Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Reviews
A fun arcade karting experience is often too chaotic for its own good, but a tight handling model with a high skill ceiling offers surprising depth.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds fires on all cylinders with a fantastic roster, excellent courses, and lengthy list of customization options.
While I may have been left a little wanting when it comes to what CrossWorlds doesn’t do, everything it doesdo is tweaked to perfection. This latest generation proves that the Blue Blur is back in the big leagues, finally giving him the fantastic racing game he’s always deserved. With Sonic’s resurgence going strong, CrossWorlds is a well-earned victory lap.
The variety is cool, and returning to the original world for the final lap comes with some exciting changes.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds offers some exciting twists on the tried-and-true kart-racing formula, making for a streamlined experience that wastes no time getting you into the action. Though there’s substantially less content and replayability than its primary contemporary, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is concise and effective in its mission, offering the most well-rounded kart racer of the year.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a well-crafted and remarkably flexible arcade racer with an almost overwhelming amount of customization and a whizbang portal-hopping mechanic.
Does the newest entry in Sega's Sonic Racing series stand among the greats of the genre?
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is one of the most memorable entries in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and it upstages Mario Kart World in several ways. Packed with chaos, fun and presenting a bit of a learning curve, CrossWorlds wins big when it comes to smooth drifting and air tricks that give you significant boosts. Extensive kart and 'Gadget Plate' customization enable you to strategize in different ways and fine-tune your style. While there aren't enough courses at launch and some items can feel overpowered at times, CrossWorlds makes a big splash as a multi-platform karting game. PC Deals2 deals availableDownload $69.99 $60.89View $82.06 $66.71ViewWe check over 250 million products every day for the best pricespowered by
All told, I’d say that this version is certainly worth the punt if you’re invested in playing this on Nintendo platforms - the Switch 2 Edition fixes the issues that were holding this game back from being truly great. Unfortunately, owners of just the Nintendo Switch won’t benefit from these optimisation improvements, but if you already own this game and have a Switch 2, the $10 upgrade feels like a reasonable price to pay for such a notable leap over the old version. I’d suggest picking this up, if only to experience what a great kart racer not made by Nintendo can be like.
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds offers plenty of arcade fun, especially in multiplayer. If you have friends over and are looking for a great racing game, you’ll find what you’re looking for here. Equally, if you enjoy online play, Sonic Racing CrossWorlds will scratch an itch. However, due to shallow progression systems, players may find themselves lacking the incentive to play more alone. That said, fans of the Sonic franchise will eat well here, since CrossWorlds’ soundtrack, as well as its literal tracks, are brimming with adoration for the blue hedgehog and his storied history.
"In a space where Mario Kart has been the only kart racer worth talking about for what feels like eons, Sonic Racing: Crossworlds stands tall as a worthy competitor. Beyond the flashy dimension-hopping, the gameplay doesn't reinvent the wheel, but offers enough quentessentially Sonic-style fanfare to appeal to veteran fans, while offering accessible, chaotic racing that will appeal to casual fans looking for a cross-console alternative. The rather uninspired multiplayer modes, the lack of satisfying unlockables, and the focus on a steady stream of paid content make me doubtful that this game can achieve long-term success. But, as far as kart racers go, Sonic Racing: Crossworlds is right up there with the best."
It’s not quite the same calibre as Mario Kart World, but those disappointed by Nintendo’s racer will find Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds an ideal alternative, thanks to its heart-pumping action and unique ideas that make it more than just a carbon copy.
With Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Sonic Team has delivered its most dazzling installment, a game that prioritizes fun for all audiences, whether casual players or racing veterans. More juicy content would have been a great addition, but it still manages to be highly enjoyable both solo and with friends.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
While it gets plenty of the fundamentals of right, the dimension hopping, character roster and some of the extra modes don't quite stick the landing. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds isn't the best karting game out there, and thirteen years on from Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, it's not even the best karting game with a blue hedgehog in it.
Given some of the recent marketing and with the way release windows worked out, CrossWorlds is inevitably going to draw comparisons to Mario Kart World. After spending time with both games, it feels like an apples and oranges (or F1 and NASCAR, if you prefer) comparison. CrossWorlds is good enough to stand on its own and even above previous Sonic racing games. Just put the car in gear and enjoy the ride.
At the end of the day, you can be an eggy robot if you want, and isn’t that what’s important?
CrossWorlds is a brilliant karting game with satisfying handling, a fun portal mechanic and useful customisation options. Its weapons aren't as punchy as we'd like and it's unclear how it's going to keep players' attention long-term but it's a genuine, more traditional alternative to Mario Kart now that Nintendo's pointed its series in new direction.
I paid over $100 Canadian for this game, and it was worth every penny. I wasn’t sure what to expect with Sonic Team taking over but I’m extremely impressed. I wish there were more courses (especially ones based on other SEGA properties) but there’s still 5 more DLC courses to be released and I’ll be there every time one launches to take part in the accompanying event.
Chaotic, crazy, rich, explosive. Sonic Racing CrossWorlds is the best kart game outside the Nintendo universe and, in some ways, it is even more compelling than Mario Kart World. The only thing missing is that final spark that would allow it to definitively emerge from the shadow of its rival.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a solid alternative to other games in the mascot-racer space, offering speedy, stripped-down action, a few clever twists, and perhaps most importantly for some folks, courses that feel more like those in Mario Kart 8 than the less universally-beloved Mario Kart World. A general lack of content and originality keeps CrossWorlds from fully breaking away from the pack, but it’s at least in striking distance of the winner’s circle.