Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Review (Switch 2)

Gameplay

Graphics

Audio

Narrative

Summary: CrossWorlds crashes onto Switch 2 with a version capable of challenging Mario's karting crown.

4

Everybody’s Supersonic Racing

If you’re looking for a decent alternative to Mario Kart World for your shiny new Switch 2, you really can’t go wrong with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds.

If you’ve played a kart racer in the past decade, you’ll know exactly what to expect: over the course of four, three-lap races, you need to drift and boost your way to victory while hobbling your opponents with a selection of weird and wonderful weapons that range from minor annoyances to the kind of race-wrecking power-ups on par with the infamous blue shell.

What sets it apart from other kart racers, though, is the titular CrossWorlds mechanic, which sees the racers dive through a portal into one of 15 reimagined versions of courses from Sonic’s platforming adventures at the end of the first lap.

This is a fun and visually impressive mechanic, especially since some of the CrossWorlds you’ll drift into are absolutely wild, including rollercoaster rides like a valley full of dinosaurs, a river under attack by dragons and a race through a haunted pirate ship.

There are 24 main tracks to race through, made up of a nice mix of tracks from previous Sonic Racing titles and cleverly designed reimaginings of courses from throughout the main series, like Metal Harbour and Radical Highway from Sonic Adventure 2, Windmill Isle from Sonic Unleashed and many more besides.

Races themselves are tense affairs, especially on higher difficulty levels, where even the smallest mistake or stray boxing glove can cost you a spot on the podium. Your opponents are also absolute gits. They are more than happy to ram you off the road, hit you with weapons at the worst possible time and generally be as aggressive as possible. There is a rival system and you’d expect that kind of behaviour from the one racer you’re specifically tasked with beating, but half the time it’s just some random who decides to wreck your chances at victory.

You can improve your chances of being first past the chequered flag, though, by making sure you have the right character, kart and combination of gadgets to suit your playstyle.

Gadgets are essentially dozens of buffs and other tricks you unlock as you race, which you can then equip to your kart to alter the way it handles. For example, you can make it easier to gather rings, fill the boost gauge faster or make your speed-focused kart handle better and plenty more besides. There’s a surprising level of strategy involved and finding the right combination to complement how you like to race or improve the build of your kart is surprisingly engaging.

Outside of the main Grand Prix mode, there’s also the multiplayer-focused Race Park mode that features seven different team-based race types that mix up the gameplay in neat ways, like teams trying to grab as many rings as possible, races where you can use your teammates for a quick boost and another where the winner is the team that’s landed the most attacks on their rivals throughout the race. It’s a great way to mix things up and is also the main way to unlock new karts if you need an incentive to give it a go.

There’s also the obligatory online multiplayer mode. The few races I took part in ran fine. Finding a race was easy and I didn’t experience any noticeable slowdown and the connection remained consistent throughout. It’s also a great way to try out the DLC tracks for free and there’s a persistent ranking system that doles out points based on your performance if you like that kind of thing.

The presentation is also top-notch. Each track is gorgeous and has a wonderful sense of place and life. The screen is awash with particle effects and explosions as each racer jockeys for pole position and zips around the screen, and at times it feels like you’re not always in control of your racer but barely holding on for dear life in the best possible way.

The music is also a bit of a mixed bag, depending on whether you’re a fan of Sega’s cheesier soundtracks. Personally, I have a soft spot for the soft jazz from NiGHTS, but the Supersonic Racing remix is pure nostalgia for my lugholes. It’s also worth noting that the performance compared to the original Switch version is night and day.

Visually, it’s much closer to its other current-gen counterparts, with higher-quality textures and more artefacts, and runs at what feels like a locked 60fps on Switch 2, as opposed to the Switch’s 30fps target, which it often didn’t achieve.

If you are currently playing the Switch 1 version on your Switch 2, for the love of God, get that upgrade pack for your own sanity.

Final Thoughts

With Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Sega has created a serious contender to Mario Kart’s crown on Switch 2. The tight, challenging racing, rollercoaster-like course design and superb CrossWorlds gimmick make for a compelling alternative to Nintendo’s perennial system seller.

About the Author

Gareth Newnham

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Review (Switch 2)