In a cramped year for Kart racers (Kirby, Mario, Garfield?), Sega delivers Sonic Racing: Crossworlds and in doing so, delivers arguably the genre’s finest experience this year (Kirby hasn’t dropped yet but the first game was regarded as rather average, we will see what Nintendo pulls off but either way it’s not on PC and this is).
Sonic Racing: Crossworlds builds on its predecessors while introducing fresh mechanics. The game’s well-designed mechanics come through, especially at higher speeds like “Sonic” speed, where the fast-paced action feels more fully realized. I’d advise playing the game at “Sonic” or “Super Sonic” speed to fully enjoy the experience. The transforming kart system, carried over from Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, remains a standout, enhanced by a tight drift mechanic crafted with input from Sega’s Initial D team.
These fundamental mechanics are complemented by excellent track design and the implementation of the game’s namesake feature, Crossworld teleportation to other tracks. The Crossworld track is either random or a specific track, selected mid-race by whoever happens to be in first place, depending on which path they select. Kart customization adds meaningful depth, surpassing Transformed, which I keep mentioning here because it is often considered the franchise’s peak. The game smartly avoids recent divisive trends like open-world design, seen in competitors like Mario Kart World, instead focusing purely on a clean kart racer augmented by tweaks on the genre rather than reinventing the wheel. It’s stronger for doing so in my assessment.
Online play is surprisingly clean, with minimal cheating in my playtime. Cheaters rather quickly overtook some prior entries in the franchise. Weekend Festivals introduce mechanic modifiers like team races with collision-based speed boosts. Three free Sega DLC characters are released or planned: Joker, Miku, and Ichiban, with paid non-Sega DLC characters and tracks announced. Unfortunately, the Sega DLC characters lack voiceovers, excluding them from the rivalry system of the main roster, and disappointingly, they come with no dedicated tracks. Again, they are free.
I hate to hammer on the point, but the roster overall is a major letdown compared to Transformed, and hands down my largest issue with the game. It leans heavily on Sonic characters and sidelines the broader Sega catalog that made its predecessors so enjoyable for the fanbase as a whole. I’d love to have seen a broader Sega roster, especially as Sega is recommitting itself to its classic IP. Including characters like Espio, Storm, Zazz or Sage over iconic characters like Beat, Ryo, Axel, and Joe Musashi just feels odd to me. I’m a longtime Sega fan, I take above-average interest in the Sonic franchise itself, and I do not care about these characters. Most probably don’t even know who they are or what part of the franchise they are from.
Verdict: Sonic Racing Crossworlds is a worthy successor with excellent mechanics, standout track design, and fresh features that keep races dynamic. However, its narrow roster and lackluster Sega DLC integration hold it back from surpassing Transformed. Fans of high-speed kart racing will find plenty to love, especially at faster speeds, but those hoping for a broader Sega celebration may feel disappointed in the roster.
- Excellent gameplay mechanics, though requires faster speeds to really flesh itself out. Playing the game at “Sonic” speed or above is advisable.
- Preserves the transforming kart mechanic devised in Sega’s earlier Transformed entry
- Sega’s Initial D team contributed to development, and the drift mechanic feels tight as such.
- Game runs well on low-end hardware
- 3 Free DLC characters (Joker, Miku, and Ichiban)
- Non-Sega DLC characters and tracks announced, these are paid, however
- Track design is excellent, and teleport (crossworld mechanic) spices up races
- So far, the online mechanic doesn’t seem to have widespread cheating, like past entries in the franchise
- Weekend Festivals are organized with modifiers on base gameplay, such as team races that give you boosts in speed for colliding with your teammates throughout the race
- Avoids adopting an open world mechanic like Mario Kart World, or other recent divisive trends in the genre
- Kart customization adds another layer of depth vs. Transformed, which is usually perceived as the peak of the franchise
- Vs. Transformed, a very disappointing roster. Focused almost exclusively on characters from the Sonic franchise, outside the DLC characters. Transformed more richly embraced the Sega pantheon and was a better game in that regard for doing so.
- Sega DLC characters do not have voiceovers, which excludes them from the rivalry component of the main roster
- Additionally, there is no track for the Sega DLC characters
Spencer joined us in early 2015, previously a console centric gamer he switched to PC a few years ago. He later helped push for an increase in Japanese content on PC with the #SEGAPCPorts campaign. Previously he ran a SEGA fansite as well as co-hosted a gaming podcast. He thinks Duke Nukem 3D is the best FPS of all time, his text message alert on his phone is literally Duke Nukem saying “Let God sort ’em out.”
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