Cliff Notes – Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds review – doing what Nintendoesn’t
-
Crossplay Focus: Sega promotes crossplay as a key feature, but Mario Kart’s success shows it isn’t essential for popularity in kart racing games.
-
Unique Racing Mechanics: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds introduces a crossworlds gimmick, offering varied tracks and vehicle customisation, though it lacks standout courses compared to Mario Kart.
-
Gameplay Experience: While the game is fun and stable, the vehicle handling feels stiffer, and the overall experience doesn’t match the smoothness of Mario Kart, making it a solid alternative rather than a superior option.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds review – doing what Nintendoesn’t
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds brings back elements from the old Sonic Riders games (Sega)
Sega seems super confident in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds but is it really a better race game than Mario Kart World?
For the past several months, Sega has emphasised Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds’ crossplay functionality as the main reason why it’s the superior kart racer of 2025, with some very unsubtle jabs at Mario Kart World.
Frankly, this feels misguided. Mario Kart has never needed crossplay to be popular or successful. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold a whopping 68.86 million copies, and nearly everyone who bought a Nintendo Switch 2 also grabbed a copy of Mario Kart World.
Crossplay for a multiplayer racing game is important in this day and age, but the way Sega has been going on you’d almost think that’s all Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds has to offer when, in actuality, it has a lot more going for it… even if we think it’s still going to take the silver medal.
We already came away from last month’s preview session impressed with CrossWorlds and after putting time into the open beta, and now the full version, we can confidently say this is a great alternative for those left underwhelmed by Mario Kart World.
Admittedly, the handling of vehicles – whether you’re on the ground, water, or in the air – feels noticeably stiffer than the last few Sonic racers (which were developed by Sumo Digital). Racing on water, in particular, is awkward at first, since drifting is replaced with a charge jump – which has led to a lot of mistimed leaps and slamming into walls.
You’ll acclimatise to the handling and the weight of vehicles quickly though, and it remains a lot of fun blazing through the various tracks, drifting round tight corners, and taking advantage of shortcuts. Especially once you learn how to counter drift.
Expert, exclusive gaming analysis
This technique lets you change direction while keeping your drift gauge charged up, and thus build up a stronger boost. We enjoy using this in the air since those sections typically don’t involve a lot of turning, but successful counter drifting can keep you boosting forward ahead of the pack.
CrossWorlds feels very conscious about ensuring you’re always moving, since bumping into walls doesn’t cancel your drift and if you ever fall out of bounds you’re almost instantly warped back to the track.
It does crib a lot of basic elements from Mario Kart (what kart racer doesn’t?), but its faster pace and emphasis on drifting makes it a very different beast. For almost everywhere that Mario Kart World zigs, CrossWorlds zags and that’s especially evident in the core premise of the game.
There’s no open world to roam around here, or linear tracks that interconnect with one another. CrossWorlds is a straightforward racer with traditional three lap circuits. The key difference is that the second lap of a race transports you to one of 15 unique crossworlds (or sometimes one of the 24 regular tracks) before you’re taken back to a slightly altered version of the original track for the final lap.
It’s a fun gimmick, that ensures no two races are the same, although the novelty does wear off after a while. Plus, while all the tracks are competently designed and nicely varied in appearance, with plenty of alternate paths and shortcuts, we don’t think any of them are as charming or memorable as Mario Kart World’s best tracks, such as DK Spaceport and Boo Cinema. There’s certainly nothing on the same level as Rainbow Road.
Some tracks are chock full of references to past Sonic games (Sega)
One aspect CrossWorlds does excel at is its customisation options. Aside from the gadget system, where you can equip passive stat buffs or specific upgrades (like faster air tricks or a spin attack while drifting), you have a lot of freedom to build the kind of vehicle you want to drive, right down to its colours, decals, and even what sound the horn makes.
You will need to spend a lot of Donpa Tickets (which you earn just through racing) to unlock everything, but whether you care more about your vehicle’s stats or just want it to look pretty, you’ll be spending hours tinkering with their build.
We had hoped CrossWorlds would have a single-player campaign mode that offered different racing challenges, just like Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, but that’s sadly not the case.
Instead, solo players have only the typical Grand Prix and time trial modes, as well as an in-game achievement system for earning more Donpa Tickets and unlocking titles to attach to your online profile.
There’s no story to be found in CrossWorlds, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing (Sega)
There’s also something called Race Park, which is mainly there for split-screen multiplayer and offers different race types, including team-based ones à la Team Sonic Racing. Although none of them are particularly interesting or as fun to play as Mario Kart World’s Knockout Rally mode.
Fortunately, CrossWorlds does provide some decent incentive to engage with all its modes. Playing the Grand Prix mode will eventually unlock Super Sonic as a racer, defeating AI opponents in Race Park rewards you with more vehicles, and doing well in the time trials adds new songs to a customisable jukebox you can use during races.
CrossWorld’s soundtrack is surprisingly middling for a Sonic game, but the option to set up your own music for races is a feature Mario Kart World (which has a phenomenal soundtrack) desperately needs to add in a post-launch update.
Speaking of post-launch updates, CrossWorlds has come out the gate swinging, with promises for plenty of DLC. A lot of free Sega characters, like Joker from Persona 5, are scheduled to arrive regularly, with a paid season pass adding crossover characters, tracks, and vehicles from other franchises, like Minecraft and Pac-Man.
Compared to Nintendo’s peculiar silence regarding any Mario Kart World DLC, it’s good to see Sega actually have a roadmap in mind. Although CrossWorlds does do that annoying thing where it displays paid DLC in-game even if you haven’t bought it, constantly reminding you that you’re missing out on extra content.
CrossWorlds also clearly wants you to be frequently playing online, since there are plans for monthly events with unique rewards and you can only acquire certain gadgets by improving your online ranking.
We did try the online but were mostly placed against bots, since the game hasn’t launched yet, but if the open beta was anything to go by, it promises to be a stable experience at the very least. This applies to the whole game since even at its most hectic, we never noticed any frame drops.
So, is Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds better than Mario Kart World? Honestly, no. While we did adjust to how CrossWorlds handles, Mario Kart World simply feels better to play. At high speeds, it sometimes felt like we were losing control of our vehicle in CrossWorlds and when in narrow paths or bunched with other racers, the inevitable ricocheting can be distracting.
Combined with all the bright colours and loud sound effects, it’s almost sensory overload; especially during the random frenzy events that can occur on the second lap, which range from adding loads of boost rings or granting players unlimited boost items.
Also, don’t let anyone tell you CrossWorlds is more skill-based than Mario Kart World. Some criticise the latter for feeling too random, since your first place victory can be so easily denied by a blue shell, but CrossWorlds is equally guilty of this. Skill is the defining factor for winning, but the right item at the right time can sometimes be the deciding factor.
The frequent Mario Kart comparisons are inevitable, but it’s a shame as it doesn’t matter if CrossWorlds is a better racer or not. This is a classic example of the two cakes meme, since regardless of what you want from a racing game, fans of the genre now have two great options to choose from.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds review summary
In Short: 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.
Pros: The core racing is a lot of fun and the crossworlds gimmick gives it a unique edge. In-depth vehicle customisation. Stable performance even when online.
Cons: Driving doesn’t feel as smooth as Mario Kart, especially on water. No standout racetracks. Solo content is plentiful but quite shallow.
Score: 8/10
Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviews), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC
Price: £64.99 (standard edition), £79.99 (digital deluxe edition)
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sonic Team
Release Date: September 25, 2025 (September 22 for early access) (Switch 2 version releases digitally in 2025, physically in early 2026)
Age Rating: 3
Pre-orders net you Sonic’s bizarre werewolf transformation from Sonic Unleashed as an extra character (Sega)
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
Comment now
Comments
