The Thrill of Racing with a Diverse Cast in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds | Adli's Quick Games Review

Header for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds.
Credit to Sonic Team, SEGA, embedded from Steam.

This article is in English. Untuk membaca versi Bahasa Indonesia, klik di sini.

Notice and Specs

• This article aims to share information about this game.
• There is no intention to infringe on any copyright.
• The copyright for any images, videos, or other media used in this article belongs to their respective owners, whether developers or publishers of this game, unless otherwise stated.
• The author is not an employee, internal staff member, or official representative of the game's developer or publisher. The author's relationship with the game's team is limited to that of an independent creator partner through the SEGA/ATLUS Summer Sale campaign.
• This article purely reflects the author's own perspective.
• This article is based on the author's personal experience playing this game. Future patches or changes to this game may not be reflected in this article.
• This article was translated from Indonesian to English with the assistance of Claude, an AI by Anthropic. Translation quality may not be on par with that of a human translator.

Introduction

Finally! After trying the Open Network Test a few months ago, I finally got to try the full version! Happy! Is it as fun as the network test was?

Game Details

Detail

Trailer

Check out the game's trailer below :)

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds - Launch Trailer

Credit to Sonic the Hedgehog channel on YouTube.

Adli's Gameplay

Want to watch my gameplay video? You can check it out below:

Teller's Duty, Yakuza 0: Director's Cut, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and 6 other games!

Credit to Adli_HM channel on YouTube.

Review and Recommendation

Short Review

Great! Extremely satisfying! The experience is just like during the Open Network Test. Smooth sailing and loads of fun to play! And as I said in the TL;DR, this game really scratches the itch for racing game fans like those who love Crash Team Racing. To be fair, Disney Speedstorm offers a similar experience. The fun factor is there, the visuals are great, the gameplay is fun, the audio is great, and so on. The catch is... since it's free-to-play, a lot of cosmetics need to be purchased to get a competitive edge in terms of performance.

Coming back to this game — Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds — you'll also need to tune and upgrade your vehicle to your liking, but that can be achieved through grinding, without needing to spend money, except for DLC purchases. So the feeling is... hard work pays off, and you're not limited by your wallet. There are several other positives, which I'll outline below in the Why Should You Buy It? section.

Adli's Recommendation

[VERDICT: MUSTPLAY]

Why Should You Buy It?

So, why should you buy this title?

Stunning visuals!

The visuals are 3D, and the models have a cartoony style, you could say. But they also feel modern, so everything looks polished and pleasing to the eye. The color palette is great too. Lots of bold, vibrant contrasting colors that are easy on the eyes and make it simple to distinguish between objects to collect, hazards to avoid, scenery, the race track, and so on.

The UI is also solid. Everything is easy to differentiate, especially for a racing game where players need a clean, simple UI that can be understood at a glance. All the functions are clearly displayed and easy to read, so players don't have to wonder, "where am I right now?", "where does this map go?", "how many laps have I done?", and so on.

Diverse tracks!

Honestly, this was the most exciting part for me when I tried the Open Network Test. The surprise element is that the track can change mid-race, so even if the course is technically "the same," random track segments frequently pop up during a race, keeping the game fresh and fun even on repeated playthroughs.

Great audio!

Honestly, when I played Disney Speedstorm, the thing that made me happiest was the music. It genuinely built up the atmosphere, making it feel like you were truly racing against the clock — fitting the game's theme. Racing. Whoever's fastest wins.

And in this game — Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds — that holds true as well. The music builds the atmosphere, the SFX is on point, the ambient sounds of actually being on a race circuit come through well, and there's even voice acting for some of the characters. So the audio satisfaction is very much there in this great game!

Multi-Platform!

In case you didn't know, this game supports crossplay with players on other platforms. According to the official website, there are eight platforms available including Steam, so you can play with anyone on any platform, as long as you have an internet connection.

Collaborations and Updates

At the time of writing, this game already has plenty of DLC and collaborations with various other brands and IPs — Intellectual Properties. In fact, while writing this — just checking whether there's a specific shop in the game — a pop-up notification appeared announcing a collaboration with Mai Mai, among others. So... with the wealth of collaborations — yes, some require DLC purchases — as well as the updates and events being provided, it seems like this game will have a long lifespan going forward. Though in my opinion, since the game can also be played solo — against AI/computer — you shouldn't run out of content even before unlocking everything the game has to offer...

Price and Playtime

Honestly, the price is high. USD 70 at full price, and at the time of writing it's USD 35 — half price. Still expensive, about the cost of a month of my internet bill at the discounted price.

But... If you're interested in and enjoy racing games — ones that can be played with friends across platforms, or even solo — and given the quality on offer, the high price tag might just feel worth every penny.

Closing

Yep! As implied by everything I've described above, I think this game is great. Yes... the price is steep. But with the quality on offer — visuals, audio, gameplay experience, upcoming updates and collaborations, and the ability to play with friends across different platforms... I think this game is great and worth the price, especially if you're looking for a racing game like Crash Team Racing, but with all the modern flair of 2026.