I grew up on Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and Team Sonic Racing, karters that enthralled me as much as they confused me. Because hey, why does the world’s fastest hedgehog even need a car? Nobody has ever given me a straight answer and CrossWorlds sure doesn’t try. Instead, it embraces the ridiculousness and doubles down on fun.
The big hook this time is the Travel Ring mechanic. Hit one mid-race, and you are suddenly asked to choose between two alternate dimensions for lap two. It’s a twist that achieves two things: first, it keeps the racing fresh by chucking you into a completely different environment, and second, it lets leaders weaponise chaos by dragging everyone through their preferred nightmare. Sometimes that means lush green valleys with fewer traps, other times you are hurled into lava-lined hellscapes that make drifting feel like driving on butter. It is part genius, part evil, and absolutely the best thing to happen to the series in years
This system plays beautifully with shortcuts, which are no longer static or predictable. A path that was a gift on lap one may vanish or morph entirely on lap two. The result is a delicious sense of uncertainty where even seasoned kart fans have to improvise on the fly.
The tutorial wastes no time drilling in the series’ signature techniques. Drifting is king here, and the game all but dares you to hold your slide until the controller rumbles and sparks explode, because that is when the real boost comes. Slipstreaming behind rivals is back and more important than ever thanks to longer straightaways, and chaining drifts into slipstreams into jumps is how you keep your boost meter cooking.
There is also a new “Cross Dash” which is a risky sideways burst you can trigger mid-drift to jostle opponents or line yourself up for item pick-ups. It is flashy, dangerous, and immensely satisfying when you clip a rival into a wall with it. The end result is a racer that rewards bold, stylish play, with the tutorial making it clear that if you drive timidly, you are just going to be roadkill.
Of course, no Sonic racer would be complete without a grab-bag of madcap powerups. Here, Sega has introduced gadgets that slot into your ride before each race, acting like a cross between perks and weapons. Some activate automatically, others demand a bit of timing. They are also a joy to experiment with, because mixing them up with the vehicle customisation system produces builds that actually feel different. You can make a kart that thrives on boosting, one that leans into heavy defence, or my favourite, a slippery trickster that thrives on chaos items and drifts like a demon.
Better yet, vehicles are no longer locked to characters. Sonic can tear up the track in a bulkier machine if you like, while Knuckles can be tuned for raw speed. It is a freedom that rewards tinkering, even if the progression system makes you grind a bit too long to unlock everything.
No racing game is worth its salt if it cannot deliver the couch chaos. I dragged my younger brother into hours of split-screen testing and we both came out hoarse from shouting at the TV. The PS5 held steady even when two Travel Rings went off at once, and the action stayed smooth despite all the fireworks and ridiculous particle effects. We bickered over shortcuts, laughed when someone got zapped mid-jump, and pulled off last-second overtakes that turned into family legends. It is precisely the kind of joyful nonsense that makes kart racers timeless.
CrossWorlds is a looker. Tracks are drenched in colour and nostalgia, then flipped upside-down when Travel Rings send you elsewhere. One minute you are gliding over crystalline waters, the next you are dodging traps in a neon nightmare. The transformations are slick, with enough spectacle to make you feel like you have just yanked reality inside out.
Audio-wise, the soundtrack continues Sonic’s proud tradition of being so catchy you will hum it while making dinner. Boosts roar, rings sing, tyres screech, the whole thing is a sensory sugar rush that matches the visual pace.
It is not perfect. Handling remains the sticking point, particularly on tighter corners where even the most nimble kart feels like it is resisting your commands. Rubber-banding AI ensures dramatic finishes, but sometimes the pile-on of items and cheap shots feels less “fun chaos” and more “oh come on.” And while the new Rival system spices up Grand Prix runs, it occasionally punishes too harshly, with over-aggressive enemies wrecking otherwise clean races. Still, it is hard to stay mad when the next Travel Ring yanks you into something spectacular.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is the franchise’s strongest showing yet, because it finally stopped worrying about speed logic and embraced its wild side. The Travel Ring system is a masterstroke, the gadgets and customisation keep things lively, and the split-screen multiplayer is as hilarious and chaotic as it ever was. Yes, the handling can frustrate and yes, rubber-banding still haunts the series, but the overall package is colourful, inventive and fast enough to keep you grinning.
This review was made possible by a no strings attached code provided by FiveStar Games
