Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Review (PS5) – As I talked about in my hands-on preview, Sonic The Hedgehog has a storied history with the racing subgenre. With the obligation of most franchises having dipped their toes into the kart-racing pool, it feels like a uniquely natural fit for the Blue Blur, with his emphasis on speed.
And while I could quite easily go down the route of examining his entire history with the sport, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds exists as a brilliant time capsule of the various forms that Sonic Racing has taken over the years, in its highs and its lows. For all of my trepidation from the early playtests up until now, I am thoroughly shocked that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds may genuinely deliver on its promise to outdo a certain other high-profile release this year.
For as unbelievable as it sounds, CrossWorlds puts up a genuine alternative to an otherwise dominant figure, and I’m so happy that it does.
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds PS5 Review
Easing into the Driver’s Seat
It’s been a minute since Team Sonic Racing released in 2019, and the difference is immediately apparent to anybody who has played that game or any of the other Sonic Racing games that predate it. First of all, this game returns to the primarily single-player focus as opposed to the team focus of the previous game. While it was fun to collaboratively work on succeeding, the focus of having a single goal in mind is far easier to parse and makes CrossWorlds a generally more approachable game.
As well as this, vehicles generally control with a bit more weight this time around, with an emphasis on drifting and holding boosts for as long as you can. With the right approach to corners, you can get boosts everywhere, and that’s where the majority of my enjoyment came from. Similar to learning the layouts of a standard Sonic level, I found myself steadily routing out each track and finding ways to trim the seconds.
In the pre-release period, that’s been the majority of my time with the game.
This strong core gameplay is tied together by the titular CrossWorld gimmick; in a standard race, the second “lap” is determined by the player in first place and has you moving to a completely different environment for a brief time. It’s a brilliant way of keeping things fresh and upping the variety for repeat sessions. These CrossWorld tracks are generally built to be single-lap romps and so feel tightly constructed around their position as “intermissions”, in a sense.
The word “intermission” somewhat devalues what these add to any particular race; each one of these smaller tracks is crafted with the same care and attention as the main courses, and serves as a great way to go even crazier with track designs. It’s a marvel of performance that these work as well as they do; seamlessly loading in and out of changing tracks at a decent pace, too. Considering the fact that this game is cross-platform with systems like the original Nintendo Switch, this is a marvel in development and feels great in motion.
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The addition of a local multiplayer-focused mode also rounds out the package into something great for families, which is an art that feels like it’s been somewhat lost in recent years. Race Park is where the more bizarre modes can be found, including team-based racing and races where you want to crash into each other as much as possible. I didn’t play this mode an awful lot due to not having people to really play with, but it’s a noteworthy addition outside of the main event.
Go Go Gadget
Where the CrossWorld gimmick is an interesting way to spice up standard races, the devil is in the details when it comes to this game. The gadget system is one that encourages experimentation and evolves on the systems in previous games to put an emphasis on what you want to focus on.
There are a handful of main vehicle categories that each have their own specialities; you have the bog-standard cars, more chunky vehicles and the return of the Extreme Gear from Sonic Riders. Each one has a specific attribute it excels at. On top of this, you have the addition of the gadgets. These are small bonuses that further allow you to fine-tune your experience with up to 6 slots open for your use.
More impactful gadgets tend to take up more space, so there’s a balance between 6 smaller bonuses or 2 major ones. Some gadgets actively change the way your vehicle handles, with faster air tricks or a powerful spin move when you drift. Some offer bonuses in specific scenarios, with bonus rings being given to you for completing certain actions.
These all synergise in a way that feels great when you find a build that works particularly well. My one concern is that some of the stronger gadgets are locked behind a pretty significant wall in terms of unlocking them. For players who aren’t immediately invested, it will take a long while before they unlock some of the more powerful gadgets.
For online play, this makes me conscious that things might be slightly off-kilter before everyone has a chance to dive in properly. Saying that, it never felt like the gadgets massively swayed my ability to win during most races; it felt like gadgets were little boosters rather than deciding factors. More technical gadgets are reserved for higher rewards, so the average player will have access to a good set before they get too far behind.
Of course, what matters most is learning tracks, not least because none of the gadgets will substitute for genuine skill and understanding.
Respecting Legacy
For all of the series’ ups and downs across the years, there’s a confidence to the presentation in CrossWorlds that genuinely endeared me to what it was trying to do. There’s a real focus on interactions between the cast that help to build it out into something more than just “picking one of Sonic’s friends”. Characters who have literally never spoken to each other are shown to exchange blows before Grand Prix races, and that touch speaks to a game that dedicates itself to honouring the legacy of Sonic.
A lot of the game’s tracks are modelled off of iconic locations from previous games, with some really cool deep cuts. Sonic Unleashed’s city locales are translated beautifully into exciting tracks, and the sombre Kronos Island from Sonic Frontiers similarly makes the jump shockingly well.
Just as noteworthy are some interesting absences that make me wonder if SEGA might be hiding more up its sleeves in the near future. We’ve all seen the collaboration announcements with Nickelodeon and PAC-MAN, but courses from some of the older Sonic games are conspicuously missing. While I wouldn’t say I want to race around Green Hill Zone, its absence is noted, given how much Sonic has used that place in the last decade alone.
For what it’s worth, every track is enjoyable and has some exciting wrinkles to discover. This goes for the original tracks, too, with some genuinely cool new ideas being put on the table. Some of them feel a little standard, but they still have belter soundtracks and fun layouts, which is all we can ask for.
Seriously, a museum that comes to life on the second go around, that’s the level we’re working with, and it’s amazing.
The Road Yet Travelled
Before launch, it was said that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds was set to become the premier multiplayer game for SEGA moving forward, and I can see that vision clearly here. The inclusion of crossover characters and tracks post-launch seems like a testament to keeping this game in the conversation and well-fed for (hopefully) a long time ahead.
Make no mistake; the shots that SEGA was taking at a certain other company were not unwarranted. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is the real deal. It might not have the attitude of Sonic Riders, but it excels in its own game.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds releases on PS4 and PS5 on September 25th. A free demo is available now on the PlayStation Store.
Review Code provided kindly by the publisher.