Sonic Racing Crossworlds Teaches Me The Joy Of Being A Hater

Since the last beta, I've been very excited for Sonic Racing Crossworlds. It's a kart racer with attitude, after all- mixing up a tried and true formula with some really clean bells and whistles.

I mean, it makes a strong enough first impression. Stage transitions, sick powerups and great music, it's so easy to look at this game from afar and decide, yup, I want in. But does Sonic Racing Crossworlds stay the course after it's won you in with MikuMiku Derby? Read on and find out.

Title: Sonic Racing: Crossworlds

Developer: Sonic Team

Publisher: SEGA

Platforms: PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch

Everybody Super Sonic Racing

Somewhere, amid all the chaos that is your typical Sonic Racing Crossworlds race is a really solid kart racer. The tracks are wild, making up shortcuts, having different terrains and even underpasses with different paths. Hazards can range from unwalled tracks to roaming dinosaurs and Phantom-style chandelier drops.

And none of this would be so cool if it wasn't for the fact that the driving feels so good. Each car handles differently, and it feels genuinely rewarding once you sync yourself up with your car of choice. From making sure you catch every ring to building speed with drifting, it's the kind of practiced competence that makes these games so enthralling. After all, it feels like its something that the game wants you to get better at, rather than a control system you're simply fighting to get ahead.

Combine that with the game's gadget system and you've got a formula for a really good time. It's the best kind of example for a long-term goal in Sonic Racing CrossWorlds. Since the base roster doesn't need unlocking and parts are only cosmetic, the goal is simple: unlock more Gadget slots and gadgets and build your four-wheeled warcrime.

I really like how the gadget system can synergize with itself. From item-spawning gadgets to rule changes like building more speed if you run someone over, it feels like you can really tune a car to your liking here. I'm sure there's more peaceful synergies too- having more items, speeding up air tricks, it feels like every playstyle gets at least something to work with.

But what do you use it for? To hate, of course. I'd say the real star of Sonic Racing Crossworlds is its rival system. The game's Grand Prix mode assigns you a rival to beat, sure. What they don't tell you is how satisfying it is to beat them. Almost every character feels like they have some sort of unique interaction, save for a few extreme outliers and the guest characters.

This isn't just pre-race dialogue, either. Characters will curse you if you hit them with items, overtake you and even get one more line of dialogue in the finale race. Even nonverbal characters like Metal Sonic and the Eggman robot somehow have dialogue, even if its all beeps and boops. Look, man. When even the robots are trash talking, you know that competition is hot.

It's so funny because I feel like we've been having discussions about single player content in these types of games for years. Should they have story modes? What about level up systems? No, it turns out all I needed was the rage of Omega. It doesn't matter if I don't win, I just need Sonic to lose.

Verdict: Sonic Racing Cross Worlds

Sonic Racing Crossworlds really feels like SEGA joining a competitive market by leveraging on their strengths: strong personalities and sharp attitudes. Sonic is cool, it's an undisputable fact, and his cast stand out from a lot of other kart racers because they're dyed in similar tones.

The biggest gripe comes down to the guest characters. We've known from before that despite the game's rival system being such a big part of the experience, they won't have any voicelines. Even the currently available Hatsune Miku doesn't have any unique dialogue about putting Sonic underground. It's a minor nitpick since the rest of the cast are so much fun to play with, for sure.

Still, given that it's a multiplatform release with crossplay, and local splitscreen, you'll want to get your hands on Sonic Racing Crossworlds. I mean, it's got a remix of Super Sonic Racing, for crying out loud.