The first reviews for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds were published on Thursday morning, ahead of the crossover kart racer’s launch on September 25. The reviews were generally positive, making it one of the best-reviewed Sonic the Hedgehog console games in years.
Unfortunately, the reviews weren’t quite enough to surpass the warm reception Mario Kart World received. While Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds didn’t meet the same critical reception bar that the Nintendo Switch 2 launch title did, fans of Sonic the Hedgehog should still be happy that they have a great new game to check out.
How well is Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds reviewing?
It’s currently the 58th best-reviewed game of 2025
Right now, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds has a Metascore of 82 on Metacritic and a Top Critic Average of 84 on OpenCritic. These scores are created by OpenCritic and Metacritic aggregating the scores given to the game by various gaming websites in their reviews. Over 40 reviews for this game went up at its Thursday morning embargo.
The reviews for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds are complementary of its visuals, soundtrack, and general game feel and racing mechanics. They’re a little more critical of the amount of content on offer, as this seems like a pretty straight-up racer without the open-world or story modes of some of its peers. Still, reviews are generally calling it one of the better games in the kart racing genre right now.
The Gamer really enjoyed Sega’s latest game, writing that it was “one of the best kart racing games I have ever played” in their review before going on to call it “effortlessly slick and possessing the perfect balance of being easy to pick up and play yet hard to master.” Meanwhile, DualShockers’ 8 out of 10 review argues that the game “doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but offers enough quintessentially Sonic-style fanfare to appeal to veteran fans, while offering accessible, chaotic racing that will appeal to casual fans.”
While the reviews for Sega’s latest are obviously quite positive, they don’t quite live up to the reception Mario Kart World received. Comparing Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and Mario Kart World is warranted because the game’s developers have welcomed that comparison themselves. In particular, Sega has made jabs at Mario Kart World in trailers and boasted about the fact that its game is a multi-platform release with cross-play.
Nintendo’s game currently has a Metascore of 86 and a Top Critic Average of 87, just slightly outdoing Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds‘ critical reception. If you were hoping that this new Sonic game would finally be the one to beat Mario, you’ll be disappointed. Still, the reality is that both of these kart racers are very good, so it seems like you can’t go wrong with playing either of them.
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OpenCritic Reviews
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Top Critic Avg:
84/100
Critics Rec:
96%
- Released
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September 25, 2025
- ESRB
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Everyone / Mild Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
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Sonic Team
- Publisher(s)
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Sega
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
