Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a karting triumph, even if its bevy of updates and DLC make it feel like it's only just begun to burn rubber peeling away from the starting grid rather than feeling like a complete package. Still, releasing this year means there's competition on the track – the acclaimed Mario Kart World didn't only release after a long and anticipated wait, but came alongside the Switch 2's launch. Still for my money on who can nab the crown, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds' main tweak under the hood outdoes Mario Kart World's own.
I'm talking about the titular CrossWorlds themselves. Or, rather, the ring portals that mean that Sonic and friends (including Hatsune Miku and, soon, the likes of SpongeBob and Joker from Persona 5) never do the same lap in a row. Instead, a starting lap gets you familiar with a track before the racer out in front selects a portal lane for the second lap that pulls racers into another course entirely. A final portal returns the pack to the original track, but with a final lap that now packs changes – from exhibits in a museum coming to life, to new sub-portals adding shortcuts to a rainforest track, or even Eggman's machinery sparking up to add new hazards in his floating expo. We loved how alive the racing feels in our Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds review.
