It has officially been a week since the release of Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, and the game has proven to be loads of fun! There are many great things in this new Sonic installment, but with the good, there are also some things that don’t seem to work quite right. This will go over the major aspects of the game and their pros and cons.
The Roster
Crossworlds has a really strong roster of characters for players to choose from. On launch, there were 25 characters to choose from, from Sonic himself to Hatsune Miku. Digital Deluxe owners also got access to 3 extra characters from Netflix’s Sonic Prime. Over the course of the year, many more DLC characters will be added on a monthly basis. Sega characters will be free, while non-Sega characters will be paid DLC. The roster is one of the most diverse rosters the series has ever seen! The constant additions also leave many fans excited for their release! However, the upcoming roster additions have only two major issues.
The first is that the Season Pass feels very Paramount and Nickelodeon-heavy, with SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar: The Last Airbender and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles taking up half of the pass. While a partnership was expected due to their connection with Paramount for the Sonic film series, three collaborations feels a little too much. The second issue is that, as of right now, all Sega DLC characters confirmed are outside of the Sonic umbrella. This issue isn’t as prevalent as the first one due to all the free DLC not being announced yet. But Sonic the Hedgehog still has a plethora of characters that they could choose from to add, such as Chaos or Marine the Raccoon. Overall, the roster is quite impressive, but there could still be ways to make it even better!
Gameplay and Mechanics
The gameplay and the mechanics of this game are where it really shines. The main mechanic of this game is the Crossworld mechanic. In every race, the leading player at the end of the first lap will choose a Crossworld for the second lap. This changes the track entirely and can really be the make-or-break moment for many players.
Like many other kart-racing games, there is also a multitude of items to help out in a time of need. While many of the items are helpful and can turn the tide, the main issue comes with the item balancing. Some of the items, mainly the projectiles, drop you to a complete stop when hit and it can be hard to return to top speed sometimes. And the ability to reduce the impact is locked behind a gadget, which takes up three spots and takes spots away from more useful gadgets.
Customization
Gadgets and customization are the last major mechanics of this game. Vehicle customization is a major selling point of this game. You can mix and match different vehicles together, as long as they specialize in the same stat. The other major aspects that can be changed are the vehicle’s color, wheels, aura, and horn. Decals can also be added to the vehicle to create some amazing vehicle designs. There are very few cons when it comes to the customization, with the major issue being the Donpa Tickets, which serve as this game’s currency. Many of the decals and horns cost a lot of tickets, and it is very tedious to save up tickets to buy the parts and decals for the vehicles.
To enhance vehicle customization, various gadgets are available. Gadgets can be added to your vehicle to allow for some stat boosts or to increase trick speeds and item chances. Most of the gadgets are pretty useful when it comes to helping in the race. As stated before, there is a Quick Recovery gadget to reduce the impact of items, and some gadgets that let you gain rings for doing tricks or using dash panels. The biggest gripe with gadgets is that some take too many slots, but aside from that, there is not too much to complain about.
Game Modes
The game offers three major modes for players to play. The first is Grand Prix. Players will race in a series of four races in eight different cups. What sets this mode apart from other games is the rival mechanic. Players can choose a character as their rival. At the beginning of the Grand Prix, a brief cutscene will feature the player and their rival interacting. Some characters have interacted before, and some have never interacted, which is where the charm of this mode lies.
Race Park is the next mode. There are seven different rulesets in Race Park to try. The main goal of this mode is to beat the AI Racers, holographic variants of the main roster, in exchange for rewards and tickets. There isn’t too much to say about this mode, which serves as this mode’s biggest flaw. Race Park is very tedious and lackluster in terms of what to expect, and once the major rewards are collected, there is not much to do in this mode anymore. While not bad by any means, it is just forgettable and boring.
Time Trials is the last of these modes. The goal is to beat a certain time on the selected track. You can get a “B” rank, an “A” rank, and an “S” rank. “A” ranks grant rewards in the form of more music to play on the jukebox during races. These offer a real nice challenge and push the player to explore new vehicle combos, gadget configurations, and new shortcuts to ensure the player gets a good time. While playing this mode, it was satisfying getting the ranks I needed, especially on the tougher courses like Kraken Bay and Steampunk City. However, a minor issue with this is that some of the times to beat feel very challenging to achieve, even by the “A” rank standards.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Sonic Racing: Crossworlds is a very fun racing game to play and can definitely hold its own in such a competitive industry. It offers a wide variety of gameplay mechanics and events to look forward to that serve to increase the interest in the game and help improve its longevity. While some issues could be fixed with the game, that is to be expected with any game, and they don’t serve to detract from the overall experience of the game. This is a situation of the good massively outweighing the bad, and even then, the bad could easily be fixed in future updates. The game is highly recommended if you want a brand new racing experience that keeps you on your toes!
Sonic Racing: Crossworlds can be purchased wherever games are sold for all major consoles!
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