Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

Sega has launched Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, the latest addition to the long-standing Sonic Racing franchise, on PC and consoles. Featuring races across land, sea, air and space, this classic-style fun racer is surprisingly strong.

While Mario Kart has made the leap to an open racing world on the Switch 2 (Mario Kart World), Sega's Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds remains a classic arcade racing game that is also family-friendly. Nevertheless, the game introduces new ideas, such as the eponymous 'CrossWorlds', which players can access by passing through travel rings on the track. These portals teleport drivers to different worlds in real time, changing the tracks and environments during the race. The controls and driving experience adapt to the new world with each change: the vehicle automatically switches between a car, a watercraft, or a flying object depending on the track's surface. Each form has its own unique driving feel. The lead driver also has the special ability to decide which CrossWorld the group will switch to next at certain points in the race, making the races dynamic and varied.

Power-ups and gadgets also add variety to the game. Players can mix and match vehicle parts, powers, and abilities to create a customised racing experience that suits their style of play. Before the race, players can equip and combine over 70 different gadgets to shake things up and gain various perks. With the largest roster of any Sonic Racing game, players can choose from 23 characters, race across 24 main tracks and access 15 different CrossWorlds using travel rings.

The game has a Grand Prix mode in which players can compete alone or with friends in local split-screen co-op to win one of seven cups, each comprising four races. The new Rival System randomly assigns players a rival racer for the four Grand Prix races. This rival will taunt the main racer with unique dialogue. Players are awarded points based on their position at the end of each race, and the player with the most points at the end wins.

In World Match, players compete online against eleven other players with cross-platform matchmaking. In Friend Matches, 12 players compete in custom lobbies where the host can control all aspects of a race, such as speed, team size, course/crossworlds, AI difficulty, frenzy gates, items and rule sets. There is also a Race Park party mode featuring six unique race formats, a Time Trial mode with leaderboard rankings, and Custom Matches with up to four players playing split-screen offline.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is now available digitally and in physical format on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC, with prices starting from €69.99, and on Switch from €59.99. A version for the Switch 2 system will be available at a later date. A paid upgrade path will be available for Switch owners, allowing them to carry over their content and progress through the upgrade. The Nintendo Switch 2 system version will be released digitally in time for the 2025 holiday season and physically in early 2026.

The game features a roster of characters that will grow after launch to include familiar faces from other Sega franchises, such as Joker (Persona 5) and Ichiban Kasuga (Yakuza / Like A Dragon), as well as guest characters like Hatsune Miku. These characters will be made available to all players free of charge via a series of game updates. The Digital Deluxe Edition (€79.99 on Switch; €89.99 on all other platforms) expands the roster further still, adding playable characters from the Netflix series Sonic Prime, as well as a Season Pass bringing guest characters, vehicles and tracks from other entertainment franchises, including Mega Man, Pac-Man, Minecraft, as well as Nickelodeon properties such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Conclusion

A close competitor for Mario Kart. Sonic Racing: Cross Worlds is an entertaining, action-packed racer with plenty of variety that fills a gap in the genre, especially on non-Nintendo platforms.