Hands-On Preview: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

Mario Kart World is (rightfully so) impressing followers because the marquee launch title for Nintendo Change 2, nevertheless it received’t be lengthy earlier than it will get some respectable competitors from SEGA. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is the most recent recreation from the Blue Blur’s venerable racing collection, and it actually appears like a return to type after the merely serviceable Staff Sonic Racing from 2019. CrossWorlds is a notch above by way of presentation, gameplay, racer choice, and extra. Throughout Summer time Recreation Fest, we had been lucky sufficient to have the ability to sit down and provides the sport a check drive—buckle in to search out out what we thought.

I raced via three completely different cups throughout my hands-on time with CrossWorlds. You already know a demo is fairly good whenever you cease pondering of it as a demo and need to simply carry on enjoying, and that was the case right here. I discovered myself swept up within the pace and exquisite visuals of CrossWorlds. The Sonic Racing video games play in the identical kart racing sandbox of the Mario Kart collection, however SEGA’s take stays distinct owing to its personal tackle energy sliding/drifting and a few different options—together with the land, sea, air method launched in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Reworked.

The roster boasts not simply the standard core forged of Sonic buddies and enemies, but additionally among the SEGA pantheon and different friends. Amongst these which were revealed are Ichigo of Like a Dragon, Hatsune Miku, Joker from Persona 5, and Steve, Alex, and Creeper from Minecraft. It’s an eclectic combine, which is good, however stays a far cry from the large roster of SEGA stalwarts within the Sonic & All-Stars Racing video games. Regardless, I used to be pleased with these choices and suppose the visitor racers are a pleasant option to spice issues up if SEGA isn’t serious about bringing again the outdated roster.

One factor that instantly stood out to me was the welcome return of auto transformations, which had been jettisoned from Staff Sonic Racing. In CrossWorlds, a racer’s automobile will remodel relying on the terrain; hit some water and it turns into a ship, soar via the air and it turns into a aircraft. Not solely is it visually fascinating, nevertheless it additionally ends in extra diversified, participating racetracks. What’s extra, the various kinds of autos deal with just a little completely different primarily based on the terrain, which is one other enjoyable side. Why automobile transformations the place ever dropped within the first place is a thriller to me, however bringing them again for CrossWorlds was a sensible transfer.

The core mechanic of CrossWorlds is implied in its identify. Gamers will zip via Journey Rings that ship racers hurtling via dimensions throughout races. As there’s no possible way of understanding the place a Journey Ring will result in, it makes races very unpredictable. In a method, each race turns into just a little completely different due to the Journey Rings, which is a advantageous method of retaining issues contemporary for gamers. Nevertheless, whereas I didn’t hate the Journey Rings, I did suppose they took away, if solely barely, from the expertise on every monitor.

As an illustration, a monitor like Apotos has a very completely different vibe and really feel than Colourful Mall, and I don’t know that I loved having to depart one solely to briefly cruise round on one other. Perhaps that’s an odd criticism, however think about being on the sandy shores of Koopa Seashore in Mario Kart World, for instance, solely to randomly be pulled from it to another locale. It would boil all the way down to style greater than something, however in the end I’d somewhat follow a single course. Perhaps I’ll really feel otherwise as soon as the sport launches.

In contrast to the aforementioned Mario Kart World, CrossWorlds is joyful to supply gamers a bevy of customization choices. This consists of the flexibility to combine up parts of your automobile, like components, powers, and skills. However you possibly can go a step additional with the brand new Devices system. With Devices you’re capable of give your automobile completely different perks, like a quicker begin or improved efficiency of some form. I bought to experiment a bit with Devices throughout my play session, however not sufficient to essentially get into the nitty gritty of how they’ll affect my racing over a number of races and cups. That stated, having the choice in any respect is quite a bit higher than the extra stripped down automobile decisions in Mario Kart World, so it’s already a feather in CrossWorld’s cap that the mustachioed one doesn’t have.

One enjoyable little element that I loved was the presence of the Sonic Riders characters like Jet the Hawk and Wave the Swallow. I feel the characters have a extremely energizing aesthetic that works nicely in a Sonic Racing recreation. I used to be additionally joyful that Excessive Gear, the hoverboards that Jet and firm race round on, additionally made the leap to CrossWorlds. Given the land/sea/air transitions all through every race, Excessive Gear are an ideal match—and look fairly dang cool, too. I didn’t get an opportunity to see if different characters can hop onto Excessive Gear or if it’s restricted to the Sonic Riders crew. I suppose we’ll simply have to search out out at launch.

Initially introduced as a Nintendo Change title, SEGA has confirmed that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds may also be coming to Nintendo Change 2, albeit at a later date. The Change model will launch on September 25, 2025. There’s an ordinary bodily version, however there’s additionally a collector’s version coming from Restricted Run Video games. In case you’re , you possibly can snag a pre-order proper right here earlier than LRG shuts them down. There’s additionally a Digital Deluxe Version which comprises:

• Season Move
• Play the sport three days early (September 22, 2025)
• Sonic Prime Playable Characters
• Knuckles the Dread
• Rusty Rose
• Tails 9
• *PRE-ORDER BONUS – Sonic Unleashed Sonic the Werehog character + automobile + decal

As I famous above, Staff Sonic Racing felt like a little bit of a misstep after the wonderful Sonic & All-Stars Racing Reworked. With CrossWorlds, it’s a return to type. Throw in new options like Journey Rings and Devices, and this could possibly be a racing gem that followers hold returning to for years to come back.