Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds so far comes across as an ideal balance between the old and new, blending excellent drifting and driving mechanics with new ways to race across all new worlds.

Watch out . That’s the primary thought I came away with after getting to play Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for roughly 30 minutes at a recent preview session. Granted, it’s not a lot of time to get your arms around a game. But in that short time I never once failed to feel the thrill of revving and drifting around countless creative and colourful tracks while bumping up against others, zooming through the totally new Travel Rings and not knowing where it might lead next.

Such events are made more exciting given that it’s been a hot second since the last racing spin-off. Luckily, with CrossWorlds, the devs at Sonic Team have clearly been biding their time, incorporating elements from previous entries in addition to the new to help create the best of all worlds.

First things first, it’s clear that one of the main ways Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds aims to impress both veterans and newcomers is by leaning into pure excess. It’s an upcoming sequel with more characters and more tracks featured than ever before, yes, but I was equally taken aback by just how many fan-favourite mechanics are coming back too.

Easily the most noticeable is the return of transformable vehicles, which will see your kart change size and shape depending on whether you’re racing across land, sea, or air. All three styles tended to crop up at least once on each track I got to try out, working just as well here to offer a visual treat as it did back in 2012’s Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed – my personal favourite entry.

It's not just All Stars Racing Transformed that gets a nod, though, since hoverboard vehicles from Sonic Riders also are available to ride from the off. I got to try this movement style out in full force during my demo while playing as Knuckles, and I can confirm that the act of catching air this time around feels a lot smoother, and more akin to how the traditional karts and cars handle – if only a touch lighter.

All this is to say that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is placing a lot more emphasis on customisation and personalisation than ever before. It allows you to mix and match vehicle parts, powers, and abilities to create a far more flexible experience. None of it would mean anything, of course, unless the act of actually racing feels good. Fortunately, even in just my first few races, I found Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds to be a much smoother ride than before.

Although holding down the X button on a DualSense controller as opposed to the racing genre standard of R2 takes a little getting used to, it wasn’t long before I was drifting to build up different levels of boost or deploying all kinds of zany items with ease. I got to try a couple of never-before-seen tracks such as the Greek island inspired Apotos and the neon-drenched Mystic Jungle as part of my demo, and both were a pure joy to race on.

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Alongside the largest character roster ever and the return of transforming vehicles, the big new feature of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is right there in the title – the ability to cross into different worlds mid-race, as determined by the pack’s leader. Because while every race does indeed start on the promised track, the second lap will always see it warp into totally new territory after whoever is in first place drives into one of two different Travel Rings.

It’s a simple but still exciting portal racing mechanic that brings a good level of unpredictable spice to traditional Grand Prix tournaments, as you can never really plan according to which CrossWorlds track the second lap of a race will take place on.

It's worth mentioning that CrossWorld tracks are treated entirely standalone and separately from the game’s main track roster, probably to ensure that whichever one the first place racer picks when driving through the Travel Ring is guaranteed to deliver a totally different flavour of theme each time.

From what I could tell from the tracks I raced on, at the point of selecting a CrossWorld Track, one was always fully revealed while the other was a mystery. Whether or not these mystery-based Travel Rings will be consistent remains to be seen, but it’s definitely a good way to offer racers added incentive to reach first place by the end of the first lap. One thing for now is certain, however, CrossWorld Tracks are an effective way to give races a splash of unpredictable variety.

If there’s one main concern I have about Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds right now, it’s that by focussing so much on excess and going down the route of ‘more is more’, understanding all of the game’s different mechanics and how customisation works feels a little muddled right now.

I felt this immediately upon entering the game, where after watching a brief video tutorial, I was confronted by an endless selection of menus highlighting gadgets, vehicle types, machine customisation, and lord knows what else. I’m sure all this sinks in relatively quickly after spending a few hours racing, but it's worth knowing there’s undoubtedly a lot of information to initially digest.

At a time when the latest is getting a lot of focus for all the ways it’s expanding its world (literally) by connecting tracks, I was pleased to see Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds on course to very much do the same – but in a unique way that’s arguably even more exciting. CrossWorld Tracks really do bring a fresh flavour to the traditional Sonic racing formula.

With Team Sonic Racing’s emphasis on teamwork done away with in favour of transformation and customisation, it allows for all the franchise’s new and old features to synchronise with one another to create one incredibly generous and flashy package. Throw in the most characters and courses ever featured in a Sonic racing game, and all roads are set to lead to something special.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is set to launch on , , and consoles this September 25, 2025 .