To Sumo Digital’s credit, each vehicle has a distinct look and feel, moving across the track in a way that demands concentration if you want a perfect lap. SEGA has shown before that Sonic, Amy and friends can be hilarious in the right hands, but here, there’s nothing to write home about. The campaign begins with a brief cutscene, but it’s hours until you see anything more. When you consider the extensive cast of Sonic the Hedgehog characters crammed into the playable teams, it’s a shame they do so little off the track. It’s a cool twist on established kart racer motifs, showcasing a potential that sadly isn’t realised elsewhere. Here you’ll place through a variety of stages such as vanilla races, time trials and more creative checkpoint-based activities where you’ll need to avoid robots on the track while passing through gates that they themselves move. This nuisance comes to a head in Team Adventure, Sonic Racing’s equivalent to a solo campaign. I was racing ahead while they fumbled at the back of the pack, failing to catch up regardless of how many items I spammed them with. This incentivises you to work together, although when playing alone I often found myself frustrated with the friendly AI. If your team trails behind their opponents, it’s easy for them to pull you down the leaderboard. Scoring 1st place won’t always work this time around. It’s clumsy though, carelessly hurling you into walls and off ledges, with the far from graceful controls making it a nuisance to maneuver at times.Īll of these team-based mechanics gel to create a wondrous cadence throughout each race, especially coming alive as you try desperately to amass points across a Grand Prix. This is essentially a chaotic burst of speed that can wipe out anything in its path, making it essential in the later parts of final laps.
Finally, upon building up enough rings throughout each race you can activate an Ultimate ability. With the press of a button you can request an item from a team member or give away your own, helping out allies who might find themselves in a tight spot. Bathe in the trail of a team member’s vehicle for long enough and you’ll be thrust forward, gaining an extra burst of speed for your skilled driving. You can race solo, but the real fun comes from working alongside AI or real-life partners as you exchange items, take out enemies and slingshot each other across the track. Each team consists of three members, with the vanilla selection being Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. Unlike competing kart racers you compete in teams of three in most of the game’s modes. Could this be a worthy follow-up to Sonic’s previous racing endeavour, or will it prove to be another lacklustre entry in the hedgehog’s fractured legacy? I’m bummed to say it’s the latter, as a smattering of clever ideas can’t stop this racer from being anything more than passable.Īs you might’ve already guessed from the name, Team Sonic Racing is all about teamwork. When Team Sonic Racing was unveiled, my interest was immediately piqued as a result. Racing alongside Football Manager and Shenmue’s Ryo Hazuki was a surreal delight, enhanced by a range of tight, responsive mechanics that even gave Mario Kart a run for its money. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed was a phenomenal kart racer, expanding beyond the blue blur’s universe to embrace nearly every major property SEGA has worked on in recent years.
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