A wonderful return for one of the best spin-offs of the blue hedgehog, which makes it clear that it is a strong contender in the karting genre.
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Currently, there are many names that have adaptations in a very entertaining genre that tends to raise the expectations of their fans. I’m referring to karting games, which are not new and have been increasing their presence over time.
We know that Nintendo and Mario Kart are the undisputed kings of karting, although there are also contenders that are on par with the legacy left by the plumber and his friends. This time, we’re going with who was once their greatest arch-nemesis, at least at the industry level: Sonic the Hedgehog.
The popular and beloved blue hedgehog has returned in a big way. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a reality and an exponent that enhances the style it belongs to. It has arrived to stay and doesn’t seek to surpass its competitors, it simply wants to give us fun and charismatic characters.
Technical Section
If there’s one quality that has been present in Sonic games since their inception, it’s the fact that they have a very outstanding artistic aspect, whether in their main series titles or in spin-offs. This means that this new sequel reaffirms those words.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a delivery that dazzles visually and stands out for its colorful environments and vibrant scenarios full of life. I know, it’s not an adventure game or anything similar, it’s pure and hard racing. However, there’s a palpable audiovisual delight.
We’ll visit spectacular places that shine with the mechanics of CrossWorlds, i.e., the change of worlds during each lap, which makes the environments vary impressively to offer us rich details in each route.
However, what would be the point of having such a visual display if the characters and vehicles didn’t look up to par? This will make you understand that everything is made with great detail and that each piece fits like a Swiss gear. We’re facing a set of elements that considerably elevate the experience.
The icing on the cake is its soundtrack, which is incredible, with known themes and their respective arrangements, which, together with the frantic situations, make us vibrate in each curve and give us a sense of belonging to each race.
Unfortunately, not everything is perfect. There are occasional FPS drops that are not annoying, but you have performance and quality options to adjust everything to the measure of your game. Something extremely positive is that it’s a game that has crossplay, which means you can compete with other players regardless of the system they’re on.
We have no doubt that this section is juicy and very balanced in all aspects. Some minor stumbles in FPS, but nothing serious. We’re facing a game that looks beautiful, attractive, and makes you want to play every time you have the controller in your hands.
Gameplay
It had been a few years since we last saw Sonic and his friends participate in a karting game, since 2019 with Team Sonic Racing, which left us with good feelings and reaffirmed that the character had his place in this beloved style.
In this way, we arrive at Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, a sequel that wants to show us our hero in his passage through this genre, and does so through a fairly rounded delivery; we already saw that in its technical section.
As usual in this type of titles, we don’t have a story as such, and we go straight to what matters: the frantic races that seek to give us fun. To do this, we’ll have a list of over 30 characters available to choose from.
We’ll have several game modes available, one based on a Grand Prix that can be multiplayer or individual. Time trial races to beat time records or participate in the global world. At the same time, we’ll have more than one way to have fun.
The main mode is the Grand Prix; despite not having a story mode, we’ll go through four scenarios that will adjust to the CrossWorlds mechanics, allowing the player who is in the lead at the end of the first lap to choose which new world to go to.
This will add a layer of variety that is the game’s trademark and from which its name comes. This means that, for example, if we’re in a city, in the second lap we’ll change to a different place, with its own biome and elements, making each game a new experience.
Additionally, in each Grand Prix we’ll have a rival who will exchange words with us and who, at the same time, will try to make us lose and give us memorable interaction moments. We can adjust the difficulty or choose to change it for another one.
Said that, there will be several cups and one or two blocked ones. We’ll have to choose between three engine levels for our vehicle, which represent the speed at which we’ll run: 50 cc, 100 cc, and 150 cc. This will raise the challenge when controlling our all-terrain vehicle, which will reach very high speeds.
We’ll have items that will empower each player, giving them an advantage or that extra needed to emerge victorious. On the other hand, there are several important aspects to consider in the game:
- Vehicles: can be chosen depending on whether you prefer speed, acceleration, power, among others. Additionally, you can mix their parts to get better results.
- Gadgets: represented as boxes where you’ll place what you want to specialize your runner in. It can be to get more rings, have more item slots or perform stunts. There’s a wide variety and it will depend on you to adjust them to your gameplay.
- Runners: as with gadgets, these characters specialize in a particular area. For example: Sonic and Shadow in speed, Knuckles and Big in power, and so on. This will allow you to decide which one to run with to take advantage of their qualities.
- Tickets: are the currency we’ll receive as a prize in each race and that will serve to exchange for objects and elements. They’re essential to improve vehicles or aspects, and will always be necessary if we want to get each collectible element.
As for collectibles and cosmetics, these come hand in hand with skins, vehicle parts, colors, and more. Many of these we’ll get by exchanging them for the tickets we win in each race and that will accumulate to get everything.
Regarding the multiplayer element, we can participate locally with up to four people, or if you don’t have friends nearby where you are, there’s no problem. You can go to online mode and invite friends from other systems (Xbox, Nintendo, PC, etc.) to play with them.
If you unfortunately don’t have anyone, you can run with other players from around the world and have a good time if you don’t want to be alone. Additionally, we’ll have special events to get cosmetics, which will happen for a limited time in the game’s online mode.
The title has a lot to offer and will keep you in constant improvement, whether by changing characters or customizing your vehicles to have a very dynamic experience. Something that leaves bittersweet feelings is the paid DLC content.
We’ll have interesting collaborations like Minecraft, TMNT, PAC-Man, Avatar, Mega Man, or Bob Esponja, but, as I say, they’re paid and it’s a considerable low, considering they’re important figures like that.
Duration
The experience with karting games usually takes us through hours of fun, but what does this mean? It’s simple: if you have the game and do its Grand Prix mode, the extra modes, and one or two online games, you’ll easily reach several hours of play, that without entering into detail with everything it has to offer.
However, if you’re a player who wants to get everything and have the best times, in addition to being competitive in online mode, we’re talking about a game that will easily exceed 20 hours. And I’m being reserved in this aspect, since it’s replayable and has a robust multiplayer, both local and online.
As it is, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds has a lot to give, since we’ll have limited-time special events, new characters that will arrive in each season along with new scenarios. This will considerably extend our stay, and I’m mentioning that the game has just arrived, so in a few months its content will be on the rise.
Conclusion
A game that doesn’t need to rival other games in the same genre, since it has its own identity, with a very beloved character like Sonic, who comes accompanied by Shadow, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Rouge, and many more.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is an experience that is enjoyed, lived, and keeps you happy, with laughter and tension. It’s a karting game that hooks you from the start and seems to have no end. With the permission of the mustachioed one, we’re facing one of the best games of this style of the year.
It’s true that it has its flaws, like all games do, but its positive aspects are so many that the bad ones go unnoticed. We’re facing a title for all types of players, in addition to being able to enjoy it alone, with your family, or with other people online. It’s a super-recommended game that you shouldn’t miss if you like the character and this type of experiences.
We thank Cosmocover for the material provided to make this analysis possible.
Video game, Xbox, PC and Nintendo Switch enthusiast. Frank is one of the most active video game news writers on the web. He covers absolutely every topic. In terms of games reviewed, as of 2024 he has already passed the 60 mark and his average score, according to Open Critic is 80.
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