Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds May Overtake My love Of Mario Kart - Summer Game Fest

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When it comes to kart racers, I have admittedly been on Team Mario Kart. I didn't mind others like Crash Team Racing and Sonic Racing, but they never gave me the same satisfaction that Mario Kart did. Going into Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, I had that same worry, though I told myself I was going to keep an open mind. However, when I left, all I could think about was how much I wanted to go back and play it again. I don't say this lightly, but I could see Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds truly competing against Mario Kart, and maybe even coming out on top.

The racing mechanics are exactly what you'd expect, tight and great to control, but there are some wonderful quality-of-life mechanics that I found made it so much easier to utilize. Air tricks were a simple movement of the left joystick, drifting showed a bar that told you how long your drifting boost would be, depending on how long it was held down, and there was a gauge at the beginning of the race to make starting boosts easier to land. They are all small changes and UI improvements, but they make a world of difference and blend in nicely with the tight controls.

However, the world jumping mechanic elevates the race into a whole new experience that I fell for immediately. Usually, each race has three laps, which means you go around the same track three times. In Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, the map completely changes for the second lap. The second map is chosen by whoever is in first place after the first lap is done, and you go through a ring into a whole new world. It loads near immediately, and you can even see what is happening on the other side of the ring in real-time as you drive up to it. This preview of the other side does have slightly lower quality, and the framerate is noticeably lower, but it's cool that it even works.

I got to try out the Grand Prix mode, where you go through four races and get points based on where you place in each race. Whoever has the most points at the end of the four races wins the Prix. This same mechanic is in here too, but for the fourth race, you will go through all three maps that you selected as you played the first three races. It's one of the coolest concepts, and I am elated to see it executed so smoothly that it just feels so natural.

I am also loving the number of characters we are going to get to choose from. We have our usual sonic characters, as well as guest characters like the newly announced Hatsune Miku, Ichiban Kasuga, Joker (Persona 5), and Minecraft Steve. It looks like Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is aiming to be much more inviting to guest racers, and I am all for it.

Then we have the vehicle customization, which just adds a deeper level of complexity that I didn't expect. Not only can you customize car parts, which do affect the vehicle's stats, but also how it looks. There are some solid options for both, and it made me feel like I could make the car my own. To add to that, we can also customize a kit to enhance playstyles. You can equip different gadgets on a six-spot board, which can give nice benefits like making air tricks happen faster, getting a boost when gaining rings, charging your drift boost quicker, and much more. You can pick and choose what goes in those slots, which can change the way you race or improve how you tend to play.

By the end of my time with the game, I was almost completely hooked on it. I found the racing to feel tight and enjoyable to control, while the quality of life UI makes it easier to plan and see what kind of boosts I will get. The changing worlds mechanic for different laps shakes up gameplay beautifully while keeping us on our toes for what the next track will be, while the customization is shaping up to give a lot of flexibility to each playstyle. At this rate, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is going to take over my love of Mario Kart, and I couldn't be more excited.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds can be pre-purchased for $69.99 ahead of its September 25th release date. There is no info on Steam Deck compatibility yet, but with how great SEGA has been with their releases on the Deck, I wouldn't be surprised if this were very playable on the go.

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