Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Review (PS5): Races Built on Chaos and Adrenaline

As a Sonic the Hedgehog fan as far back as I can remember, it makes me so happy to see Sonic games in a much better spot. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds keeps the good times rolling with chaotic, fast-paced gameplay that is as exhilarating as it is a celebration of how we got here. The racing at play here reminds us that a focus on refining the mascot racer experience can be more enjoyable than arbitrarily changing it for an empty open world.

Off to a Strong Start

As mentioned above, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds mostly focuses on the tried and tested formula racers like this have largely been built on for decades. Three lap races with a lot of drifting, speed boosts, and items thrown around to disrupt enemies. As a whole, nothing exciting, but it’s the chaotic nature of the race itself that helps Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds stand out.

At the end of the first lap, the leading racer chooses a path into a different course for the race to go down. I love this inclusion, as not only does it help mix up the monotony of following the same path three times in a row, but the random option always made me excited for what was around the corner. In the early going, I did see a lot of the same tracks, but this gets so much better when you unlock every course to be included, though sometimes you can get courses that are in the grand prix you are already playing.

Flurries Don’t Do Enough

Now and then, these second laps will also get a slight modifier called a flurry lap, and I love the idea, but it’s simply not pushed hard enough. During a flurry lap, the course is filled with an element to make everyone essentially boost for the entire time. This largely comes down to boost rings littering the entire course, or everyone has a boost wisp that recharges. Those two are far and away the most common, but I did see one flurry lap that included faster drifting boost build-up.

I wish these flurry sections went more wacky. The boosting additions are fun, but they quickly become unspecial. If we had more modifiers to throw in, like reversing your steering controls or giving everyone constant offensive weapons, we would have a second lap that could constantly challenge every racer and lean more into the party-style of this genre.

Picking Up Steam in the Mid-Race

While the flurry laps didn’t do enough for me, the racetrack selection and designs absolutely did. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is filled with a ton of locations taken from so many of Sonic’s 3D games. While I have gotten on Sega in the past for continually reusing Green Hill Zone in the mainline games, there is no sign of that, and only one 2D track from Sonic Superstars appears here, and that’s good in this case. From Sonic Adventure all the way through Sonic Frontiers and even Shadow Generations, there is a lot here that will make fans happy to see, with some brand-new locations thrown in. I particularly enjoyed hearing the end-level fanfare for each game that the track was from.

As much as these winding paths will challenge you, I couldn’t help but love the design of each course. The first lap is always a pretty standard trek through the area, but when you return for the final lap, there are changes in either the environmental hazards or the overall path of the track. This is one of my favorite aspects of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed that I am so happy to see make a comeback here. We already have the second lap taking us to different locations, but for the final lap to be an evolution of what came before is a perfect way to keep players on their toes.

An All-Star Lineup With a Few Snubs

Overall, I enjoy the Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds character list, but I do think it could be more than it is. Focusing exclusively on the Sonic world, we have a lot of the names you would expect to see and a couple of surprise names like Big the Cat, Silver the Hedgehog, and even an Egg Pawn robot. 

While I am so happy to see less-favored characters, I can’t help but think there are some missing. For example, I am still waiting to this day to actually hear someone tell me they like Zazz and Zavok, but characters like Chaos and Tikal couldn’t be brought back. Having a bunch of Chao pilot a machine would be hilarious in my opinion, and if Sega were ever going to incorporate the Sonic cartoon and comic characters like Sally Acorn and Bunny Rabbot, this was the perfect chance to do it. While Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a brilliant celebration of the 3D games, there is a void of other media that would only enrich this experience if included.

Still, the characters who are here are great choices, and having the rival interactions helps give more charm to the pre-race setup. I largely played as Shadow, so I got to hear him interact with characters he had never talked to before, and every time I was overjoyed at it. Something as simple as Big the Cat asking him to go fishing and Shadow answering with a simple “No” made me laugh so hard. The voicelines and interactions here are all brilliantly done and help show that all of these characters know of each other, even if they haven’t directly encountered each other in past games.

A Strong Push to the Finish Line

So the tracks and characters bring life and charm to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, but it’s the racing controls themself that make this game so enjoyable. Drifting along the constant turns while dodging and throwing items keeps you on your toes at all times. Gathering rings actually feels like it makes you faster, unlike Mario Kart, which just says it helps, but you never really notice a difference.

I also feel that Sega found a great balance for AI difficulty in the Grand Prix mode. While you can adjust how tough they are, the standard difficulty range regularly has AI opponents jockeying with you for the finish line at the very end. When you win, you earn it, and that feels so rewarding.

Another aspect I love about the grand prix is the variability in how the AI finishes. I saw many times where a character who finished last in the previous race would creep up to the top five, or the rival would fall into around sixth. You have to account for everyone here, not just the top three opponents, like you usually see in most racers like this.

Going Back to What Worked

In the same way that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds celebrates the 3D series’ past, it also does that with the racing games by bringing back the transformation mechanic from Sonic & All-Star Racing Transformed and the boards from Sonic Air Riders. Swapping between a car, boat, and plane midrace is always fun, and the controls of the boards feel great. There is also a great deal of customization for those who want to get into the nitty-gritty of managing their car stats, but that’s not particularly something that applies to me.

Customization when it comes to gadgets, though, was very interesting. By the time you unlock all of the gadgets in the game, you will have so many good choices that will alter the way you race that it’s kind of overwhelming. Alterations to how you gather rings, use items, drift, and big stat boosts definitely call for a lot of experimentation to find what works best for you. Personally, I enjoyed playing as speedy characters, so I typically stuck with gadgets that improved my acceleration and added to my boost potential.

The item selection is also great. There is a viable use for almost everything here. Even when you are out in front and you are constantly being attacked with the stronger items from people in the back, there are multiple ways to protect yourself if you’re ready. Your item management is as crucial as your drifting.

Final Verdict

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a brilliant game for those who love the circuit track mindset, but want a little pizzazz thrown in there. It sticks to what worked in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed but adds to it and makes an experience that sits directly beside that game, which is often regarded as the best in the series. The races are chaotic, and the variability of the outcomes is wide. Add to that the charm and celebration of the past 20 years of Sonic and friends, and you have a highly enjoyable title that wrestles away the title of best racing game of 2025.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds was reviewed on PlayStation 5 with a code provided by Sega. It is also available on Nintendo Switch, PC, and Xbox.

More From Us:
Dispatch Preview: Looking to Replicate Telltale’s Formula but Fix the Mistakes