The CrossRoads – Sonic Racing CrossWorlds Preview (PC, Switch, PS5)

Sonic is no stranger to the racetrack, speeding across it on hoverboards, transforming cars, and even on-foot racing, so Sonic speeding across the racetrack in Sonic Racing CrossWorlds is no surprise. The biggest surprise is how it’s a celebration of the hedgehog’s racing history, including both the Sonic Riders extreme gear and Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformed dynamic vehicles.

After spending many hours playing the open network test across PC, Nintendo Switch, and PS5, here are my thoughts on Sonic’s latest racing adventure.

CrossTalk – Updates on Sonic Racing CrossWorlds

Before discussing the Open Network Test itself, let’s go over the exciting character and course reveals coming to Sonic Racing CrossWorlds.

New Characters

Joining the Season Pass is PAC-MAN and his ghostly adversaries. They come with their own unique car, alongside a new course combining PAC-Village from PAC-MAN World 2 RePac and PAC-MAN Maze. The DLC will be released in early 2026, after the Minecraft and SpongeBob Packs this holiday.

Sonic speeds into PAC-MAN World 2 RePac with a character skin and three DLC levels based on Sonic’s iconic levels. Only a Sonic Generations-style Green Hill Zone has been revealed for the DLC.

A Return to the Starfall Islands

Leading up to the Open Network Test, SEGA officially revealed a set of tracks within a bonus ‘Secret Cup’ that will round out the initial track list.

Kicking it off is Sonic Frontiers‘ Kronos Island, featuring iconic elements from the area. These include bosses Sonic fought in the game, now incorporated into the track itself. One example has Sonic and friends racing across the roads Squid creates.

The course features two song remixes from Frontiers: a beautiful remix of the main Kronos Island Movement themes and a powerful techno-charged remix of I’m Here for the final lap.

A Generation of Superstars

Next up is a melody course for Northstar Island, the main location from Sonic Superstars. Combining elements from Bridge Island, Speed Jungle, Press Factory, Sky Temple, and Sand Sanctuary Zones, this is a fun track that celebrates Sonic’s classic era.

Concluding the cup is White Space from Shadow Generations. The race track feels like SEGA and Sonic Team took the hub world and literally turned it into a proper race track. The first lap focuses on racing across familiar landmarks and bodies of water; the final lap takes racers to areas from the ‘Doom Zone’, incorporating Radical Highway and Ark assets to great effect.

A Transforming Ride – Car/Boat/Plane Gameplay

As we’ve reported on earlier this year, Sonic Racing CrossWorlds is a return to the style of racing seen in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, combining racing across land, sea, and air. They feel different from past Sonic racers, with the biggest changes applying to sea and air racing.

Land racing is tight as could be, with it feeling responsive while having a fantastic sense of speed. I loved being able to let go of the gas and nail tighter turns by holding the drift button.

When racing on water, Sonic and friends can charge their drift to jump in the air. It’s a faster version of the ‘hop’ that’s present in Mario Kart World. While the water physics from Racing Transformed are missing, the greater variation of obstacles and tricks to pull off makes up for it.

The biggest change is when in the air. Sonic and friends cannot air drift, but can charge a boost for a burst of speed instead with the drift button. In many cases, I found myself having the best control in the air when not drifting. It’s ‘fine’, but the weakest element of the otherwise tight, arcadey nature of CrossWorlds exudes.

Extreme Air Racing – Extreme Gear Gameplay

The biggest addition to the Sonic Racing formula is the reintroduction of the Extreme Gear. These rides originated from Sonic Riders, released in 2006, where Sonic and friends raced on hoverboards across high-speed courses. The key mechanic from the original Riders was to pull off tricks to keep your air gauge full, ensuring you had enough fuel to continue racing. The air gauge also controlled other critical abilities, such as drifting and boosting/attacking.

While future games, like Riders Zero Gravity and Free Riders, handled mechanics differently, they maintained high-speed racing, a fun trick system, and a Sonic-esque attitude. Sonic Racing CrossWorlds maintains the core pillars of the Extreme Gear while also working alongside the arcade racing cars provided.

In many ways, they are like Bikes in Mario Kart, having higher speed stats and fantastic handling. The trade-offs include weaker protection when hit by items, alongside weaker air control for flying. Despite those trade-offs, I loved using these during my online and offline races during the Open Network test.

Time to Make History – Festival Mode

One of the new modes in the Open Network Test was the Festival Mode. Fighting against other teams in groups of four racers, the rules are mixed up. One asks racers to nail air tricks consistently, and another encourages them to bump into their teammates to leverage the team-boost ability to score the most points.

This mode’s progression introduces a free Battle Pass, where you can earn themed rewards. In the Open Network Test, it was a Persona 5-themed event. It provided you with horn sounds, decals, and more to customize your ride. With the potential of other collaborations linked to the Festival Mode, it’s a nice mode to keep you coming back to the CrossRoads.

Racing Around the World – Online Racing

Online racing itself was solid, supporting cross-platform play across PlayStation 5, Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC players. I largely had no issues connecting to matches when testing the Network Test on PS5, Switch, and PC.

When waiting for racers, players can use cute emotes themed by their selected racer to communicate with others, and online voice chat is supported.

Stillness & Motion – Audio/Music in Sonic Racing CrossWorlds

What is a Sonic game without an amazing soundtrack? The Closed Network Test offered early versions of the music tracks, but this latest build of the game features finalized versions of the game’s music.

Featuring original compositions for new locations in the world of Sonic and fresh remixes of iconic themes from games like Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Forces, the music line-up is strong like prior installments in the series. My favorite remixes come from the Sonic Unleashed courses, as they honor the original themes and offer a unique spin on their composition.

A Stable Engine – Performance & Platform Differences

Playing the game across PlayStation 5, my Lenovo Legion gaming laptop, and Nintendo Switch, I walked away impressed.

The game runs like a dream on PC, maintaining 60FPS without any issues even on the highest settings and resolution targets. Considering it’s using Unreal Engine 5, a very taxing engine that typically struggles with many titles, seeing SEGA and Sonic Team effectively master it on PC is impressive.

This carries over to the PlayStation 5 version. It supports two performance targets, not Sonic Frontiers and Sonic X Shadow Generations. There is a performance mode that runs at 60 FPS/1080p and a quality mode that runs at 4K/60FPS. I recommend performance mode, since it runs at a locked frame rate.

Lastly, we have the Nintendo Switch version. While the Switch 2 Edition wasn’t included in the Open Network Test, the Switch 1 version is playable on the console via backward compatibility. It ran at a stable 30 FPS with no drops, though its resolution was low in portable mode.

Closing Thoughts on Sonic Racing CrossWorlds Open Network Test

After spending many hours across three versions of Sonic Racing CrossWorlds, I raced away from the Open Network test, hyped for the final release on September 25th.

Tight racing controls, awesome race tracks, and polishing up the few loose gears. This is one race you don’t want to miss. A free single-player demo is out now on most major platforms, so check the exciting CrossWorlds today!