Sonic Racing: Crossworlds’ main gimmick is in the name of the game. On the second lap of each track, the racer in first place will have the choice between one of two “crossworlds”, teleporting all players to a different course for the duration of the next lap. The locations are picked at random, and with a selection of twenty-four main tracks and fifteen wacky crossworlds to choose from, this feature should ensure that no two races ever feel the same.
The main tracks evolve as the race progresses, too – an idea taken from Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. For example, the first lap of Metal Harbor has players ride around the outskirts of the rocket’s launchpad. But when they return from the crossworld for the third and final lap, the rocket launches, allowing you to use the pad as a ramp to gain some crazy air time, pulling off a fast flurry of air tricks.
It seems that SEGA have learned from their mistakes
This isn’t all that Crossworlds borrows from Transformed, with the return of transforming vehicles allowing players to turn their cars into boats and planes, enabling traversal across all types of terrain. It seems that SEGA have learned from the mistakes made in their past Sonic Racing games, reviving the great ideas that games like Transformed brought to the series while also maintaining the quality of life changes Team Sonic Racing brought to the table, such as car customisation.
The game isn’t afraid to pull inspiration from all pages of Sonic’s vast catalogue of racing releases, with the Extreme Gear hoverboards from Sonic Riders returning for the first time in fifteen years. This inclusion is of course accompanied by the return of Team Sonic’s avian adversaries: the Babylon Rogues. Seeing Jet, Wave and Storm’s grand comeback after the half-baked finale of the Riders trilogy is an absolute delight, and hopefully serves as a sign of greater things to come for this fan-favourite trio.
Crossworlds’ cast promises to be the biggest of any Sonic racing game to date, with twenty-three characters confirmed so far and “a ton more on the way” according to SEGA’s website. These range from the obligatory inclusions of Tails, Knuckles, Shadow and Dr. Eggman to some surprise picks, such as Sage from the recent Sonic Frontiers. And with the games multiversal mechanics being a core part of it’s DNA, we can hope to see characters from all over the canon make appearances in future updates.
Team Sonic Racing’s poor online services and lack of long-term support were ultimately what killed the game on release, but Crossworlds promises not to make those same mistakes, with a DLC season pass already confirmed. All it takes is one look at our favourite Italian plumber to realise the importance of this, as Mario Kart 8 has managed to keep its servers active for over a decade with DLC booster courses releasing regularly. Crossworlds will also feature online crossplay, which should help make matchmaking a breeze.
For most Sonic game reveals, it always feels like there’s a catch to the initial excitement the trailer provides: a sign of problems yet to come. But by the looks of it, Sonic Racing: Crossworlds has none of these ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’ – what you see is what you get. Every idea seems to mesh perfectly, and I can’t wait to see more of what this game has to offer, especially the Extreme Gear. (Just please don’t mess that part up SEGA. Please.)