Anyone that likes arcade racing games should find Team Sonic Racing quite enjoyable and reminiscent of a great childhood. Sonic, of course, must go fast, but this time he does it with friends. Sumo Digital developed the game which is a fun arcade racer while also adding features that are not common to the genre.
Sonic and his friends such as; Knuckles, Tails, and Amy, to name a few, get invitations from Dodon Pa, an alien. Skeptical of course, they read the invitations that invite them all to join in team-based races with their friends. Eventually, the gang decides to do the races together that take them all over the world in the process. Still, with their guards up, the group finds out that Dodon Pa is actually capturing the energy from their races for philanthropic use. As time goes on, Sonic must help Dodon Pa from the evil Doctor Eggman.
Unlike Mario-Kart, which is also a great game, Team Sonic Racing has a story mode. This game also has a team feature. Either play with your friends or let the AI put you together instead. Share items between friends in order to throw other racers off the track, or just use the team ultimate ability to start kicking major butt. Here’s the catch though, catching rings is actually something you will want to do. Not only is your position in the ranks important, but so are the rings. They add to your overall score. If you and your team don’t get in a good position then everyone could lose, so you must work together.
Every level kicks butt. There is so much to look at. One in particular that I fancy the most is the casino level. Slot machines are going off above you, billiard balls are floating in the sky and you feel like you’ve stumbled across another Rainbow Road. Other levels have big creatures in them and even see through tracks. Basically, it’s easy to drive yourself off the edge. Maybe you should give the time trials a shot in order to look around without hurting your team.
Very few things can be said that hold the game back from being a great game. The only problems that can be mentioned are the inability to switch to a first-person perspective while racing. From third-person, the background can make you queasy and unfocused. Also, we all want to know, why does Sonic need to drive a car? For whatever reason, Sonic could probably just run all the levels.
Overall, Team Sonic Racing is very Mario-like with fun backgrounds and wild imagery. The addition of the team racing and story mode makes for a good time killer. The feeling of being able to accomplish more than just multiple Grand Prix races is very nice. Although the game is critiqued for very minor things, the game is perfectly fine as it is and everyone should just enjoy the adventure no matter the platform.
8/10
Available on: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
