Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds sees Sonic and his pals traversing worlds beyond their own in racing circuits! Read our review of its early-access build to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.

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Everything We Know About Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Story Plot

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds appears to follow a similar structure to other kart racing games like Mario Kart, pitting characters from the Sonic franchise against each other in competitive races. The game will also include characters from other Sega franchises, similar to Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, which featured characters like AiAi from Super Monkey Ball, Billy Hatcher, and even Amigo from Samba de Amigo.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Gameplay

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds introduces a dynamic track system that goes beyond traditional racing circuits. Players will race through 24 main tracks, but more are in store for players due to the inclusion of Travel Rings. These Rings act as portals that transport players to 15 different CrossWorlds mid-race. After the first lap, the leading racer can choose between two Travel Rings, each leading to a different dimension.

In addition to this, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will also boast the largest roster of playable characters in the franchise to date. At launch, players can choose from 23 different racers, with promises of more additions in the future. This roster will also include iconic characters from SEGA’s library of games.

Furthermore, Sonic Racing CrossWorlds will feature a diverse arsenal of 23 power-up items. These items include returning favorites from previous Sonic Racing games, as well as new additions like the Monster Truck item. Players can use these power-ups to gain an advantage over their opponents or unleash devastating attacks.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Release Date and Time

Expected to Release This 2025

At the time of writing, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds does not have a specific release date. However, seeing as it is "Coming Soon," it is expected to launch in 2025 on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One.

Those who purchase the game’s Digital Deluxe Edition, however, will gain Early Access, though the developers have yet to announce when this early access period will begin.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Review [Closed Network Test]

Gotta Go Above the Speed Limit

If you had to bet on a race, who would you back—the world’s fastest blue hedgehog, capable of breaking the sound barrier on foot, or… well, a car? It’s a fair question; history has proven time and time again that Sonic doesn’t need four wheels to leave his competition in the dust. But that hasn’t stopped him from trying, though.

Sonic’s need for speed has never been confined to just his red sneakers. Since his early days skidding around tight corners in 1994’s Sonic Drift on the Game Gear, he has always had that desire to "go faster, faster, faster, faster!" His legs alone couldn’t carry him to the finish line in Sonic R, even as he wondered, "Can You Feel the Sunshine?" (still a banger song, by the way). Sonic Riders, then, saw him swap rubber for hoverboards and bend gravity itself to his will. Then came Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, where Sonic followed in the slipstream of a certain Italian plumber.

But, really, it wasn’t until Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Transformed that the Blue Blur truly hit top speed in the kart-racing genre. Transformed took ideas from other racing games, like Diddy Kong Racing—specifically the concept of planes racing against cars—and made them entirely its own. Toss in a roster featuring Sega icons and wildcard picks like the Team Fortress 2 crew, Wreck-It Ralph, and even real-life racer Danica Patrick, and the result was nothing short of legendary.

But then came 2019’s Team Sonic Racing, which dropped the "All-Stars" in favor of a more team-based, kart-racing game. Fun? Sure. But without transforming karts, crossovers, and a limited selection of standout tracks, it felt like a step back in the series.

Now, Sega’s back with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, and they’ve got a point to prove: that Sonic deserves a spot on that podium, alongside Mario Kart. Thankfully, CrossWorlds feels like the culmination of everything that made previous Sonic racing games work and more.

Gear Up and Go

First things first: Let’s talk speed. After all, what’s a Sonic game without it? Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds may not hit the blistering, face-melting velocities of Sonic Unleashed, but oh, does it feel close. The game oozes momentum, from the way your surroundings blur past you in a neon-drenched haze to the motion lines making every drift feel like you’re threading the needle between chaos and control. It’s fast, it’s flashy, and it makes you feel like you’re on the very edge of disaster—in the best way possible.

But a fast car is only as good as its build, and that’s where the game’s customization comes in. Your car’s stats—speed, acceleration, handling, power, and boost—are influenced by both the type of vehicle and the parts you slap onto it. You can mix and match front, back, and tire components from different vehicles within the same category. Sonic’s Speedster Lightning, for example, falls into the Speed Type class, meaning you can take the front end of his ride and pair it with the rear of Shadow’s Dark Reaper. Certain parts emphasize different strengths, so you’ll be tweaking your ride to find the perfect balance between raw velocity and control.

Who’s behind the wheel matters too. Characters bring their own stat bonuses to the mix. One racer might enhance handling, while another provides better acceleration. These nuances mean that finding the right synergy between driver, car type, and parts can make all the difference between victory and eating dust.

To top it all off, there’s an RPG-like element in the form of Gadgets—pre-race boosts that let you fine-tune your playstyle. Some net you extra rings when using boost items, others let you charge drifts faster for quicker speed bursts. Even though the game’s still in beta, there are a wide array of tools at your disposal, so you can tailor your racer to fit your exact playstyle.

Customization doesn’t stop at performance, either. You can deck your ride out with decals and tweak its colors and materials. Some options, however, are still locked—like what seems to be the ability to customize your car horns, a la Team Sonic Racing—but the potential is exciting. I mean, who wouldn’t want to see Shadow or Knuckles riding in your very own decked-out speed machine?

These don't come cheap, however. Nearly every tweak is locked behind Donpa Tickets (in-game currency). And how do you get those? By racing. A lot. If you want your vehicle to truly reflect your personal flair, be prepared to grind. The road to customization is paved with repetition.

The same philosophy extends to Gadgets. At the start, you’re given a measly three slots to play with, just enough to tease you with possibilities but not nearly enough to reach your racer’s true potential. The rest? Locked away, only accessible after you’ve put in the work. It’s a minor drawback, yes. You’ll unlock these slots in no time, really. But if you find yourself in a race against someone who’s unlocked more Gadget slots than you, be prepared to fight an uphill battle.

Drifting Through Dimensions

Fortunately, the game’s races are an absolute blast! And oh boy, are these chaotic. I found myself completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things happening on screen—items flying left and right, racers bumping and boosting past me, environmental hazards popping up when I least expected them. One moment, I’d be comfortably leading the pack, feeling invincible. The next? A well-placed item or an unfortunate obstacle would send me careening to last place in an instant. It’s the kind of beautiful, barely controlled chaos that keeps you glued to the screen, just laughing at the absurdity of it all.

There’s also an extra layer of unpredictability baked into every race, and it comes in the form of the titular CrossWorlds. At first, races start out fairly standard, with everyone jostling for position, desperate to break away from the crowd. But once that first lap is complete, everything changes—quite literally. Giant Travel Rings appear, and the player in first place gets the power to decide the world everyone will take. It’s a game-changing mechanic that keeps every race feeling fresh. Even in the beta’s limited selection of six main tracks, no two laps ever felt the same.

The CrossWorlds themselves are a spectacle that transports racers to wild, themed environments: a neon-lit casino, a land teeming with dinosaurs, a cotton-candy skyway, and even a pirate ship mid-battle with a kraken.

Race By Land, Sea, and Air

What I love most about Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is how it brings back the ability to morph your vehicle mid-race, a feature sorely missed in 2019’s Team Sonic Racing. Just like in its predecessor, CrossWorlds tosses you into unpredictable races where your car transforms into a plane or a boat, each with their very own controls and challenges. A section of a race might have you soaring through the skies in a plane, weaving left and right, up and down, dodging lasers, and avoiding magma surges. Then, in the next lap, you’ll be speeding through water in a boat and jumping through obstacles to get a big speed boost.

This mechanic is key to surviving the evolving nature of the tracks themselves. Courses like Wonder Museum start with a calm, pedestrian vibe, where, ignoring all the items being thrown, you’re just cruising through a standard museum in the first lap. But by the third lap, the museum’s exhibits come to life, and you’re dodging rampaging T-rex skeletons and all manner of attractions. Tracks like Metal Harbor evolve too: Lap one has you racing around a rocket launchpad, but by lap three, the rocket has launched, and you’ll be flying off a vertiginous ramp to stay ahead of the pack. Hidden shortcuts and secret rings appear often in the final lap, and these offer opportunities to leap into another dimension and snatch victory from your opponents.

A lot can happen in just these three-minute races, and honestly, after a couple of hours of playtime, the thrills never got old.

Chilling, Just Me and the Bots

Unfortunately, one of the biggest drawbacks in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds at the moment is the lack of human players in many races, especially earlier ones. Given that the game is still in beta, this is understandable—only those lucky enough to get into the Closed Network Test are able to experience these wild rides. The lowest number of human players I’ve encountered in a race is five out of twelve players. It’s not ideal, but it’s the reality of the situation. Luckily, this won't be much of a problem starting from C rank, when you're pitted against more and more human players.

That said, the bots certainly aren’t pushovers. In fact, they put up a surprisingly solid fight, often making me work for that podium finish. I’ll admit, there have been moments where I found myself trailing behind them and hoping against hope that I get the Yellow Drill power-up that will propel me to the lead (similar to the Bullet Bill from Mario Kart). Whether it was a skill issue on my part—or maybe just the bots’ uncanny ability to keep pace—I can’t say for certain. But what’s reassuring is that I wasn’t the only one. I’ve seen plenty of other players struggle against these bots as well, so I know it’s not just my own lack of racing prowess at play here.

Speed Bumps Ahead

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds still has a long road ahead before it can truly compete with its predecessor, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Right now, the game is marred by a few too many bugs that disrupt the experience. I’ve had the game crash on me mid-race, and on one occasion, a Monster Truck squashed me so thoroughly that I clipped through a wall and fell off the track entirely.

Another issue I ran into was the handling. Even when using a car built for better drift control, I often found myself careening into walls, unable to properly navigate turns. It’s a bit of a head-scratcher, considering the handling type is supposed to make those sharp corners easier to tackle.

These kinks are definitely something I hope get ironed out as the game progresses. They’re not deal-breakers, per se—just growing pains as the game evolves.

Despite these setbacks, CrossWorlds is overflowing with potential, and I can’t help but feel it has what it takes to challenge Mario Kart’s reign over the kart-racing genre—if it's given the time to develop.

Still Revving for that Podium Finish

The game may still be in its early stages, but there’s already a lot to be excited about. The beta currently offers just nine characters, but the official website teases that we’ll have 23 racers at launch, with many more potentially joining the roster. Could we see fan-favorite characters from Sega’s library of games make an appearance? I’m definitely holding out hope for Billy Hatcher, B.D. Joe from Crazy Taxi, or even NiGHTS to tear up the track again. And who knows? If we’re lucky, we might even get characters from Sega’s other divisions—Ichiban Kasuga from the Like a Dragon series or maybe even Jack Frost from Shin Megami Tensei. I mean, a man can dream, right?

With more tracks, CrossWorlds, vehicles, and customization options on the horizon, there’s plenty to look forward to. Add in modes like Grand Prix, Race Park, and Time Attack, and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds has the makings of something truly special. If it can deliver on all of its promises, it might just become the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate of kart racing.

Until then, we’ll just have to keep our engines revving and our fingers crossed.

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Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Product Information

Title	SONIC RACING: CROSSWORLDS
Release Date	2025
Developer	Sonic Team
Publisher	SEGA
Supported Platforms	PC (via Steam) PlayStation 5 PlayStation 4 Nintendo Switch Xbox Series X|S Xbox One
Genre	Racing
Number of Players	1-4 Players (Local Co-Op) 1-12 Players (Online Co-Op)
ESRB Rating	ESRB RP
Official Website	Official Website for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

L A R Opalec

Lloyd grew up bonding with his big brother over video games. While RPGs like Disco Elysium and Final Fantasy IX hold a special place in his heart, he's always up to try new genres.