Let’s be real—Mario Kart isn’t going anywhere. But for those of us who grew up power-sliding through Double Dash, pulling off ridiculous tag-team nonsense in Crash Tag Team Racing, or getting obliterated by blue shells in Mario Kart Wii, Sonic has always been lurking in the background with his own brand of chaotic karting. 

He started off in a kart (Sonic Drift), ran on foot (Sonic R), grabbed a hoverboard (Sonic Riders), went back to running (Sonic Rivals), and then finally realised sitting in a car like everyone else might actually be a good idea (Sonic & All-Stars Racing). Each time, Sega tried something new, with wildly different results. Some were fantastic, others… less so.

That brings us to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Sega’s latest attempt to carve out a proper rival to Mario Kart. First teased at The Game Awards before getting a proper showing at Sony’s State of Play, the game just ran a Closed Network Test. I jumped in, ready to see if Sonic and friends finally have a kart racer that can go toe-to-toe with the best. And after getting battered, blown up, and bulldozed by a Monster Truck mid-race, I can safely say this game is absolute chaos.

Speed, Style, & Sudden Warp Portals

The test version offered a small selection of characters, tracks, and modes—enough to get a taste of the madness Sega is cooking. The character roster had some predictable picks: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Eggman, and Amy, plus some curveballs like Omega, Zazz, and Cream. No Blaze, which is a crime, but I’ll let that slide for now.

Each racer has unique stats, but good luck figuring out what half of them do. Speed and acceleration? Obvious. Power? Your guess is as good as mine. The online lobby was mostly filled with Sonics and Shadows because they had the best stats on paper, with the occasional Zazz or Omega player who was clearly trying to prove a point.

As for the tracks, Sega clearly had a field day designing them. The first lap feels standard enough—racing through Metal Harbor, a tropical beach, or a neon-lit casino. But then, the second lap hits, and everything goes absolutely mental. Whoever’s leading the race picks a portal, and the entire track shifts to a completely different environment. One second, I was drifting along the seaside, the next, I was dodging lava inside a volcano or racing on the back of a massive dragon. It’s Crash Tag Team Racing’s level of track-switching insanity but on a much bigger scale.

And because warping between dimensions apparently isn’t enough, CrossWorlds also brings back vehicle transformations from Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Cars turn into boats, boats turn into planes, and if you don’t know how to handle all three, you’re in for a very bad time. Unlike Mario Kart’s gliders and anti-gravity gimmicks, this actually affects how you play. A boat doesn’t drift like a car, and a plane controls completely differently, forcing you to adapt on the fly. If you’re the type who likes to switch off your brain and cruise through a race, CrossWorlds has other plans.

Skill Matters… Until the Game Decides It Doesn’t

One of the biggest differences between CrossWorlds and Mario Kart is how much it values skill. Mastering drift-boosting (or ‘snaking’ for Mario Kart DS veterans) is a must, and there’s even a UI meter to help you time it. There’s also a boost-launch mechanic at the start of every race, where you have to keep your acceleration in a sweet spot—mess it up, and you’ll be left wheel-spinning at the start like an idiot.

Then there’s the ring system. Think Mario Kart’s coins, but more punishing. Collecting rings boosts your top speed, but if you so much as graze a wall, get hit by an item, or breathe wrong, you’ll lose them. It adds a layer of tension to every turn—do you take the inside line for a tighter drift, or go wide to grab more rings?

Car customisation also returns, letting you tweak your ride’s stats and appearance. In theory, it’s a great idea. In practice, most of the stat changes are tiny, meaning you’re mostly just dressing up your car to look cool rather than gaining a serious edge. Still, having the option is nice, even if I spent most of my time slapping flames on my car and hoping it made me faster.

But then… there’s the item system.

The Items Are Straight-Up Insane

I like kart racers that reward skill. I don’t like kart racers where I spend half the time getting combo’d into oblivion by items. And CrossWorlds? It has absolutely zero chills.

Every racer can hold two items (three with the right gadget), and every single one is designed to ruin your day. Rocket Punches are heat-seeking nightmares, Monster Trucks crush everything in their path, saw blades literally slice your car in half, and King Boom Boo is basically Mario Kart’s Blooper if it had a personal vendetta against you. Oh, and then there’s Dark Chao, an item that just hands out two random items to every racer, because why not?

I got hit by so many items in a single lap that I lost count. I’d finally build up a solid lead, only to get obliterated by a Rocket Punch, flattened by a Monster Truck, and then thrown into a warp portal I didn’t even choose. It’s Mario Kart Wii levels of ridiculous, but somehow worse because the track design doesn’t give you much room to dodge. You’re never going a single lap without getting hit five or six times minimum.

To make things even crazier, the devs behind the Initial D arcade games helped develop this. And you can feel it in the drifting mechanics—it’s smooth, responsive, and satisfying when you nail it. But when you’re getting bombarded by 12 different items per second? Good luck actually putting those skills to use.

Painfully Addictive

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a game with some of the highest highs and lowest lows I’ve ever seen in a kart racer. The core mechanics? Fantastic. The track design? Clever and visually stunning. The sheer speed and intensity? Unlike anything else. But the item balancing? Absolutely broken.

If Sega dials back the item spam and makes the power-ups slightly less angry, this could be the best Sonic racing game ever made. Right now, it feels like trying to win a race while dodging a war zone. Still, the potential is there. And despite the chaos, the frustration, and the sheer amount of times I got Monster Trucked into oblivion, I still want to keep playing.

So, will this finally be the game that dethrones Mario Kart? Probably not. But will I be there on launch day, ready to get obliterated all over again? Absolutely.