Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds’ beta was a blast and I’m ready for more

This past weekend, Sega held a closed network test for their upcoming kart racer Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds on PlayStation 5. To say that I had fun would be an understatement. 

For the three days that the beta was online, my living room sounded like an arcade — character one-liners being shouted, energetic music, item attack sounds and lots of vroom vrooms from the engines of all 12 competitors on any given track. Then there was me, shouting at my TV like Shadow the Hedgehog could hear me after he ran over me in a monster truck and left Knuckles flattened like a pancake. I did a lot more laughing than shouting though, mainly because CrossWorlds is chaotic in the best way. 

 

 

The closed network test contained six tracks, five CrossWorlds and nine characters, each with 16 vehicles to choose from. With this being an online test, only online play was available with vehicle customization, character select and gadget equipping rounding out the experience. Online races with strangers went off without a hitch. Lobbies were quick 12 person affairs with a hilarious visual of every contestant stacked in a small circular queue before the race began. Stickers that allowed for taunting were selected ad nauseam and I’m pretty sure I’ll now hear Sonic saying “Hey there!” in my deepest slumber for good now. From queuing up to race start it was often a wait of 30 seconds or less after voting between three tracks (or a random track selection). I didn’t have any dropped races, but I did experience a few dropped queues from track selection to loading screen. 

On to the tracks themselves, I want to begin by saying that this has to be one of Sonic Team’s most visually exciting and vibrant games to-date. E-Stadium, for example, was full of eye candy and references to the Sonic franchise. Digital banners with the iconic Green Hill Zone horizon could be spotted. Various player avatars from Sonic Forces lined the track as pit crew, Chao were the audience in the stands and holograms of palm trees hovered over the main straightaway. Of course, you have the standard Sonic blue oceans, loops and sunny vistas like in Ocean View (from Sonic Heroes) and Water Palace (from Sonic Rush). A persistent highlight for me was Metal Harbor from Sonic Adventure 2. The track tends to be narrow which kept the races tense and the rocket setpiece that sees a launchpad become a halfpipe was pretty sick. 

 

 

Some of the track themes were pretty unique and unexpected for a Sonic racing game. Wonder Museum with its living dinosaur skeletons, ghosts and living automobile exhibits truly felt like Sega’s take on Night At The Museum. Rainbow Garden has a colorful field of flowers that seem to stretch for miles, with a flight section setting up the perfect view of the horizon before sending you to the ground through stunning mines. Of course, the CrossWorlds when lap two begins really go all out. Dinosaur Jungle, Kraken Bay, and Magma Planet feel like going on an adventure, dodging setpieces between flight, driving and boat sections and numerous moving parts making the track come alive. In fact, it seems that the majority of the most exciting track elements take place in the CrossWorlds. I certainly never felt that excited for Roulette Road or Sky Road in Team Sonic Racing but in CrossWorlds form they are incredible. Sky Road has so many challenging alternate paths that are easy to fall off but quite exhilarating. The limited selection in the beta saw many repeat CrossWorlds, but the random track option helped immensely with that. In my time with the tracks, I’m inclined to say they build upon both Team Sonic Racing and Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed effectively. 

One aspect of the beta I want to especially praise is giving the players incentive to play in the first place. In the garage, certain vehicle builds need to be unlocked using credits accrued by participating in races. This unlock process wasn’t punishing and instead felt fun rather than like a grind. There are four vehicles each in four different classes making for 16 vehicles. Customization was limited during the beta but still fun to mess around with. Car bodies, bumpers, and tires could be mixed and matched based on Speed, Acceleration, Handling, and Power classes with your choices affecting stats. Paint schemes for all nine characters were available to be selected in addition to custom paint jobs and decals. I made some cool monstrosities in just the three days I had with the game and can’t wait to experience the full suite of options. 

 

 

Gadgets are a game-changer. I had a blast with my setup of fast trick execution (which should be the default honestly), gaining ten rings from a successful attack hit, wider slipstream and faster level 1 boost charge. CrossWorlds is a surprisingly technical kart racer and this is where that status comes from. By default, you can gain 100 rings to reach your top speed, you can power slide to drift boost, execute air tricks and ride your opponent’s slipstream. But gadgets expand upon all of these mechanics and more. My full card of six gadget slots was unlocked by classing up in online races whereas I initially began with three slots. Each gadget takes up one to three slots and the majority of the gadgets I wanted to use took up two slots, so I had to choose wisely. I appreciated this because it forced me to be more clever with my choices rather than go for strictly the most powerful gadgets. This is a great system.

To conclude, I want to state just how aggressive of a kart racer CrossWorlds is. Hitting walls and other racers as well as getting hit by items causes you to lose rings, so getting to 100 rings is a challenge. Items lean to the offensive end of the spectrum more than the defensive end. I spotted a shield item but that was as defensive as the long list of items got. The last lap became an insane stampede of monster trucks, drill whisps and red teleportation rings, so I spent most of lap three flattened usually. The chaos of CrossWorlds is incredibly fun and busy, but like any kart racer could be a frustrating experience too. Thankfully, handling already feels very smooth and learning to use offensive items defensively, like throwing a boxing glove backwards to cancel another, was possible. 

 

 

All in all, my time with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds was incredibly positive and the game feels polished and exhilarating. The music could use some remixing and a final master to stand out in the action, but this is such a slight gripe. I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds soon and, personally, I can’t wait. 

 

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