Sonic Racing: Crossworlds tracks a major step forward in the series.
The blue blur is back with another Kart racer, and as a long time Sonic fan, I’ve been eagerly awaiting this. In my opinion, Sonic has been on an absolute tear of good games lately, especially regarding Frontiers and its more serious approach to Sonic’s usual carefree teenage attitude. If you’ve read my review on Moorhun Kart I wrote a few months ago then you’ll know that I adore Kart racers. So, when you combine one of my favourite franchises with one of my favourite genres of games, you get Sonic Racing: Crossworlds. Seems like a slam dunk, right?
My favourite fun fact regarding our blue hedgehog friend and his pals racing cars is why Sonic even needs a car. In-universe, the characters even have a chance at the beginning of a race, if they are selected as your rival (and you as Sonic), to question it. Sonic tells us it’s to make it a level playing field; and this is one of my favourite features of this new game. The writers clearly understand the characters they are writing for, and there are plenty of references to past adventures and games that will keep Sonic mega fans like me entertained every time we play.
Let’s rewind a little and talk about the element that gives Sonic Racing: Crossworlds its name; the Crossworlds mechanic. Each race consists of three laps; the first will start on the track you selected. After the first lap, on the straight towards the start/finish line, the racer in first place is presented with two warp rings. One will show a different track, the second a random track. First place will drive over a pad to select which one they’d like, and lap two transports you to the new track. After this, you’re taken back to the original track for the third and final lap, where the track will have evolved and changed since then. New paths will have opened, obstacles are much more mobile; it’s a refreshing change through and through.
Another innovation Crossworlds brings is the union of Gadget and Machine. Each character comes with their own unique kart parts, and stats too, which influence things such as top speed, acceleration and handling. Gadgets are really where your ‘build’ expression comes into play. Once you have the Master tier unlocked, you have six slots to work with. These can be things such as charging different levels of your boost faster; holding more rings and stealing them when you bump into other racers; even starting the race already holding onto a power-up!
This means that every racer is looking to do something unique; maybe they’ve built themselves so they are really fast on the final lap and they’re okay with being slower at the beginning. Maybe they want their drift to charge extremely fast so they’re constantly at maximum speed. Others might want increased chances of certain items, or more rings when picking them up; all of these and many many more are possible, and we’re encouraged to try different combinations in order to find the ones that suit us the best.
Sonic Racing: Crossworlds has absolutely knocked it out of the park with this latest entry into the franchise. I’m looking forward to continuing to grind my favourite characters to unlock their cosmetics. I only hope future 2- and 3D Sonic titles have equally good writing.
Sonic Racing: Crossworlds is available now for PlayStation, Xbox and PC.