We’re just about a month away from the launch of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, a high-speed kart racer that’s made headlines over the past year thanks to its well-received closed network test and an abundance of crossover characters.
I recently had the chance to play Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds on two separate occasions; once at McLaren Racing’s headquarters in Woking, England, and more recently at Gamescom 2025.
The former session included a time trial challenge, during which I was tasked to compete with others in setting the best time possible on the game’s opening circuit: E Stadium. A simple course in the vein of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Mario Kart Stadium, it nonetheless houses crucial shortcut opportunities and tight racing lines for those attempting to chase the best times.
And chasing times is something Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds greatly incentivizes, as its time trial suite is incredibly robust. So much so that I think it’ll be the go-to mode for players who’re already familiar with the best Sonic games. After all, it is a franchise that rewards going fast, and yes, CrossWorlds isn’t any different in that regard.
Another dimension
Before diving into all this time trial stuff, though, how do I feel about Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds so far? As someone who didn’t play during the closed network test earlier this year, my first hands-on with the game occurred this month at McLaren Racing’s Woking-based HQ.
In short, I think CrossWorlds is shaping up to be a very strong alternative to Mario Kart World which – at least for me – currently does not have the staying power of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. I naturally am not confident enough to directly compare Sonic Team and Nintendo’s karters until full release, but I’m certainly picking up what CrossWorlds is putting down.
I think what I currently like most about CrossWorlds is its willingness to try something different. Yes, it’s heavily inspired by Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed with the return of sea and air racing, but it’s the Travel Rings that are the real stars of the show.
Travel Rings do an excellent job of adding variety to each race. As you approach the second lap, the player in the lead will get to choose one of two Travel Rings to transport all racers to. Usually, you’ll have one visible option, and one that’s completely random.
This is smart, because if the lead player’s kart stats don’t necessarily line up with the non-random option, they have the choice to roll the dice instead. Of course, track knowledge accrued over time will play a significant part here, but I also love the idea that CrossWorlds incentivizes you to shoot for the lead as early as you can.
After the Travel Ring course acts as lap two, you’re back to the main circuit for the final lap. What’s great here is that you’ll often see changes to the course layout, much like in All-Stars Racing Transformed. That can be in the form of new air and sea racing routes, new shortcuts and hazards to avoid.
A personal highlight from my play session has to be the newly-revealed tracks, all of which take place in their own cup. These are Kronos Island (Sonic Frontiers), North Star Island (Sonic Superstars), and White Space (Shadow Generations). You’ll play these in that order, with a final race featuring one lap of each as you travel between them via Travel Rings.
Nice ride
Car customization is impressively robust, too, mixing pure cosmetic touches with stat and playstyle-altering systems. You might already know that CrossWorlds features a gadget system. Up to six of these can be placed on your ‘gadget plate’ loadout, and thankfully, you can save several of these as presets.
Gadgets offer unique quirks and passive benefits to your car and its stats, and some are more expensive than others, taking up to three slots on the gadget plate depending on their overall power. For example, gadgets that improve your drift boost may only take up a single slot, while the powerful ‘Monster Truck Starter’ gadget, which lets you begin a race with one of the game’s most potent items, costs three.
I feel there’s a ton of fun and player expression to be had here. A personal favorite gadget of mine shortens the cooldown time in between air tricks, meaning you can chain them together much faster and frequently. Others provide further stat bonuses for your car, allowing you to fine-tune performance based on your preferences.
As for cosmetic customization, there’s a lot here. Building on one of the strengths of 2019’s Team Sonic Racing, car colors are fully customizable and can be fitted with different parts. Plus, if you’re looking for a quick paint job, preset character-inspired color schemes can be applied instantly from the menu.
Cars, as well as the Extreme Gear boards returning from Sonic Riders, are essentially split into a front and rear half. You can freely mix and match these to create a custom craft, but this will alter its overall stats. However, what this means is that you don’t necessarily need to race in a speed-focused car if you’re playing as Sonic, for example. You can opt for something that takes corners better, or a heavier ride that’s more efficient at bullying your opponents.
Overall, I can see myself spending about an hour tinkering with cars in the garage before I’ve even set out on my first race. There’s just so much to do when it comes to customization, and that’s before even getting into cosmetic touches like colors and decals.
Time to split
So how about those time trials? As mentioned, I was recently able to take part in a pre-launch time trial challenge, in which I placed a respectable fourth overall. Time trials are a straight three-lap test of speed, and Travel Rings aren’t involved.
CrossWorlds‘ time trials differ from what you’d find in the Mario Kart series, though. You don’t start with any boost items here (at least not without the relevant gadgets equipped). Instead, you’ll need to procure them while you’re driving. You’ll find one or two on a lap, and it’s up to you to figure out when’s best to grab them and which shortcuts to take.
During the time trial challenge on E Stadium, there was a large patch of grass to cut across with a boost item near the start of the lap. Other potential shortcuts existed throughout, but the time saves there weren’t as significant. Thus, it was more time-efficient to collect boosts and save them for that one big shortcut instead.
It’s great fun, and yes, your final time is graded just like it is in Sonic x Shadow Generations or Sonic Frontiers. That said, the requirements for ‘S’ rank times seem to be utterly absurd. I felt like I put in a good performance, but I was still around 15-20 seconds off S rank pace.
Gadget loadouts can be used in time trials, and one concern I do have here is that some of these may be mandatory in order to hit those S rank thresholds. So, if you’re looking to challenge the leaderboards, you may find yourself relying on one or two loadouts recommended by the CrossWorlds community. Not necessarily a bad thing, and it does open things up to experimentation, but those hoping for a purer time trial experience may feel let down here.
Otherwise, I have so far enjoyed my time with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. It’s packed to the gills with characters, tracks, cars, gadgets, and various modes. The banter between characters generated by the rivals system is often hilarious, and while overall car handling will take some getting used to if you’re coming from Mario Kart World, it’s nonetheless incredibly satisfying to nail a corner and exit with a fully-stacked drift.
I can’t wait to play more when the game launches on September 25, 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, Switch 2 and PC.