Sonic Racing: Crossworlds - Switch 2 Review

I swear 2025 will be known as the year the kart racing genre returned to the spotlight. We had the juggernaut that is Mario Kart World release alongside a new console and later in the year we have a long-awaited sequel in Kirby Air Riders. But that is just from Nintendo; another major kart racer that has been taking the internet by storm is Sonic Racing: Crossworlds. Sonic is no stranger to the kart racing genre and this title sets out to celebrate not only the blue hedgehog’s racing history but also his franchise’s history as a whole.

The Good

Let's answer the big question right out of the gate: does Sonic Racing: Crossworlds control well? The short answer is yes, it controls fantastically. Players who are more familiar with more traditional kart racing controls may have some difficulty adapting at first, as Sonic Racing Crossworlds has a more arcadey feel to its handling thanks to Sega giving this game to the development team behind their Initial D arcade machines. The karts themselves have a weight to them that you can really feel, which makes tight turns feel really satisfying when done right or when you drive more aggressively with larger vehicles, ploughing your way through the other competitors.

While series producer Takashi Iizuka has stated that development on Sonic Racing: Crossworlds was well on its way when Mario Kart World was announced, it really feels like the game’s main gimmick, the titular crossworlds, is a response to Mario Kart’s decision to go open world. Whoever is in the lead coming up on the second lap of each race can choose a predetermined track or a random one to teleport to and continue the race and then teleport back to the original track on the third lap but with some alterations, like new shortcuts opening up or more hazards to avoid. In my opinion this is a way better way to implement world travel in a kart racer; the major complaints for Mario Kart World come from travelling to a new track, which is just an uneventful straightaway which also comes at the expense of a full three-lap race. Sonic Racing: Crossworlds’ solution not only keeps the idea of travel exciting but players don’t lose out on a full race. Sega are getting their cake and eating it too. With a total of 24 tracks, 15 Crossworlds and even more on the way post-launch, it will take a long time for players to see every possible track combination.

Kart racers are no strangers to customisation and player expression but I think Sonic Racing Crossworlds may have the most in-depth customisation in the genre. For starters you have your characters, which all have unique stat spreads but the game will tell you which stat they each excel at. After that you can pick your vehicle, which, like the characters, also has a focus on a specific stat which allows you to mix and match types (e.g. putting Sonic in a power-type vehicle to make up for that vehicle type’s weakness), and then you can change parts on your vehicle to truly fine-tune your stat spread. When you’re done with that, you can then decorate your vehicle in any way you want; you can change its paint, put decals on it, give it a flaming aura – heck, you can even change the sound of the horn if you want. If all that wasn’t enough, then you have the Gadget system; equipping gadgets lets you fine-tune your playstyle with a multitude of different effects. Anything from faster drift charges to faster tricks while in the air to manipulating item boxes to give you a higher chance to get items you want – the possibilities are endless! My personal favourite gadget loadout was one I used for large power-type vehicles, where my kart would spin when I did a drift, causing other racers to get hit if they bumped into me and on top of that, I added extra gadgets that let me steal their rings and boost when I bumped into them. I was an absolute menace on the track.

TL;DR

• Immaculate controls
• The Crossworlds mechanic is a fun and fresh addition to the genre
• Endless customisation potential

The Bad

While this isn’t a problem now, it will be a problem as more content comes out post-launch. It has been confirmed that post-launch characters will not have any voice acting, which seems like a small nitpick but Sonic Racing: Crossworlds puts a large emphasis on character interactions during races. In Grand Prix mode, you are given a rival who will constantly interact and talk smack to you throughout the races, so not having any of that for the post-launch DLC characters is a major letdown. I want to know what Rouge thinks about Joker, as they’re both thieves or Vector and the other members of Team Chaotix’s thoughts on a member of the Yakuza like Ichiban. Heck, even the day-one DLC characters don’t have voice acting; they’re evil alternate universe versions of characters already on the roster. How did you not bother adding voice lines for them? I understand the dev team's stance of wanting to get these exciting new characters in players' hands faster but at the cost of the most striking element of your game? Why?

Items are what separate kart racers from other racing games so of course Sonic Racing: Crossworlds has items to set upon unsuspecting racers. The items in Sonic Racing: Crossworlds feel way too chaotic and strong and it's super noticeable even when you first start out with no gadgets and are playing against the AI. Once you go online and race with people using gadgets that manipulate item drops in their favour, then it can become a bit too unbearable. This was an issue first discovered during the closed beta test many months ago and the team did address it and tone it down but clearly not enough.

Sonic Racing: Crossworlds gives the player an in-game currency for completing races, which they can spend on new vehicle parts and customisations but what happens when you buy all the customisations available? Luckily the developers have thought of that and have implemented a friendship mechanic; you can spend your hard-earned currency on your favourite characters to unlock new titles for your profile, character skins and much more. The thing is, the friendship mechanic really feels like a last-minute implementation; it's very bare-bones and is really just a money sink for when players are waiting for new post-launch content to drop.

TL;DR

• No voices for post-launch characters
• Items are way too strong and chaotic
• The friendship mechanic is just a poorly implemented money sink

Final Score: 9/10

I could gush about Sonic Racing: Crossworlds for hours; heck, this review was originally six pages long! This game is truly something special, not just for Sonic fans but for fans of kart racing as a whole. Of course people are going to ask me, “Is this better than Mario Kart World?” And if you are one of those people that is reading this review just for that, then let me make it clear: Sonic Racing: Crossworlds blows Mario Kart World out of the water. It is night and day; Sonic finally beat Mario at his own game. While Mario Kart may have fumbled slightly trying to reinvent the wheel, Sonic Racing: Crossworlds understood what they wanted to do: they wanted to take everything fans love about Sonic, stick it in a car and polish it to a mirror shine.

Thank you for checking out our Sonic Racing: Crossworlds Switch review, thank you to Sega (via Five Star Games) for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

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