Sonic Racing: Crossworlds Is The Closest Thing We Have To Mario...

I wish Mario and Luigi beefed as much as these lot do.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is Mario Kart's far more chaotic, perpetually drunk uncle, but it's also perhaps the closest we'll ever get to Nintendo's flagship racer on our humble PCs.

It's gimmicky and goofy as all hell. Rings fly as I crash and careen into other racers, dodging items takes far more knack than holding a banana to my ass and praying, and getting flung into entirely different tracks mid-race introduces all manner of frenzy. But my goodness if it isn't one of the most fun, solid-feeling kart racers I've played that doesn't involve an Italian plumber.

I'll throw my hands up now and admit I've never even really been a Sonic the Hedgehog enjoyer… I just really like Shadow and Rouge the Bat, for no reason in particular.

While CrossWorlds is stuffed full of references that sweep the blue blur's quarter-century career—tracks that crib from levels featured across the series, callbacks to random fluff dialogue in games of yore, and even a shoutout to the classic Sega arcade rail shooter Galaxy Force 2—you certainly don't need to be storing all of that info up in your noggin to enjoy everything the racer has to offer.

And boy, if there sure is a whole lot to digest here. The first thing that struck me about CrossWorlds is just how damn customisable the entire experience is. Similarly to Mario Kart there's some nifty accessibility here thanks to auto-steering (which'll keep you from veering off-track) and auto-acceleration (so you don't have to constantly hold a button down).

Outside of that, though, there are just so many different ways to race. CrossWorlds offers five different machines all with slightly different designs and advantages: sleek and sporty Speed cars, Acceleration buggies, compact Handling vehicles, giant quad-style Power cars, and (my favourite) Boost hoverboards.

You can even Frankenstein together different parts within a category and slap on decals to make your own bespoke racecar. Have I spent entirely too much time Guy Fieri-ing the hell out of every vehicle type because I firmly believe Shadow would go hard for a flame-adorned automobile? Obviously.

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Gadgets are where CrossWorlds' flexibility really shines, though. They're different badges you can slot into a 3x2 board and it's a great way to experiment or complement the way you already play.

Source: PC Gamer