Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

[Xiahou Ba]

I've been a huge fan of the Sega racing games developed by Sumo, with Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed being one of my favorite racing games of all time, so I was already anticipating this game by the time this trailer got dropped and lo and behold, it's absolutely amazing. The planes and boats from Transformed returns alongside new methods of racing such as the Extreme Gear from the Sonic Riders series and being able to turn your car into a monster truck? Plus they're really going in the dynamic changes per lap thing, seems to be the main gimmick of the game that you travel through frenzy gates through a Crossworld to trigger major changes per lap. I really hope the Team Sonic Racing mechanics are also an option in this, the main description does list being able to race as a team so I would appreciate that.

There's also a track that looks like the After Burner track from Transformed and Sega did mention that we may be getting crossover content so that'll be cool I guess.

We also got a whole bunch of characters confirmed from this trailer, and it's mostly the missing characters who should have been in Team Sonic Racing.

• Sonic
• Jet the Hawk
• Shadow
• Tails
• Knuckles
• Amy
• Eggman
• Sage
• Metal Sonic
• Silver
• Vector
• Omega
• Cream and Cheese
• Big the Cat
• Rouge
• Charmy
• Zazz
• Storm
• Wave
• Zavok
• Espio

And the character everyone has been asking for years: an Eggpawn.

Did I forget the mention the game looks absolutely beautiful?

As you can see I'm very hyped for this game.

 

[Xiahou Dun]

As a person who enjoyed these games alongside my sister, for its sense of speed and engaging (although sometimes frustrating) difficulty, I'm going to look forward to how this turns out. Still like the whole crossover fever dream appeal of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (for someone who has very little familiarity of Sega's properties, it's a bit of a trip) and AGES really was a fun character to us, but at least this game is going to have a more sizable roster compared to the disappointing Team Sonic Racing one (I still enjoyed using Sonic). I still don't have much familiarity with the Sonic property and its cast, but I'm probably going to use Wave and Sonic in this one. Can't go wrong with that feisty swallow.

 

[Chowder]

>cast includes both new and returning Sonic characters from previous entries
>still no playable Orbot or Cubot

Also where's Blaze? I feel that's a pretty glaring omission from the roster since she was in Team Sonic Racing.

Edit: Never mind, she's there. Checked the wiki.

 

[Lily]

sonic and the secret rings dinosaur level fr fr

 

[Xiahou Ba]

Some gameplay footage and a more in-depth look of what to expect. There's going to be a decent amount of customization with your vehicles and changing it around via the use of gadgets.

 

[Salmancer]

At last! Storm is back on consoles for the first time since Free Riders! It's a Babylon Rogunion!

Awful, awful pun aside, I'm probably not up for this one. My memory of the All Stars Transformed demo is that I didn't like it. Then again, it has been over a decade since that game. (Also it was the Nintendo 3DS demo)

I know the cross worlds mechanic is supposed to be super-duper Race of Ages, but I look at it and think Sonic Dash of all things.

Given the logo, I wonder if we'll be dipping into Sonic Prime or not. It could be parallel design though.

It's really weird that the teaser trailer for a Sonic Racing game featured Shadow.

 

[Xiahou Dun]

The game looks to be difficult again vs like Mario Kart, so that's nice. I also think the Cross Roads gimmick has some potential here to try to make each race feel a bit more different to each other, and I particularly like how there's an option to pick random. I'm hoping it doesn't 100% take away from a course identity, like the crossover parts are at least customizable like the stage morph in Smash Bros (one of my favorite Smash Ultimate options) and not are always just at the second lap of the course. Like, there's time trials for the game... it'll probably be disabled. I'm a fan of how the third lap actually changes too (which I think was also the case for the previous Sumo racing games), similar to the lap changes in certain Mario Kart tracks like in Music Park, Rosalina's Ice World, and Lakeside Park, but they're certainly more drastic than what we've seen in Mario Kart. Again, this at least helps these tracks be less repetitve (but I guess this means lap count modification won't be a thing unless they can just keep the same track between the laps until the final lap.

Also nice to see customization for the karts, I wonder what they'll offer. Gadgets do help differentiate your playstyle a bit and seem fun to try out several.The video doesn't really show the other customization parts in detail, so expect more of that to be revealed. Oh, and I hope the board offers some neat gameplay differences from the car, since it seems like the more attractive of the two options (I prefer using bikes in Mario Kart games).

I see some ugly business practices for this game and I realize, yeah, this is Sega all right, so keep your expectations in check. From the Steam store page, this game is going to use Denuvo (again, common practice for Sega games unfortunately) so we just have to hope there's not much debilitating performance issues for this game. There is also an advertised Digital Deluxe Edition which has a DLC season pass and """""early access""""" to game which I recommend you pass on those until well after release. Still kind of sucks we have to have DLC announced for a game right away.

Awful, awful pun aside, I'm probably not up for this one. My memory of the All Stars Transformed demo is that I didn't like it. Then again, it has been over a decade since that game. (Also it was the Nintendo 3DS demo)

You remember which part of the game you didn't like? It's certainly more arcadey than Mario Kart and it does feel bulkier overall. There is also the difficulty of these games, which Mario Kart fans can find a bit offputting. I like Mario Kart, but I enjoyed plenty aspects of these games over Mario Kart such as the sense of speed, the sound effects, the trick system, the car designs, the single player content, the track designs, and the difficulty. Mario Kart does have a much more reliable homing item (the eagle from Team Sonic Racing DOES actually work tho, but the drone from Transformed? lol) but both Team Sonic Racing and Sonic & All Stars Transformed have a much better first place baffle item where it still can screw first place up but unlike the much maligned Spiny Shell, there is actualy counterplay involved. Both games have these items put major obstacles in your path you crash into to lose speed or you have to drive around, which can still slow you down since you're not going to be taking the most optimal racing line.

Mario Kart is also just more stable, including overall performance, with much more manueverable cars (might be owing to the slower feel of the game tho) and I guess it feels a lot less cheap concerning the AI, and I think the tracks themselves tend to be much more tight (tho there are some really nasty points in the previous racing games such as the unforgiving last left turn on the Billy Hatcher level in Transformed that is so bad you shouldn't trick off the ramp leading to that turn; even the AI slams into the wall there). Mario Kart also just has a more recognizable cast of characters, more varied cars that include some whimsical picks like the Teddy Bear ATV or the elegant horse carriage-like vehicle and it has that Battle Mode I like to keep coming back to.

 

[Xiahou Ba]

Given the logo, I wonder if we'll be dipping into Sonic Prime or not. It could be parallel design though.

Well boy do I have good news for you

It's really weird that the teaser trailer for a Sonic Racing game featured Shadow.

I have a feeling it's to tie into that third Sonic movie and Sonic & Shadow Generations.

 

[Salmancer]

Planes were too complex and boats were somewhat more likely to have physics accidents. I might be able to handle planes now but losing races to physics shenanigans is only funny when it's infrequent.

I did like transforming courses. While that's being downplayed a bit because of the whole "warp to another track" mechanic, even the little tease from the Metal Harbor track makes the second go round a little zing to pay attention to.

I do like Grey Quake more than Spiny Shells, because I have a chance to get through it no matter where it appears. I usually don't succeed because that's frightfully difficult, but the feeling of nailing the dodge is pretty good. (Oh, didn't even notice that technically steering around them is still slowing down. Multilayered design is interesting.)

I would describe Team Sonic Racing as being sterner. My example case is drifting. Without a high handling stat, you aren't allowed to widen a turn while drifting, which means unlike Mario Kart you can't default to drifting into every turn because you might be starting too close to the edge. Generally, there's more things to keep track of and thus more ways to demonstrate skill, but therefore more ways to mess up. I don't always appreciate the sternness, especially because despite story mode being the tutorial the challenges from even world 1 are so hard there isn't a point where I got to feel like the mechanics clicked.

 

[Xiahou Ba]

Sis and I S-ranked everything in Transformed so we get it that there's quite a high skill curve with the game and boats can be janky to control (though in our case, they're rarely the cause of losing a race). Planes also have this risk boost thing that it's not necessary to pull off to win races but I've seen people better than me pull a lot of them off and yeah I can see where that's going.

Grey Quake/The Swarm I agree are a lot better than Spiny Shells, since they have counterplay other than "hold specific item at right time". Even if you do manage to counterplay it by dodging them (or throwing snowballs at them), you still get slowed down by them so it's not a total waste of an item.

I also like how handling is actually beneficial and something you need to pay attention to unlike Mario Kart where that stat might as well be vestigial: I really want handling to feel more important in Mario Kart.

 

[Xiahou Ba]

Car customization. You can finally use parts from other characters of a shared type, customizing the front, back, and tire parts of your car. Oh and paint jobs, which include the main body, tire, glow, and cockpit and the paint's texture.

 

[Xiahou Ba]

Gameplay footage of the beta that's out, showcasing every track and character in it.

 

[OmegaRuby]

The game looks like a ton of fun, though races seem hectic as all hell with too many items that do too much. Every item looks like a rare, last-place Mario Kart item that gives you a huge leg up, but you can get them up to like third place. In turn, it makes first place seem like it's achieved out of more luck rather than skill. I do hope they alleviate that for the final release. The game looks fun, and I may say really pretty, though not to the level I hold a game like All Stars Racing Transformed. Despite its age (and my lack of ever playing it, though I plan on buying it,) it looks incredible aesthetically and graphically.

It looks fun to control, which I hope is the case because I was greatly put off by the weird feel of Team Sonic Racing's controls. The air vehicle sections from what I've seen in the IGN video look really tight to control? The planes don't seem to smoothly glide through the air and instead move exactly to your joystick position, at least. The CrossWorlds mechanic looks incredible, I love how seamless the map transition is and the track lineup looks to be a ton of fun, pulling from SA2's Metal Harbor and even Secret Rings' Dinosaur Jungle which is incredible to see. Customization looks like a huge focus which is cool, I'm one to stick more to default vehicles for their respective characters but I'd probably dabble in customizing one for myself.

Character lineup is looking to be solid, Sage's inclusion is a welcome surprise but I'm still annoyed slots are wasted on Zavok and Zazz as well as the future inclusion from Sonic Prime characters, a show of which I greatly dislike... nonetheless, animations are gorgeous and ooze with personality more than TSR's static characters sitting in their cars. I like the idea of character interactions in-race which leads to a lot of fun matchups with people who wouldn't otherwise speak, but they look to be especially rare in gameplay.

On that note, voice acting leaves something to be desired again. It was great in Shadow Generations, and considerably bad in the Sonic Generations remaster, but I didn't think they'd stoop lower, somehow. Sonic is bland, listenable and fine, but some characters stand out: Eggman sounds especially horrid, Amy as well, and most disappointing of all is that Shadow's direction has reverted to his weird, more pitched up gravelly tone that I don't like very much. His direction and voice in Shadow Generations was spot on, displaying that Kirk Thornton can do a standout performance, but either CrossWorlds was recorded before or the voice team can't keep a consistent and good direction. It's rare for voicework to be re-recorded, but we seriously need new talent on voice direction, or new voice actors in general alongside that. This current cast (primarily the voices for Sonic, Amy, Eggman, Rouge, and Shadow iirc) have been here for the better of two decades, longer than the previous two voice casts combined. We seriously need a refresher on some of these longer-staying roles (and some fires, looking at you Mike Pollock!)

Overall though the game looks fun and hopefully they'll alleviate these issues by the time of full release. Nothing on the game has hooked me yet but I'll definitely pick it up at some point as I'm a huge fan of Sonic. Seems obvious, considering this multi-paragraph rant... haha

 

[Xiahou Ba]

Are you the guy who has played the beta? I really can't just because I'm very busy with irl.

 

[winstein]

I'm of the unpopular opinion that the Deadly Six would be fine additions because they rarely appeared, and I hope that the entire group appear this time. They provide a needed variety to the roster in my opinion.

Anyway, one of the things that struck me about this game's item list is how easily identifiable to Mario Kart it feels. You can't deny that those punching items are not reminiscent to the Green Shells and the Red Shells in Mario Kart, for example. And there's King Boom Boo who may sound like a stand in for Boo, but he's actually the game's equivalent of Blue Shell.

Thank you for reading.

 

[Xiahou Ba]

Knuckles is a shoe-in for Sonic games in terms of my favorites, Cream and the Babylon Rogues are just a bonus. The Deadly Six are fine picks tbh, I do recognize them more than, say, Mighty the Armadillo.

And there's King Boom Boo who may sound like a stand in for Boo, but he's actually the game's equivalent of Blue Shell.

Really hope he has the same effects as the Quake or the Swarm here.

 

[Salmancer]

Really, is there such a thing as a kart racer that wants to reinvent the wheel on items? The big surprise to me is that there appears to be two different Super Stars on this roster, Monster Truck and Shield. I actually kind of like Dark Chao's concept as a means of preventing hoarding good items. And also that "Machines" is really awkward to read. (Like, "racer" would have gotten the job done.)

 

[winstein]

The big surprise to me is that there appears to be two different Super Stars on this roster, Monster Truck and Shield.

Monster Truck reads to me like it'll be similar to Mega Mushroom. Not full-on invincibility but it can crush other racers. It's interesting how Shield is the game's Super Star, mainly because Sonic games have the Invincibility item already.

Thank you for reading.

 

[Salmancer]

The Sonic Racing franchise (I guess we can call it that now?) historically doesn't really pick items from the games its based on, with Team Sonic Racing being the exception for making every item a Wisp and this game splitting the difference between that philosophy and those of the prior games. Not using Invincibility tracks with that.

 

[OmegaRuby]

Are you the guy who has played the beta? I really can't just because I'm very busy with irl.

Nope lol, I missed the window to sign up but I watched Charii5 livestream an extensive playthrough and have seen multiple clips.

 

[Xiahou Ba]

Really, is there such a thing as a kart racer that wants to reinvent the wheel on items? The big surprise to me is that there appears to be two different Super Stars on this roster, Monster Truck and Shield. I actually kind of like Dark Chao's concept as a means of preventing hoarding good items. And also that "Machines" is really awkward to read. (Like, "racer" would have gotten the job done.)

It depends on what you define as a kart racer. There are some weapons-based racers like Twisted Metal that aren't exactly kart-based but they rely on weapons to gain the advantage. But generally, no, I don't think games need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to items systems because the basic projectiles and hazards are practically universal. It's other mechanics on top of what kinds of other items there are that can really spice these kinds of racers up.