While I’ll never understand why the fastest thing alive has to drive a car in a race, I can at least enjoy the ride. Recently, I was able to drive my way into the closed beta for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. At the end of said experience, I learned two things. The first is that a lot of people like Shadow (and I mean A LOT of people). The second is that I didn’t think Mario Kart could get more chaotic, but Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds proved me wrong and might be the way it sticks out against the upcoming ninth entry this year.
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Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is the latest title in the Sonic Racing sub-series, which dates back to 1997’s Sonic R (and its killer soundtrack). Revealed at The Game Awards 2024, it brings a more traditional racing experience back to the forefront, unlike 2019’s more cooperative-focused Team Sonic Racing. The key draw to CrossWorlds is the vehicle transformations and different worlds inside courses. While it isn’t too much in the beta, it does help differentiate itself from Mario Kart and other racers like it.
At the start of the beta, you have some simple menu options, which include vehicle customization, loadout, and character selection. While the options were limited to 10 characters, with more teased to come soon, they included many favorites like Cream, Knuckles, and, of course, Shadow. Though, Zazz from Sonic Lost World is a bit of a whiplash when Jet the Hawk seems a bit more of a fan-favorite. Still, each character has a selection of vehicles that can be customized both in decals and parts, which dictate your stats. Much like Mario Kart, the stats of your vehicle do matter on the track, especially depending on how you play. For me, I was all about speed since, well, it’s a Sonic game. However, my constant drifting into tight turns made me focus more on steering.
I played a good number of matches during my time with the beta. It was usually split even with other online users and AI, though the AI rarely made the top five. Still, the tight races we got were exhilarating and fun. Sonic is all about speed and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds very much follows that purpose. It’s a full-on winner-takes-all match composed of three laps, with the middle one being the CrossWorlds, which are short segments set in different worlds. In addition, certain segments will change your car to other vehicles like a plane or a boat, to drive in. A lot is going on at once, which can be a bit overwhelming. It keeps you on your toes and your foot on the gas, in a way.
As mentioned before, not only does Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds have regular tracks, all inspired by different Sonic games like Sonic Adventure 2, but also CrossWorlds. While there were only six in the Beta, it always added something exciting to every match, as it was usually random. If I had to pick a favorite, I’d say either Roulette Road or Sky Road, as both were visually stunning and a lot of fun to navigate, especially in the different forms. In terms of stages, some favorites of mine include Rainbow Garden, E-Stadium, and Wonder Museum, which, despite being frequently chosen by racers, always had something new to show each time, even more so in the frantic third lap.
Unlike some people, I didn’t come across any crashes or bugs during my time with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. In fact, the only time anything went a little iffy was the load-in of racers to the lobby, as it would freeze and then fill up, which is normal, of course. Racing went rather smoothly, which was good since something is happening almost every second. It can feel a bit too chaotic, with items flying around and elements in a stage, like Wonder Museum’s fossils coming to life. Unfortunately, the chaos can drown out the music, which, from what I was able to hear, is pretty good. Perhaps the frequency of items or length of the race, which lasts around three minutes, can be shifted to accommodate the rapid happenings on the track, but it didn’t become too much of a deterrent.
There’s a lot to like with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. From the pleasing visual aesthetic to the addicting racing gameplay, it does feel like CrossWorlds is finally nailing the Mario Kart formula. Though, it will be interesting to see if the main game will differ from what the beta showed outside of changes to the gameplay. The team has teased that characters outside of Sonic the Hedgehog will be present (hoping for Teddie from Persona 4 and Ichiban from Like a Dragon), so that part will be sated. Yet, even with Mario Kart 9 on the horizon, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is on the fast track to being Sonic’s best racing outing yet and one I can’t wait to play again, even if my matches are full of Shadows.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds currently has no release date, but plans to launch on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC (via Epic Games and Steam), Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
Did you play the beta this weekend? What did you think about it? Let us know in the comments below! To stay up to date on Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Sonic the Hedgehog, and gaming in general, keep it here at ComicBook.
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Image Courtesy of Paramount
