks. It also brings me great pleasure to see Sonic Riders’s original characters Jett the Hawk, Wave the Swallow, and Storm the Albatross back in a proper racing game for the first time in 15 years. It’s super fun listening to this huge collection of strong personalities bounce off each other mid race, even if the call backs and references got a little gratuitous at times (nothing nearly as bad as the Sonic Generations remaster, but the point still stands).

With such an excellent base roster, you’d think the game’s post launch guest stars from other Sega properties and licensed from other companies would make things even better. Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a mixed bag as these crossover characters won’t directly interact with the Sonic characters. Heck, Sega confirmed most of them won’t even have proper voice acting. The Developers have stated in interviews this is to make licensing deals easier for all parties involved, but considering this also applies to the characters Sega already owns I think they’re just making excuses to be stingy and cut corners.

Voiced or not, at least the characters, vehicles, and racetracks are all visually appealing. The game isn’t on the cutting edge of graphics by any stretch of the imagination, but it doesn’t really need to be in order to do what it sets out to accomplish. The racetracks in particular are fun because they simultaneously celebrate the history of the Sonic series while also inventing new locations that fit right in with the classics. Of course we can’t discuss the presentation of a Sonic game without mentioning the soundtrack. CrossWorlds definitely continues the Sonic tradition of fantastic music across the board, though personally the emphasis on EDM in the instrumentation holds it back from being an all-time classic. Sonic is at it best when it’s back by pulse-pounding rock n’ roll, a bombastic orchestra, and nostalgic chip-tunes. Never settle for anything less.

Of course no amount of great music would save the game if it felt terrible to play, just ask anyone who’s played Sonic 06. Fortunately for us, Sonic Racing CrossWorlds is by far one of the best kart racing games made in recent years. Firstly, the game takes some inspiration from Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed by bringing back the titular transforming vehicle mechanic, allowing racetracks to rush over water and soar through the skies. CrossWorlds has a titular mechanic of its own, which takes the 2nd lap of every race to a completely different racetrack, practically guaranteeing that no 2 races will ever feel exactly the same. With these mechanics put together the racetracks become some of the most fun and dynamic in the entire kart racing genre.

A staple mechanic of many kart racers that’s front and center in CrossWorlds are items, chaotic power-ups used to slow down other racers and slingshot players to the front of the pack. The game has some twists on classic items that I really enjoy, such as the straight shooting boxing glove becoming a homing shot if you take the time to carefully aim at another racer. I’ve seen a lot of players complain that items are a little too powerful in CrossWorlds, and to be fair bagging a powerful item from last place and smuggling it to the front of the pack is a very good strategy, but personally I see strong items as par for the course in this genre so it didn’t bother me that much.

Vehicle customization plays a pretty large role in CrossWorlds as well. Vehicles are divided into 5 categories based on which core attribute they specialize in: Speed, Acceleration, Handling, Power, or Boost. Players can mix and match the front, rear, and tires of any vehicle within the same category, allowing them to create a custom ride suited to their preferred playstyle. Furthermore, players are also given a gadget plate that lets them choose between a wide array of special abilities to give themselves an edge during races. Gadget plates only have 6 slots(3×2) and more powerful gadgets take up multiple slots so it’s genuinely challenging trying to figure out which abilities work together the best. That being said, the game certainly has a few dominant builds among hardcore players which I am sometimes tempted to adopt myself in order to level the playing field online.

The game has a small, but solid collection of modes both online and offline. Grand Prix mode is the standard way to play offline, but it has its own unique twists on the tried and true formula. Each Grand Prix cup features 3 racetracks rather than the typical 4, but this isn’t really a downgrade because the 4th race uses the CrossWorld mechanic to combine the 3 tracks into 1 race. I really like this feature as it feels like every Grand Prix comes full circle by the end. There’s also a rival system where a computer player is designated as the player’s personal nemesis who will naturally outperform lesser computers and keep the player on their toes. Most racing games actually use this type of system secretly in order to force the player into racing well in order to claim victory, but here it’s very transparent and comes with adjustable difficulty levels and bonus rewards for coming out on top.

Another classic kart racer mode is time trial, which removes other racers, CrossWorlds, and limits items to a set number of boosts in order to focus on completing 3 laps as fast as possible. Not only is this a great mode to practice difficult race tracks and shortcuts, but getting an A rank time on the courses will unlock select music tracks from previous Sonic games which can be set to replace the default music. There’s also Race Park mode, a party mode which switches up the racing formula with new rules and gimmicks for a more casual experience. Playing in Race Park will also unlock new vehicles for players who frequently outperform their rivals so it’s definitely worth checking out even if you prefer more competitive modes.

Speaking of competitive modes, there are 3 online modes for testing your racing skills with players from around the world. In World Match players receive points based on how they place in a race, which allows them to rank up and earn new gadgets. Friend Match limits the competition to only people invited to a private lobby, but these players will have the freedom to customize the rules of the race to their heart’s content. Finally there’s Festivals, a mode that replaces World Match for a limited time that pits teams of players against each other in Race Park-esque modes to unlock special gadgets and cosmetics from a themed battle pass. Online mode is about as fun as it is in any other kart racer, but some people do complain about the way Festivals disable World Match whenever they are live. As a casual I don’t mind Festivals as is, but I can see why the competitive players take issue.

My biggest complaint regarding gameplay is the pace at which certain items are unlocked. Anytime a player finishes a race or time trial they are given a small amount of Dodonpa Tickets based on their performance, which can be exchanged for new vehicle parts and cosmetic items. The problem is that the amount of tickets it costs to purchase many of these items is ridiculously high compared to the amount earned in a single race. If a player wants to unlock everything in the game, or at the very least enough to get all the achievements related to spending tickets, the process is going to be agonizingly slow. Long story short: unlocking bumper stickers and funny car horns should not take seemingly hundreds of hours, but for some reason that’s the route CrossWorlds has chosen to take.

So what’s my final verdict on Sonic Racing CrossWorlds? Well my immediate reaction is that it’s my new favorite Sonic Racing game, simultaneously polishing mechanics from previous games while introducing exciting new ones that have worked pretty well so far. Looking farther ahead however, there’s plenty of DLC(free and paid) on the way that could change my perspective much like what happened with Mario Kart 8. I can easily recommend this game to any fan of Sonic the Hedgehog or kart racing games. For those who don’t strictly fall into either of those categories I’d say it might be worth picking up on sale if anything I just described catches your attention. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to catching that cocky hedgehog!

About Gaius Requiem