Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Review (PS5) – Everybody Go Super Sonic Racing

Here we are once again with Sonic and his friends, piling into vehicles that are faster than fast and battling for first place. And once again, I can’t help but laugh at the idea that the fastest thing alive (his words, not mine) even needs a car. Then again, I felt the same way back when I first played Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. Logic aside, fast cars and bigger attitudes still make for fun racing, and that’s exactly what Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds delivers.

Game Name: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
Platform(s): PS5 (reviewed), PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, Switch 2, PC (Steam & Epic Games Store)
Developer(s): SEGA
Publisher(s): SEGA
Release Date: September 25, 2025

It’s nice to see the Sonic Racing series make its return, especially since the last time we got an entry in the series was back in 2019 with Team Sonic R acing, and to be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of that title. But this time, times are different. Starting with who’s behind the wheel of development. With Sumo Digital stepping away after being acquired by Tencent, CrossWorlds has been handed over to Sonic Team, with support from Sega’s legendary AM2 division.

If you’re not familiar, SEGA AM2 is responsible for some of Sega’s most iconic racers such as Virtua Racing, the Daytona USA, series, Scud Race (Sega Super GT), and even the Initial D arcade series. Needless to say, the franchise is in good hands. I was already excited for this game, but finding out Sega’s arcade racing veterans were involved cranked that excitement up even further. No disrespect to Sumo Digital, but I grew up on Sega’s racing legacy, and seeing Sonic Team and AM2 behind the wheel feels like a dream scenario.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Portals & Transformations

While the kart racing is the main focus of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, the real showstopper, is the effect when choosing a portal (which resemble the Travel Rings) mid-race, which temporarily transports you to another world. You’re literally racing across different worlds in the middle of a race. It reminds me of Split/Second, where the lead racer could alter track features, but here the leader gets to dictate which world the race speeds into. The result feels like a mashup between Sega’s arcade DNA and something out of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. It looks amazing in motion and adds a refreshing layer of unpredictability to each race.

On top of that, CrossWorlds shakes things up with vehicle transformations, just like in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. At certain points, your ride morphs into a speedboat gliding across the water or a plane soaring through the skies. It breaks up the pacing nicely and is just as fun as it sounds, though unfortunately, you can’t play those segments on their own, as you’ll only encounter them during full races.

Of course, a Sonic racer wouldn’t be complete without its roster. Fans will be happy to see familiar faces like Sonic, Tails, Rouge, Metal Sonic, and Eggman, along with a few surprise guests from other Sega franchises, such as Joker form Persona 5, Ichiban from Like A Dragon, and Hastune Miku. Not every crossover character is available yet, since some are locked until October 2025, but even now the lineup is stacked and I’m pretty sure this is going to be the largest roster in a Sonic Racing game. And with DLC planned to add even more racers, so the cast is only going to grow.

Gameplay & Racing Experience

Racing in CrossWorlds is straightforward: hold down the gas, drift through corners (Ridge Racer would be proud), and avoid obstacles along the way. You can also trigger a boost, a sudden burst of speed, by collecting certain power-ups, hitting a boost pad, or by drifting long enough to build up to three levels of charge. It’s a Sonic game, after all, and you gotta go fast.

If you’ve played previous Sonic Racing titles, this one will feel very familiar, and that’s not a bad thing. The difference here is that with a new developer at the helm, the racing feels a bit tighter and more fine-tuned while still delivering the same enjoyable kart-racing experience.

The game offers three main modes: The Grand Prix, the main portion of the game where you compete across four tracks, with the final track being an altered mash-up of the first three tracks, and there’s lots to do in terms of classes; normal speed, high speed, sonic speed, super sonic speed, and mirror sonic speed. Time Trials tests your track knowledge and how fast you can tackle each track. And the Race Park mode that features party games that you can play with or against three other players or computer controller opponents.

However, unlike the prior Sonic Racing game, Team Sonic Racing, there is no campaign mode, which was fine with me.

Being a kart racer, CrossWorlds puts plenty of emphasis on chaos. Even in the opening circuits, you’ll find yourself bombarded with power-ups the moment the race begins, often feeling like every opponent is gunning for you. Add in rubber banding, and it’s all too easy to slip to the back of the pack with little hope of climbing back into the top three. To make matters worse, there’s no simple restart option, as you’ll have to spend valuable earned tickets, which you’d otherwise want to save for upgrading your kart, to do so.

Some players may enjoy the unpredictability, but for me, racing should be about the thrill of competition, not surviving a nonstop barrage of items. Getting hit once or twice is fine, but getting pelted over and over again quickly turns from challenging to frustrating.

Track design is absolutely fantastic, colorful and completely out of this world. Complete with sharp turns, air and water segments, loops and locations that Sonic fans will recognize, they’re all built for sending you speeding on your way, whether you’re drifting around corners, hitting pads, or gliding through a teammate’s slipstream. Honestly, I haven’t found a single track that I haven’t enjoyed, with some giving me my F-Zero fix, since another company refuses to do so. There’s even a track that screams “We have a Rainbow Road track as well.”

Customization & Upgrades

Once you pick your favorite character from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, the next step is choosing your ride. Cars are divided into four categories: Speed, Power, Acceleration, and Boost. Speed grants the highest top speed, perfect for racing ahead. Acceleration helps with getting back to speed after taking turns, stopping, or getting hit by a power-up. Power lets you plow through opponents and absorb more damage, while Boost emphasizes the many ways you can chain boosts together around each track. That said, there’s an exception to this, the hoverboards are restricted to the boost category, in case you were wondering.

In addition to choosing a vehicle type, you can also customize your ride, which takes things to another level. Early on, customization is limited to swapping a few body parts, painting your car and wheels, and adding decals. However, as you rack up wins and earn some tickets, you’ll unlock new parts that you’ll be able to purchase that will enhance your speed, power, acceleration, and handling stats. There are some really zany creations to be made, and I love the fact that I can do that.

Customization also gives you the option to start races with a set of quirky power-ups instead of relying solely on the luck of random item pickups and equip gadgets that will help take your ride even further and provide an edge or two while you’re trying to come in first.

You’re My Rival

New to the game is the Rival system, which serves to spice things up. At the beginning of every race or circuit you’re either assigned a random rival, or you can choose between several of them. Early on they’ll be lower leveled, but as you complete races and circuits, they’ll get assigned a higher level, which means they’ll be harder to beat and will try extra hard to knock you down.

Any character in the game can be a rival, and you’ll score big points as you continue to beat them, as the game keeps track of how many you take down. The higher the level of the rival, the more rewards you’ll get.

While it does serve to keep things interesting, it feels half-baked at times. Just about every racer on the track tried to give me a hard time, so I didn’t feel my assigned rival was trying any harder than the rest. The only difference here is that you’ll know when your rival is close or has pulled past you, as they’ll heckle you constantly.

Still, I did enjoy the banter during a race, or if you beat them then they get frustrated or if they win, they smack talk you. I also appreciate some of the lore in the game, such as when you pick Metal Sonic (who I adore), and everyone seems to have an issue with you. Sonic harasses you for copying him, Amy, and Tails get upset because Eggman didn’t build robotic versions of them, Rogue doesn’t think you’re up for the challenge like Sonic be. Just about every character has some sort of interaction.

Graphics, Sounds, Controls and Performance

Visually, the game is stunning on PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation 5, refreshing change of pace for me since I usually handle reviews on PC. On the PlayStation 5, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds offers two distinct options. In Graphics Mode, the game runs at 1080p with a stable 60 FPS, prioritizing smooth gameplay over resolution. Meanwhile, Performance Mode delivers 4K visuals at 30 FPS, offering sharper detail but sacrificing fluidity.

The PS5 Pro naturally takes things further. In Graphics Mode, the game shines with native 4K at 60 FPS, giving players the best of both worlds — crisp visuals and responsive framerate. The Performance Mode also runs at 4K 60 FPS, but when switching to 4-player split screen, the resolution adjusts to 2K at 60 FPS to keep the action running smoothly without stutter. So when it comes to the PS5 Pro, it’s up to you to decide which way you want to play.

The game loads fast on either platform, which helps getting you on the starting line or if you need to restart for whatever reason.

While the audio design hits every mark. Engines roar with intensity, power-ups spark with satisfying sound effects, and the announcer keeps the action lively throughout each race. The true standout, though, is the soundtrack. For longtime Sonic the Hedgehog fans, this is nothing short of a musical tour de force that’s packed with remixes and fresh arrangements of iconic themes alongside entirely new tracks. The addition of a jukebox mode is a welcome bonus, letting you enjoy the music on its own without the chaos of dodging items or worrying about a homing rocket chasing you down.

The controls are responsive, which is what’s required for any racing game, and it’s helpful here. Especially when you’re trying to navigate turns, get out of the way of obstacles that are on the track. That said, I have experienced times where handling just goes out the window when being smacked around too much and for some reason I just spin out and ram into the side of a track or go flying over it. Adjusting the steering sensitivity did help with that, so it would seem there’s some dead zone with the default settings.

Didn’t Have Access to the Online Portion During the Review

Sadly, during the review period there was no access to the online portion of the game, meaning that I was stuck with racing against the Ai components, and I couldn’t experience the human factor during the events where it matters. It stinks, and I don’t like fleshing out this review without getting my hands on it.

However, I’ll add that I did participate in the Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Open Network Test and I felt that was a decent representative of what we’ll experience once the servers come online. My only concern with that was there were a number of disconnects when racing. Given that was a network test, I’m confident that SEGA has fed its hedgehogs, so the servers will stay alive.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds does support crossplay, and during the review period I noticed that it was enabled by default, but can also be disabled, if so choose to. Thankfully, this means you’ll be able to play alongside others, regardless of which supported platform they are playing on.

Sonic Racing vs. Mario Kart

Let’s address the inevitable comparisons between this and Mario Kart World, because let’s not kid ourselves, this has already been a thing, it’s important to point out that these are two very different games. While MKW is about the merging of the open-world with Nintendo’s iconic (NOT F-Zero) kart racer, SR: CW is about keeping things pure, while refining what made the series a fan favorite in the first place.

And I feel that SEGA has succeeded in that, and this is coming from someone who really wanted to enjoy the prior enjoy, but kept going back to Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. I don’t think it’s fair to compare the two, as they feel differently, despite being kart racers. SEGA has not only addressed the frustration points but has also added content to keep fans not only happy but interested during longer periods of gaming. Tired of racing? Ok, go jam on the jukebox, or go play with the car customizations, or have some wacky fun at the Car Park.

That’s just my two cents on the matter.

Verdict

It’s nice to see that the Sonic Racing series is back, and it’s firing on all cylinders. This will also help people forget about Team Sonic Racing, which was a bit of a disappointment when compared to Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.

My only major complaint with the game is that the handling isn’t as tight as I’d want from a kart racing game. Trying to take medium to sharp turns always required me to power slide, even if I had a vehicle that had better than average handling. And sometimes I spun out of control for no reason. Outside of that, I felt that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a welcome addition to the series, and definitely a return to what made the series fun in the first place.

Review Disclosure Statement: A copy of Sonic Racing: Crossworlds was provided to us by SEGA for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy.

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