There’s one thing about Sonic video games the place I sort of let my guard down and simply take pleasure in them for what they’re. And I’m completely happy to say that I’ve genuinely loved my time with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, which I performed an hour of throughout Summer season Sport Fest. It’s a kart racer that, in my brief time with, nails the core tenets of an excellent kart racer – quick and intense races, powerups that flip the tide and go away you salty, and an excellent vibe that celebrates the characters from its supply materials. I can’t actually ask for rather more than that, but there’s nonetheless extra to chew on that we haven’t seen in earlier Sonic racing video games.
Let’s begin with the CrossWorld mechanic, which varies up every race – the primary lap begins on the chosen monitor, then whoever’s in first place within the second chooses the place your entire race warps to for the second lap. This may vary from an icy world with aurora borealis within the skybox, to a storming sea amongst a ship’s wreckage, or a volcanic zone with laser grids as obstacles. After which the third lap returns to the traditional monitor. It’s a novelty that you could be get used to over time, nevertheless it does present some degree of dynamism from race to race and provides a little bit of unpredictability to maintain issues recent.
In these crossing worlds, you’ll be flying, hovering, and browsing relying on the place you warp to, and so there’s an awesome sense of selection to your autos because you’re not simply on the bottom drifting along with your karts. I fairly just like the flying sections since your plane controls properly and brings a sure verticality that’s shocking for a kart racer. If something, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is blasting your eyeballs with chaos occurring on display screen, and possibly overdoing it. Not that it’s a serious grievance I maintain towards it, however it is a very visually busy recreation to the purpose the place it’s typically arduous to inform what’s actually happening – and I feel these moments are extra in service of the spectacle relatively than being a severe aggressive racer.
Nonetheless, it does have that aggressive edge with the way you outfit your kart. You may customise elements just like the physique, tires, and boosters to tweak stats akin to prime velocity, acceleration, and dealing with. What’s extra is that you could connect perks to your kart as if it’s a loadout. You get six slots for attachments, and a few attachments take up multiple slot – for instance, I used a three-slot acceleration booster and a two-slot perk that improved my restoration time after getting hit by an merchandise. And these items really affected my efficiency in a significant approach. I bought hit with a rocket in lap three alongside one other racer, however was capable of pull forward of them considerably after getting hit due to each of these perks I geared up. So, if you happen to’re actually severe about kart racing, I feel there’s room for being an actual sicko about it.
I solely had entry to the Grand Prix modes, which pits you in a sequence of 4 races, awarding factors on your place and figuring out a winner by the tip of the sequence. It’s fairly normal stuff with just a few quirks alongside the way in which. I’m unsure if that is embedded in Sonic lore, however one racer shall be declared a rival mid-Grand Prix and can act extra aggressive towards you and keep extra aggressive all through the sequence. The fourth and remaining race can even reward extra factors for first place, so you possibly can flip the tide on the final minute if you happen to’re just a few factors behind. Nonetheless, I’m interested in how the opposite recreation modes in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will play out, as a result of as enjoyable and dynamic as regular races are, longevity will depend on Sonic Staff having the ability to capitalize on its potential in different inventive methods.
Maybe a few of that can come from its crossover characters – not solely is that this about Sonic as an entire, it’s a celebration of Sega’s latest historical past as properly. Throughout Summer season Sport Fest, Sega revealed that characters like my treasured boy Kasuga Ichiban from Yakuza / Like A Dragon, Joker from Persona 5, and my vocaloid queen Hatsune Miku will all be a part of the roster. Seeing Ichiban relive his days of Dragon Kart from the 2020 RPG is lovable and a welcome extension of his character, whereas seeing Miku on a hovering board racing by way of Sonic worlds is sufficient to get me purchased in (and we must always have Miku in additional video games, to be trustworthy, shout out to Fortnite). It’s not like crossover characters are a brand new factor for a Sonic racing recreation – I imply, take a look at the wild lineup for Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing. However Sega’s catalog has grown so much since then, so maybe this new period of characters can spice issues up in a approach that makes extra sense.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds doesn’t need to revolutionize the kart racing style, and I feel it’s staking its declare on being a enjoyable and carefree racer that celebrates Sonic and the bigger Sega pantheon. It’s a vibe, and one which I’ve loved and can sit up for drifting by way of when it launches on September 25 of this yr on the final two PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo consoles, in addition to PC.
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