As someone who spent a lot of time back in the day playing Mario Kart DS, I have a soft spot for mascot kart racers. However, if you do want a good kart racing experience, you either have to buy a Nintendo console to play the latest Mario Kart or try the cheap knockoffs on other platforms. That’s not to say all non-Mario Kart racers are bad, because Crash Team Racing is certainly a lot of fun.
But with Mario Kart World being an $80 game that’s bound to a $450 Nintendo console, it’s high time we get a next-gen kart racer that gives Nintendo something to worry about. From what I’ve gathered by playing Sonic Racing Crossworlds so far, it looks like SEGA finally has an answer to Nintendo.
The Crossworlds Mechanic
One thing I’ve always liked about the Sonic racing games is that they always do things differently from Nintendo. Team Sonic Racing had a focus on shared power-ups and team strategy, while All Stars Racing Transformed had varied vehicle types and weapons. In this new title, the Crossworlds mechanic is the main gimmick, and it works really well.
At the end of the first lap of each race, the leader is presented with two portals to go through. Each travel ring will transport all racers to an all-new atmosphere for the next lap. From what I’ve played so far, these “Crossworlds”, as the game calls them, seem to randomly change for each track. Once you finish the lap in the Crossworld, you then go back to the track from the first lap, but that first lap now has more shortcuts and different areas.
There are 15 Crossworlds tracks, and any of them can pop up in any Grand Prix. This is what makes the game so varied and fun. It’s still the three-lap structure you know and love from Mario Kart, but with an interesting twist.
Performance, Modes, And Gameplay
My first introduction to Crossworlds was through the demo I was playing on my Nintendo Switch OLED. Performance is very solid on the Switch, though it’s locked to 30 FPS. I also tried the game on PC just a couple of hours before writing this, and performance is rock-solid there too. Unfortunately, it’s locked to 60 FPS, and that seems to be the case for all platforms. Finally, it does run very well on the Steam Deck, as reported by users online. The game currently has an overwhelmingly positive rating on Steam, so people don’t seem to have many complaints.
Handling in this game feels phenomenal, as power-sliding, boosts, and slipstreams all work wonderfully. In between tracks, you’ll also be able to use boats and planes, and they’re pretty fun. I find it to be a bit more challenging than Mario Kart, as your driving skills and strategic power-up usage seem more important here.
As for the modes, you get Grand Prix, Race Park, and Time Trials. The Grand Prix mode has a mechanic where you’re introduced to a rival character that serves as your main opponent in the races. Race Park has some modes that it directly borrows from Team Sonic Racing, and I found it fun for some local couch co-op gameplay. Time Trials are basic, but you do unlock new soundtracks by doing well and earning A ranks.
Characters, Gadgets, And Kart Customization
At launch, Crossworlds is already a fun game to blast through on the weekend. Online multiplayer also lends it some longevity. But the main thing that’s going to make players come back is the character roster. A post-launch roadmap from Sega reveals that we’ll be getting Mega Man, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and even characters from Avatar Legends. At launch, you even have Hatsune Miku, and we’re getting Joker from Persona 5 soon! Sega promises even more free and paid content drops, featuring new tracks, characters, and vehicles in the near future.
The gadget and kart customization is another interesting element. No character is tied to a specific vehicle, and you can mix and match different vehicle parts to fine-tune your kart’s appearance and performance. The gadget system also has a lot of depth, as there are 70 unlockable gadgets that you can use as passive or active items in each race. Powerful gadgets take up more slots, so you’ll have to be strategic about picking the right ones.
So Far, So Good
So far, Crossworlds is firing on all cylinders for me. It has a good number of tracks, great gameplay, and lots of fun characters to look forward to. In my mind, it’s the best Sonic racing game yet, simply because of how well the tracks are designed. I do have a few gripes, though: the soundtrack doesn’t hit hard, there’s no story mode, and it is a bit pricey ($70) for someone who only casually plays kart racers.
With that said, it’s cross-platform, has a lot of fun new mechanics, and has a more arcade-like feel than Mario Kart World. At the very least, I recommend trying out the demo that’s available on almost every platform to get a taste of what Sega is cooking up.
