HIGH Excellent handling and a lot of customization. 

LOW Lack of modes and unbalanced items.

WTF Sega needs to renew an agreement with Ferrari so we can get a new OutRun game.

Despite running faster than any car, Sonic the Hedgehog has quite a background in racing games. From his humble origins in the Sonic Drift titles to the much-beloved Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Sega’s Blue Blur knows his way around a set of wheels. Now, six years after his last racing experience (Team Sonic Racing) Sonic returns to the starting grid with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. 

As an arcade racing lover and Sonic superfan, the idea of playing a brand new Sonic racer had me excited. What also piqued my interest was the fact that it was being developed by the internal Team Sonic studio (English studio Sumo Digital developed past racers) and would that it would receive contributions from developers of Sega’s Initial D arcade cabinets. 

The presentation grabbed me right away. Par for the course for any great Sonic title, players are presented with an awesome opening cutscene set to some bombastic pop-rock. The bright aesthetic permeates throughout the menus and gameplay, with characters modeled exceptionally well, and even fully-voiced. I loved how talkative everyone is, with bits of dialogue in the character select screen and the beginning and end of each race. There’s also a jukebox full of great songs, including tracks from Sonic Riders and Sonic Frontiers. 

In motion, CrossWorlds is a visual marvel, and the main gimmick comes from its titular mechanic. Basically, on the second lap of a race, the character in first place sees two portals in front of them and they choose the path they want, transporting them to a new track for that lap, and returning to the main track in time for the third and final lap. This results in a random new world appearing in every race. 

No matter what’s chosen, each course has something awesome to look at, whether it’s a herd of dinosaurs running, a mysterious pirate ship shrouded in darkness, or wide-open fields of green grass in the distance. Sure, it’s almost expected that Sonic games feature a vibrant aesthetic and kickass music, but I’m happy to see Sonic Team didn’t slack off with this racing spinoff. 

However, aesthetics aside, the driving is what’s key in in racing titles.  

Played from a third-person perspective, Sonic Racing: Crossworlds is a kart-style racer that sees players control one of 18 characters taken from across the larger Sonic series before competing in a variety of events and courses. Right off the bat the driving is exceptional, with a great sense of speed and weight in all the vehicles. 

Cars and drivers are separated by different types: Speed, Acceleration, Handling, Power, and Boost. Each offers various strengths and weaknesses and the variety in both default and unlockable of cars is solid. There are also plenty of options to customize vehicles with different parts.  

Rather than feeling bouncy or floaty like most kart racers, I’d say this falls in line with something like a pure arcade experience, like Cruis’n Blast (owing to the devs’ arcade roots) thanks to the cars feeling heavier than I would have expected. Drifting is responsive, with a meter building up if players can hold their drifts as long as possible. Tricks can also be done while jumping in the air, resulting in a boost when landing. 

While I enjoyed the driving overall and trying to outmaneuver my opponents on the track, one thing I couldn’t enjoy was its use of items. Like Mario Kart or other mascot kart racers, different items can be collected and used offensively or defensively. They’re mostly standard stuff like speed boots or items that can be thrown at players. 

Sadly, most of these feel horribly balanced and seem to break the flow of most races. I get that rubberbanding is the name of arcade titles like this, but I played through some ridiculous instances of the AI catching up at the very last second thanks to a poorly-timed item hitting me. 

A major surprise of CrossWorlds has been the overwhelming amount of options players have, even before setting foot on a track. Things like the customizable car parts and various combinations of items for use in a race (like offensive weapons or speed boosting gadgets) strategy to what could have been a standard kart racer. For example, my main racer was Tails, who falls under the “acceleration” subclass. I centered my build around improved speed, boosting, and drifting.

Another cool thing is the inclusion of rivals. Throughout each of the grand prix modes, a random character will be made the players’ rival. At the start of the cup, there’s a cool bit of dialogue between the two, which makes for some humorous interactions for fans of the series. Things like hearing Dr. Eggman complain about being forced to settle for battling Tails instead of Sonic is a nice treat. 

Speaking of fans, I think absolute best part of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds has to be the sheer amount of love for Sonic and Sega as a whole. Courses like Radical Highway are ripped straight from Sonic Adventure 2, complete with the music from the original, and I could have sworn one track is one ginat reference to After Burner. The ‘stage complete’ music from the mainline Sonic series plays after every race, and the guest characters from other related franchises are cool, with faces appearing from Yakuza, Persona, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Pac-Man coming soon via DLC.

With all of that said, at this point in the review I have to say that I do wish there were more to CrossWorlds than just racing. The main grand prix is enjoyable and the Race Park adds a lot of variety by offering things like events that reward bumping into others for a speed boost or trying to collect the most rings. However, a few more events or some supporting content like minigames or perhaps things taken from Sonic’s long history would go a good way towards making the experience feel richer.

Don’t get me wrong, though — while Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds might not dethrone Mario’s racing adventures, it’s a solid racing title in its own right thanks to great handling and an overwhelming amount of options. I would have liked to see a little more supporting the package as a whole, but what’s here must surely rank among the finest arcade-style racers from the last few years. 

For those who absolutely gotta go fast, this one is an easy recommendation.  

Rating: 8.5  out of 10

Buy Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds – PC – PS – XB – SW

Disclosures: This game is published by Sega and developed by Sonic Team. It is available on PC, XBO, XBX/S, Switch/2, PS4/5. This copy was obtained via the publisher and was reviewed on PS5. Approximately 10 hours were spent in single-player, and the game was not completed. No time was spent in multiplayer.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E for Mild Fantasy Violence. According to the site: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB with Mild Fantasy Violence. Also includes In-Game Purchases. This is a kart-racing game in which players compete in whimsical racing events with characters from the Sonic universe. As players race against other drivers, they can use cartoony power-ups (e.g., spike balls, boxing-glove missiles, saw blades) to slow opponents’ progress and knock them off balance. Being hit by a power-up causes characters’ karts to blink red and slow down. Characters emit small cries when hitting or being hit by an obstacle (e.g., t-rexes, trucks).

Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are not present in the options menu.

Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Gamers: There are plenty of visual cues during races. All of these can be adjusted in the menu. Subtitles are present and can be resized. As no audio cues are needed for gameplay, I’d say this is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: The controls cannot be remapped and there is no diagram. On PS5, X is used to accelerate, R2 is used to drift, L1 is used to activate items, and Square is used to look behind.

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HIGH Excellent racing and presentation.

LOW Lacking some customization features. 

WTF Laughing too hard at a talking horse. 

Triple-A arcade racers seem to be having their moment in the spotlight again thanks to the return of heavy hitters like Need for Speed and relatively newer faces like GRID. Hell, even the tried and true kart racer has maintained relevance lately. Naturally, I’ve not only taken notice but also enjoyed a lot of these titles and eagerly anticipate the next big racing experience. Thankfully, Visual Concepts and 2K didn’t take too long to deliver on that. 

LEGO 2K Drive is a brick-ified racer set in the world of Bricklandia. Players control an unnamed rookie who must compete in a series of major races across four distinct maps. Along the way, they’ll amass a collection of cars, race rivals and explore fully-open levels.

Right off the bat, the lighthearted tone and humor set it apart from other racers, reminding me a lot of The Lego Movie. Jokes are constantly flying at the player and every character is hilarious, from two newscasters constantly quipping, to a bumbling police officer upset because someone is stealing fried shrimp from a lakeside restaurant. 

Aside from the humor, I appreciated how well L2KD uses the LEGO aesthetic. Characters in cutscenes move realistically despite being blocky, and every car the player drives is made of individual bricks that break apart as they would in real life. Most of the scenery and obstacles can be driven through, and make a satisfying clicking noise as they’re destroyed. It’s the closest a videogame has felt to capturing the feeling of building elaborate LEGO sets, only to smash them seconds later. 

I’m also happy to report that the gameplay is just as satisfying as the visuals.

LEGO 2K Drive is broken up into two distinct play styles — an open-world driving game and a kart racer. The first takes many cues from the likes of Forza Horizon, as players explore four open-ended areas full of side missions and secrets to discover. Doing this nets them experience points and money, which can be used to buy cars, avatars, and to level up before competing in harder races. It’s a satisfying loop and I appreciated the variety, especially with the loadout system.

Basically, players have three types of vehicles — street cars, off-road vehicles, and boats. As they drive around the map and hit a specific type of terrain, their ride automatically changes to that specific vehicle type. For example, I had a small electric car equipped, and when I veered off-road, it transformed into a large, off-road truck I had. It’s an exciting way to keep the momentum going, and it made exploring the map enjoyable. The simple act of moving became endlessly amusing. 

The other type of play is made up of races. Throughout the map, there are rivals the player has to beat in order to advance to a final cup. Each one is a ridiculous character, like a talking horse who was sarcastic for no reason, and would keep saying “A horse is a horse of course” throughout each race.

After meeting with a rival, players then complete a race, which plays out like a kart racer. Some are circuits in which they must complete a certain number of laps, while others are sprints where it’s about reaching the end of the course first. Either way, I loved it as drifting and boosting feel intuitive and more accessible than most arcade racers. A good sense of speed is present, and cars have enough weight to make every successful turn feel satisfying without bringing the physics into sim territory.

Owing to the LEGO branding, players can build their own cars using the extensive creator. After selecting a base, they can place individual bricks — almost mimicking a real playset. It takes a bit of getting used to (especially on a controller) but being able to snap bricks in rules, even if I’m not the most creative person. My only gripe is that there’s no way to share or download community cars yet. Visual Concepts said this feature is coming in a post-launch patch, but its absence at launch is a shame. (Also, a bummer? No minfig customization.)

For those who aren’t feeling that creative, there’s an in-game store with plenty of cars to choose from. While I was able to earn tons of free cars and enough in-game currency to satisfy my buying needs, players should be aware that microtransactions are in the game. It’s a shame that a full-priced title in 2023 still has an in-game store like this, with players tempted to shell out real cash. It largely follows the same microtransaction formula as their NBA and WWE games, but luckily there are safeguards here to make sure kids won’t be able to buy anything without parental approval. Prices range from $5 to $60 for in-game currency. Again, there’s really no need for this as the rewards are plenty, but those who want to bypass the grind have that option.

One last thing to note is that the L2KD‘s online multiplayer is great. My cousin and I played way too much of it together, and while players can’t earn vehicles in online sessions, we still had a blast racing around the open world, trying to best each other in races and constantly discovering things like new NPCs, new quest types and even different challenges — a favorite tasked us with driving as fast as we could into a wall with a tunnel painted on it, just like Wile E. Coyote would do in an old Warner Bros. cartoon.

Lego 2K Drive is one of the finest arcade racers around, setting itself apart from the competition by literally building a new foundation for the genre. Like the very best LEGO sets, each of its pieces adds up to a wonderful product. Racing fans owe it to themselves to check this one out. 

Score: 8.5 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is published by 2K and developed by Visual Concepts. It is available on PS4, PS4, XSX/S, XBO, PC and Switch. This copy was obtained via the publisher and was reviewed on Switch. Approximately 20 hours were spent in single-player and were completed. About 5 hours were spent in multiplayer. 

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E10 for Fantasy Violence. The site reads: This is a racing-adventure game in which players assume the role of a rookie driver learning to race Lego vehicles around Bricklandia. During races, players can pick up and use cartoony power-ups (e.g., homing missiles, rolling bombs, laser cannons) to attack opponents, resulting in large explosions and screen-shaking effects. Some side quests involve helping police officers chase down criminals; rescuing characters from zombies; and disabling robots by running over them before they explode. Some arena mini-games prompt players to disable/destroy the opposing team, gaining points with each disable/destruction.

Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are present in the options menu.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Gamers: There are subtitles present in the game, as well as visuals cues during gameplay. (See examples above.) Subtitles can be adjusted. In my view, this game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: The controls cannot be remapped but there are presets.

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HIGH Solid racing and the addition of voice acting. 

LOW Online is still lacking.

WTF Being able to play as the black-and-white version of Raphael from TMNT.  

In 2020, I reviewed Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix and in 2021 I covered Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl. Both are crossover party games (the former a racer, the latter a fighter) featuring famous Nickelodeon characters, and both published by GameMill Entertainment. While my reviews ranged from average to mediocre, the main issue I had with both was the lack of personality. Specifically, the lack of voice acting or any meaningful bonuses for fans. So, two years after the release of Grand Prix, I’m given the chance to review the latest crossover from GameMill, Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway — a title that my editor billed to me as a “CJ jam.” 

Off the bat, I think that’s an appropriate way to describe this one. It’s a licensed kart racer featuring 40 characters spread across Nickelodeon history, ranging from the likes of SpongeBob SquarePants, Rugrats, Garfield, and the always radical Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It’s the kind of thing I’m almost expected to write about at this point. 

Fundamentally, the core aspects of the last iteration are still in place. Players can compete in several different events including single races, full Grand Prix modes, and a few battle missions as well. The biggest changes come in the form of different vehicle body types, as well as the addition of bikes. Players can customize these parts to finely tune their vehicles by swapping different car bodies, wheels, and exhaust pipes that adding to each attribute — speed, acceleration, handling, turbo, etc.

The freedom to customize is a solid addition, allowing for some great combinations of parts and letting players tweak different things. I personally took to using motorcycles, as their handling around tight corners felt better. 

Another new addition comes from the transformations that occur in the middle of each race. For example, if the racetrack has a predetermined path that requires the play to go through water, the vehicle will transform into a watercraft and the race will continue. Sure, it’s been done in other games of this type, but the addition only adds to the already-solid driving.

The feel behind the wheel has been drastically improved since last time thanks to a perfect balance between arcade floatiness and sim weight to each car. Drifting is also easier than most racers, allowing players to pick up serious momentum. There are also solid accessibility and control features here, like an auto-steering mode and the ability to use gyro controls. 

Also returning from the last entry is the pit crew. Before each race, players select from a list of over 70 supporting characters, each with active or passive abilities. These range from Mr. Krabs from SpongeBob, who grants players the ability to magnetically attract slime tokens towards them, granting them a significant speed boost throughout. Others, like Shredder’s claws, allow for defense from enemy weapons. It’s standard kart racer stuff for sure, but it adds a variety. Having to unlock most of these items through play also means I have certain goals to work for and good motivation to keep playing — and honestly, I think the incentive to play and do well is my favorite part of Slime Speedway.

During every race in one of the Grand Prix modes, players are given challenges to complete ranging from picking up a certain number of slime tokens or hitting other racers with items. These get factored into a star total at the end of the cup, with higher scores netting racers more slime tokens to purchase more stuff in the garage. There’s a real sense of accomplishment here and it forced me to play outside my comfort zone, such as seeking out shortcuts or risking a lead just to drift a few times more than I normally would. All of that adds immense replay value, which is something I thought was sorely missing in the last entry. 

Also excellent? Slime Speedway’s best new addition — voice acting. Yup, every character now has dialogue and a few lines before, during, and after races. Sure, they repeat a few times but I’m happy we got something. It also helps that they feel like they were tailor-made for the game, rather than shoe-horned in via archived recordings. It’s great to have some of the most iconic (and talkative) cartoon characters finally say something. 

Multiplayer offerings are still barebones, however, as the options are only limited to the same single-player modes — just online. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find anyone to play with as of this writing, though split-screen play remedied that. Up to four players can race and it feels right at home with this style of game.

While a lot of Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway’s best and most improved aspects may be pulled from other racers, the quality jump between this one and its predecessor cannot be overstated. Slime Speedway is a confident, enjoyable and joyful party experience. The devs have finally hit the mark, delivering a great entry into the pantheon of mid-budget licensed games. Fans who are nostalgic for old cartoons and anyone with younger kids will definitely have a great time here. 

Disclosures: This game is published by GameMill Entertainment and developed by Bamtang Games. It is available on Switch, PS4/PS5, PC, and XBO/X/S.This copy was obtained via the publisher and was reviewed on PS5. Approximately 8 hours were spent in single-player, with a few of the single-player cups completed and a few other modes played. About 1 hour was spent in the game’s split-screen mutliplayer.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T for Mild Cartoon Violence. The site reads: This is a kart-racing game in which players compete with characters from several Nickelodeon shows (e.g., SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). Players race around slime-covered tracks and use “cartoony” power-ups (e.g., acorn bombs, baby-bottle rockets) and special attacks (e.g., nunchuck toss, fire-breath attack) to cause opponents to spin out and slow down; some weapons cause mild explosions to occur.

Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are not present in the options menu.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Gamers: Subtitles and visual cues are present, but cannot be adjusted. No sound is needed for successful gameplay. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: The controls cannot be remapped.

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