Stay and Be taught is extra than simply the most effective songs in Sonic historical past; it additionally appears like a philosophy SEGA has taken to coronary heart with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. I’ve spent over 35 hours drifting, boosting, and gathering rings throughout a wonderful set of tracks that span Sonic’s 34-yr historical past. Minutes effortlessly was hours, perfecting my drifting method, customizing my autos, discovering the optimum race traces in time trials, and frantically competing with pals to be the Grand Prix champion. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds might have been simply one other pit cease amongst a Grand Prix of 2025 kart racers, however as a substitute it put the pedal to the steel and refused to let me take my arms off the wheel.
I’ve performed my justifiable share of kart racers over the previous few a long time starring Sonic, Mario, Crash, and loads of different standard characters. Whereas most are amusing sufficient, just a few attain that higher pantheon of get together video games that dominate each get collectively. With 39 tracks, 24 characters, a pleasant suite of multiplayer choices, tons of challenges to finish, and such a protracted checklist of unlockable cosmetics that I nonetheless can’t see its end line, CrossWorlds doesn’t simply wish to be a part of the rotation: it has set its sights on taking the highest spot for me and my pals.
CrossWorlds’ racing is fast to select up due to its intuitive and easy controls, basically boiling all the way down to 4 essential actions: speed up, drift, brake, and use an merchandise. Racing feels nice whether or not you are zipping into shortcuts, touchdown huge trick combos for an enormous enhance, or nailing an advanced drift that asks you to quickly change route on a curvy path. I really like how the autos really feel, as each motion fluidly transitions from one into the subsequent, permitting me to chain drifts into jumps into methods into boosts earlier than launching into one other drift to repeat the method once more… supplied my opponents didn’t ship any objects my method.
Getting hit with objects, messing up a flip, or colliding with a wall positively price me just a few races, however most of the time they felt extra like small pace bumps due to the beneficiant placement of enhance panels and merchandise capsules on most programs. These hits do cut back your ring rely, which in flip lowers your high pace, but it surely hardly ever took me quite a lot of seconds to get again on monitor – and you may cut back that lag time even additional relying on the way you tune your car. The kind of journey you choose will make it easier to eke out further benefits: Energy autos are nice at shoving different racers round, Dealing with autos make it simpler to nail even the trickiest of sharp turns, and the lengthy-awaited return of Sonic Riders’ hover boards enabled me to spice up like no different when hitting sprint panels or utilizing the boosting Wisp objects.
The headlining characteristic is the improbable CrossWorlds mechanic that not solely retains each race fascinating but in addition provides an excellent quantity of depth. Exterior of Grand Prix Mode, the second lap of every race virtually seamlessly transports everybody to a distinct course, just like the dimension leaping accomplished in 2021’s Ratchet and Clank: Rift Aside. Warping from the naval surroundings of Metallic Harbor to the prehistoric Dinosaur Jungle or the extremely curvy Dragon’s Highway stored me on my toes each race. This was already my favourite a part of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds’ public take a look at demos earlier than my evaluation, however I started to see the true brilliance of it as I put extra time into the total sport.
Totally different car varieties excel on totally different tracks, so making the second lap random provides depth when customizing your journey since it is advisable to take into account variables past simply the course you’ve chosen. My pace-centered car would sing on tracks with many straightaways or enhance panels, however would typically surrender just a few positions to racers who tuned for acceleration or dealing with on tracks full of fixed curves and sharp turns. Since some tracks have parts the place you remodel into a ship or airplane, I discovered myself making one loadout that would adapt to no matter course ended up because the second lap whereas nonetheless maximizing my potential for the primary and last lap on the principle monitor.
Reworking into Flight and Water Varieties is so simple as passing by way of a gate with the matching airplane or boat icons. Some transformations are required, such because the Water Type swap firstly of Kraken Bay, whereas others are optionally available, just like the brief Flight Type path on Coral City when you take a selected branching path, however I used to be by no means sad to grab the chance to vary issues up – actually, I might have cherished just a few extra CrossWorlds that gave me prolonged durations of time within the sky. Flight Type in at all times dealt with like a dream, letting you drift vertically to succeed in objects, rings, and enhance gates at totally different elevations. Nonetheless, just a few of the Water Type sections can really feel clunky till you determine the right rhythm and timing to speed up, drift, and trick on every course. Autos with higher dealing with appear to carry out one of the best throughout these transformations, so at any time when I used to be having a tough time with a selected part , I might apply in a type of autos earlier than returning to my most popular Velocity sort choices.
No lap throughout CrossWorlds appears like one other, and although the final lap returns to your authentic monitor, there are important adjustments throughout it. Paths that had been inaccessible open up, improved merchandise containers seem with higher drop charges for stronger choices, and extra hazards present up on the course. There are even important structural adjustments, like a rocket in Metallic Harbor lastly launching, which removes two paths and forces everybody right into a newly fashioned backbone (or two quarter pipes positioned again to again, for many who do not skate).
Even with out the CrossWorlds mechanic, the programs obtainable at launch are all glorious. There are 15 tracks that may solely arrive throughout that second lap, after which 24 essential programs for them to indicate up in, with Coral City presumably being my favourite. Its looping paths create so many routes that I am nonetheless wrapping my head round which one is probably the most perfect in time trials – I at all times discovered myself altering the route I took relying on my place, character, car, and lap quantity. Different standouts are basic phases like Market Avenue, which originated as Rooftop Run in Sonic Unleashed, and Radical Freeway from Sonic Journey 2, the latter of which had me driving the principle cables to the highest utilizing enhance pads to depart my rivals behind.
Each course feels completely tuned with dangers and rewards; totally different routes have totally different benefits, with some having extra rings that will help you attain your most high pace, whereas others have extra enhance panels to supply some pace within the brief run within the hopes you’ll both get far sufficient forward to not want the additional rings or at the least have sufficient respiratory room to select them up later. One course that proved to be my Achilles heel: Pumpkin Mansion. The ultimate third of the monitor is stuffed with large pumpkins that vanish as you strategy, however till the primary particular person reaches them, they cover a piece filled with sharper turns. They at all times affected the timing of my drifts till I took the time to memorize their positions by way of time trials and discovered which paths I ought to take.
Lastly, a kart racer would simply be a primary racing sport with out objects to inject a little bit chaos into them. CrossWorlds has 24 totally different objects that may be pulled from containers positioned throughout every course, most of which had me shouting with equal quantities of both pleasure or bitterness relying on if I used to be on the giving or receiving finish of every. The enduring Wisps from Sonic Colours are right here and provide objects within the type of a lift, laser, and drill, that are all useful to both catch up or lengthen your lead. These had been at all times welcome as they enabled me to chop throughout off-highway sections and dodge sure assaults, just like the punishing Slime and Weight objects, if used with correct timing. There are many different cool choices as nicely, like a bomb that grows in measurement the longer you maintain it, ultimately changing into a large wrecking ball that flattens enemies it collides with till its detonation.
The Twister shortly grew to become my favourite merchandise due to its capability to negate most incoming assaults whereas additionally dealing injury to as many opponents that I might stumble upon. There may be additionally the Monster Truck, which is bound to be a standout for a lot of, because it transforms your car into a large machine that flattens opponents, renders you proof against all different objects, and permits you to drive off-highway with none penalties. By default, you may maintain two objects at a time, however you can too add the choice for a 3rd merchandise or swap between your two objects by putting in particular upgrades in your customizable Gadget Panel when you actually wish to lean into the chaos, although I usually leaned towards Devices that made me sooner, not fiercer.
Devices provide a variety of extraordinarily impactful bonuses, with greater than 30 totally different choices to put in your Gadget Panel earlier than a race. Now, they gained’t all of a sudden craft you a win out of skinny air, as your racing expertise nonetheless stay a very powerful issue – however when utilized to their most potential, Devices might be the distinction between getting first and fourth place. There are Devices to change your car’s stats, enhance drift efficiency, enhance the rings you may carry, and grant distinctive beginning objects that may’t usually be present in races, like a Warp Ring that teleports you on high of the racer simply forward of you, inflicting you to squish them. The tough half is determining what mixture to make use of; every Gadget Panel has six slots in a two-by-three sample, and every Gadget requires between one and three slots. Constructing my Panel grew to become a tiny puzzle with no incorrect solutions, and it scratched the min-maxing itch I really like in video games.
You possibly can prebuild 5 Gadget Panels after which swap between them earlier than every race, which helps you alter to particular conditions, modifying the bottom stats of your character and car choice as wanted. The roster has almost all the key characters you’d hope to see from every technology of Sonic: along with the same old Group Mild and Darkish, you’ve acquired characters from the Sonic Heroes, Riders, Advance, Rush, Colours, and even latest newcomers like Sage from Frontiers. It did not take lengthy for me to seek out my favourite in Shadow utilizing a modified Velocity-sort car, a lot in order that I used him to clear all eight cups on the Sonic Velocity and Tremendous Sonic Velocity problem (the equivalents of 150cc and 200cc in Mario Kart), solely needing minor tweaks exterior of recurrently adjusting my Gadget Panel. Whereas it was uncommon for many CPU opponents to present me bother, just a few of the Grands Prix nonetheless had the best quantity of problem due to CrossWorlds’ modular rival system.
Earlier than beginning every Grand Prix, a random character seems as your rival, they usually then act as a supercharged CPU to race in opposition to with a problem stage from one to 10, just like elevating the warmth stage within the Tremendous Smash Bros. Final marketing campaign. Your rival is not only a CPU racer with higher stats, they interject with snarky feedback of frustration and glee all through the races, including a little bit of character to what might have simply been a barely extra competent CPU racer. Whereas I haven’t examined each mixture of racer and rival, the 20 or so I’ve seen thus far all had distinctive voice traces, which actually helped breathe much more life into them. Rivals additionally behave extra intelligently, holding onto defensive objects till they want them, taking higher racing traces as they drift round corners, and even transferring to make sure they take objects they count on these behind them to go for. I had to make use of a not-insignificant quantity of retries when racing rivals that had been stage eight or greater, which is simply the correct amount of pushback.
Fortunately, CrossWorlds does one thing I want each different racing sport would do with its in-sport foreign money, Donpa tickets. I might often web wherever between 10 and 40 tickets per race, relying on my efficiency and if I achieved sure feats. That features issues like utilizing probably the most objects, selecting which course is chosen for lap two by being in first when reaching the journey ring on the finish of lap one, or choosing up the sequence’ iconic crimson rings. Tickets have a wide range of makes use of, together with unlocking varied automotive elements or customization choices, growing your friendship with a personality for rewards distinctive to them, and – my favourite use – retrying a race for higher placement.
Now, I do know what you are pondering: retrying a race is hardly new, however CrossWorlds differs in which you can spend a measly 20 tickets to retry in the midst of a Grand Prix with out solely beginning over. So when you get hit with three objects on the ultimate flip of the ultimate lap of the ultimate race solely to observe your rival and 6 different racers cross you within the homestretch, you may rewind and take a look at once more as many occasions as you may afford, which cuts down on pointless repetition rather a lot. Grands Prix additionally get an thrilling and welcome shakeup: as a substitute of racing on a fourth course to finish issues, the ultimate race is a mix of 1 lap from the earlier three, which exams how nicely you may adapt to every. That mentioned, I do miss the mission-based mostly Story Mode from Group Sonic Racing, which gave you fascinating bonus challenges to perform throughout every stage.
I additionally need to dig into the friendship system extra, as it’ll take hundreds of races to finish in case your aim is to maximise your rating with every character. As an alternative of funneling tickets into automotive elements, you can provide them to your favourite characters to obtain cosmetics like titles, decals, and alternate costumes in return. These particular unlockables get actually costly actually quick: it took me 3000 tickets to earn the primary 4 rewards for Shadow, together with one alternate costume, and there’s nonetheless extra for me to unlock. It is clear that SEGA is hoping this might be a system that retains you drawn in, as with 24 characters, that is a daft variety of tickets to unlock every part. I’ve blended emotions on this as a result of it provides probably the most devoted followers one thing to chase, however the charge for incomes tickets at present feels a bit too stingy when in comparison with the price of unlocking some cosmetics.
That sticker shock will get even worse when you think about the truth that new characters are already on the horizon, together with Hatsune Miku, Joker from Persona 5, and Ichiban from the Like a Dragon franchise, all of which have been introduced as upcoming free additions. There will even be characters and tracks for SpongeBob, TMNT, and Avatar: The Final Airbender coming as a part of the paid season cross. Whereas I do not essentially want them since I have already got extra favorites on the Sonic roster than I do fingers, it’s thrilling to consider what different characters and tracks may very well be becoming a member of even later down the highway. In actual fact, throughout my interview with Takashi Iizuka of SEGA at Gamescom, they mentioned they plan to help CrossWorlds with new content material like this every month for at the least the primary yr after launch, which is a formidable tempo given there’s already loads of unlockables and alternate modes to maintain those that blaze by way of the cups busy at launch.
A kind of distractions is the Race Park, which consists of six totally different rule units, but in addition permits you to create customized matches to suit no matter you and as much as three others wish to play regionally. These are all obtainable on-line as nicely by becoming a member of the Buddy Match possibility, although they’re restricted to at least one participant per console, but it surely at the least permits you to race with teams of as much as 12 pals. At the moment, each mode boils all the way down to a race for factors, however the modified guidelines change how they play out. Along with the common 12-participant free-for-all race fashion, there are additionally particular workforce modes with guidelines that grant bonuses for grabbing probably the most rings, colliding with teammates, utilizing probably the most sprint panels, or touchdown probably the most merchandise hits on opponents. These modes had been a blast with pals, as they did not totally depend on who knew the programs one of the best. It is also one thing value taking part in for a bit, as there are eight totally different rival CPU groups to take down that unlock particular autos you may then customise with different elements. The customized rule set is a standout characteristic right here for native multiplayer, too, providing you with management over what number of races you do again to again, which programs can seem because the Crossworld second lap, what objects seem in merchandise containers, and the pace and problem stage whereas racing.
The Race Park’s one downside is that, whereas not vital, the Gadget Panels might be overly influential to the result of races, so it was a let-down that there have been no pre-constructed ones for newcomers. They did have entry to every part I had unlocked, however that meant spending time for them to decipher what every one did and determining which of them they wished to set into their Panels. I hope Sega alleviates this with a patch that provides some default Gadget Panels optimized for various car varieties and playstyles.
Along with the Race Park, there’s additionally a Time Trial mode that challenges you to race for one of the best time on each the Sonic and Tremendous Sonic Velocity settings. I initially went into Time Trial mode anticipating to run by way of just a few tracks simply to see what it provided, but it surely ended up being the place I spent extra time than wherever else. After clearing some programs with an A rank (the minimal rank essential to earn progress in direction of rewards), I used to be all of a sudden hungry for extra. Every race, I discovered myself tinkering with the varied automotive elements and Devices, and rewatching my very own ghost to see what I might change or the place I might enhance. What if I save my enhance for this flip vs that flip, or what if I sacrifice a little bit of my pace to enhance my dealing with stat to nail that hairpin? Earlier than CrossWorlds, I used to be by no means an enormous Time Trial particular person, however these hooked me by placing probably the most engaging factor they might behind them as a reward: my favourite Sonic music to hearken to whereas racing.
A Sonic sport could be incomplete and not using a banger of a soundtrack, and CrossWorlds hardly ever fails to impress with its almost 100 distinctive tracks. The first songs are glorious, with standard tracks like Radical Freeway, Market Avenue, Ocean View, and loads of others all getting the CrossWorlds remedy. And for you Sonic Journey 2 followers, don’t be concerned, as a result of Escape From the Metropolis is right here, however you will have to clear all 79 time trials with at the least an A rating to unlock it. All the nice artists which have created music for Sonic video games listed here are: Tee Lopes, Tomoya Ohtani, Takahiro Kai, and many extra. Much like Sonic x Shadow Generations from final yr, unlocking this music does extra than simply allow you to hearken to them in a jukebox; you can too collect your favorites and slot that playlist (or any of the opposite six premade albums) because the music for every of the three laps of each race. Probably probably the most spectacular a part of that’s how seamlessly all of them transition into one another, with every music beginning at a distinct level relying on what lap it performs on. I solely want I might create a number of favorites playlists to have much more management.
The final and probably some of the vital parts that would determine whether or not CrossWorlds takes the rostrum is how on-line play capabilities. Forward of launch, we had just a few days to check it and see what it provided. To my enjoyment, it labored in addition to I might hoped, with the caveat that my not-fairly-full lobbies had been recurrently supplemented with CPUs to fill out all 12 spots. On-line does have a downside in comparison with this yr’s Mario Kart World because it’s restricted to only one participant per console, however the inclusion of crossplay is an honest commerce off, and I noticed just about no lag with my wired connection.
On-line performance is straightforward however efficient – you may see different gamers in your particular console’s pal checklist, your CrossWorlds in-sport pal checklist, a historical past of others you’ve raced in opposition to, and your honest play factors, which is a 100-level gauge that decreases anytime you abandon a web-based race. This seems to be CrossWorlds’ technique for guaranteeing gamers who’re behind don’t simply up and depart the race solely, which is an appreciated inclusion even when I can’t but say how efficient it is going to be. One other incentive is that I unlocked much more Gadget choices to change my driving fashion as I rose by way of the ranks from E- to an eventual C- in the course of the brief prelaunch evaluation window. And whereas it is too quickly to inform how the distinction in ranks will have an effect on queue occasions, I often discovered a match in lower than a minute in the course of the evaluation interval, which has a a lot smaller pool of gamers than might be there on launch.
Additionally, it’s nice that my customized soundtracks and every part I had earned in offline mode carried over, making me all of the extra ready for dealing with actual opponents. The excellent news is that even followers that wish to be part of on-line races on day one will nonetheless be capable of earn all of the Devices I acquired offline just by racing, that means that every on-line race won’t solely transfer you nearer to the Devices from greater ranks but in addition those that unlock based mostly on complete variety of races. Nonetheless, these gamers might be at an obstacle in comparison with others like myself who hung out incomes them earlier than going surfing, which is also mitigated with preset Gadget Plates.