Last Updated on Oct 6, 2025 @ 13:03:54 PM.
The Sonic franchise, at least from a gaming perspective, has been up and down for a few years now. From the oddball, open-world-ish Sonic Frontiers, to the nostalgia-inspired Sonic Superstars, it’s been an odd time to be a Sonic fan. That seemed to only be getting more all-over-the-place when Sonic Racing: Crossworlds was announced, but after a few weeks with it, I can safely say we’re firmly back in the best of Sonic times.
The basics of Sonic Racing: Crossworlds are indistinguishable from other Kart Racing games, or in fact, racing games in general. You’re one of many on a track, you race for first place, and you’re able to use items to help yourself and hinder your opponents. It’s in the finer details that make Sonic Racing: Crossworlds its own thing, and a thing of beauty.
The gameplay of Sonic Racing: Crossworlds is far more complicated than you’d expect from a Kart Racer. Air tricks, grabbing the many rings scattered around the track, and drifting will all contribute to your speed, providing a tactical aspect to the game, beyond just attacking one another, and it’s in these finer points that the real competition lies. It’s not always a matter of who has the best kart or is the best racer in Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, but as much as who has the most luck (item-wise), and who can use the aforementioned boosting abilities to their advantage. I lost track (ha) of the number of times I’d be second, and able to use the rings to increase my top speed on the final stretch, or a well-timed air trick to get one last boost, and steal first at the last moment, or conversely, lose it.
The game features a huge cast of big and small characters from throughout Sonic history, with the promise of some non-Sonic characters on the way, including Like a Dragon’s Ichiban Kasuga and Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob and Patrick. It may seem an odd detail to include in a review, but when each racer has their own positives and negatives, it’s an important one.
Beyond just choosing your racer, there is also a HUGE amount of vehicles to pick from, with five classes to choose from: Speed, Power, Acceleration, Handling, and Boost. Depending on how you want to play will largely be down to which karts you choose, and that’s before we even get to Sonic Racing: Crossworld‘s biggest and best mechanic, the Gadget Plate.
The Gadget Plate is new to the franchise and offers yet another tactical aspect to what should be a straightforward racing game. Before each race begins, you’ll be offered the chance to change your Gadget Plate and equip different gadgets that can enhance your race. Some of them were extremely helpful, while others were absolutely not helpful, due to my racing style, so that’s probably more on me than anything. From starting as a Monster Truck or having double boosts, to offensive weapons you can throw out to give your competitors an early problem, the Gadget Plate and the gadgets within will keep you experimenting to find exactly what works for you. Just make sure you don’t do what I did, and forget to add to it with new unlocks as you expand your plate…
Beyond all this, any good racing game will live and die by its tracks, and along with the new Crossworlds mechanic introduced, I can safely say that Sonic Racing: Crossworlds absolutely nails this. Colourful, incredibly varied, unique tracks that change with each lap, opening new avenues and directions, will keep you engaged, and that’s before you even take into account the Crossworlds of it all.
During each race, the person in first place will be presented with a choice of two different Crossworlds to enter. Making their choice, the second lap of the race will be in a different place entirely, which goes a long way to not only keeping things fresh and unexpected – I dropped from first to last many a few times purely because I couldn’t adapt to the track change -, it almost always guarantees carnage for all involved. Perhaps the most impressive part of it is the utter lack of any performance drop whilst playing, even with what must be quite a taxing moment.
There’s a lot to be said about my time with Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, nearly all of it good, but the most important comment I could say? I had, and continue to have, fun every single time I play. Whether it’s by myself, with friends, or now, post-launch, with others across the globe, the game remains fun, and for a game like this, it’s all you really need.
Sonic Racing: Crossworlds
Race across land, sea, air, space, and time in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds! Warp through Travel Rings into new dimensions where something new awaits around every twist and turn.
Summary
With the new Crossworlds mechanic really spicing things up gameplay-wise, alongside the Gadget Plate, this might be the best Sonic racing game ever, and it’s definitely the best of 2025, including the moustachioed plumber’s latest offering.
HOURS PLAYED: 40
PLAYED ON: PS5
- The Crossworlds mechanic is a brilliant inclusion.
- The Gadget Plate will keep things exciting long after you've memorized the tracks.
- I almost groaned any time I was forced to become a boat, even temporarily, as it felt far more undercooked than the other modes of transport.
Sonic Racing: Crossworlds is out now on PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
For more from us, don’t miss our review of Cronos: The New Dawn, or our thoughts on the indie Eldritch horror hit Forgive Me Father 2.
Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
