Ranking Sonic Racing: Crossworlds Tracks

Well, I just played Sonic Racing: Crossworlds and it's really, really good. While I still personally prefer Mario Kart World myself for its parkour and open world, Crossworlds is still able to carve out a unique identity for itself with its lovely drift mechanics, fast-paced arcade-y gameplay, and some very tight track design. Not every track is created equal, particularly the titular Crossworlds, but there's a lot to love here and the high points really stand out. So, let's rank all the tracks in Sonic Racing: Crossworlds:

39. Dinosaur Jungle 
My thoughts on the Crossworld stages in Crossworlds are similar to my thoughts on the routes in Mario Kart World. I don't dislike playing on them, but they're often linear, straight, and lacking in fun drift chains due to their abundance of hazards. Dinosaur Jungle is probably the biggest example of this, as its middle third is taken up by a long straightaway that has you doing nothing but dodge annoying dinosaurs with janky hitboxes. I actually think the final stretch of Dinosaur Jungle is pretty fun with the cactus shortcut and the ending that has you driving on the side of a dinosaur, but it can't make up for how boring and wonky the first 70% of the track is.

38. Roulette Road
I actually really like Roulette Road in its previous appearances, but this cut-down Crossworld version is just such a nothing-burger of a track. After a decent start with a fun shortcut and some poker chips to dodge, the rest of the Crossworld is just a long straightaway and some very wide turns. I really can't think of anything else to talk about, it's that basic of a track.

37. E-Stadium
E-Stadium falls into the tutorial track issue that a lot of Mario Kart games do in that it feels too simple to be fun. It has a few bumps to trick off of, and I like the shortcut tunnel in the third lap, but most of this track is composed of basic, wide turns that just aren't able to engage me. 

36. Digital Circuit
Digital Circuit is yet another really short and simple Crossworld, but it is carried a bit by its stellar aesthetics and music. The two-path concept doesn't really work when the bottom path is so obviously slower, and outside of the fun laser grid hazards in the pitifully short flying section, this track is pretty barren. It's fun to snake on in a similar vein to DS's Figure-8 Circuit, but if I'm comparing a track to Figure-8 Circuit, that's not exactly a good sign.

35. Water Palace
Water Palace makes a strong first impression. It looks great, the soundtrack is wonderfully ethereal, and it kicks off with some satisfying 90-degree turns that feel so good to drift through. But after that first section, there just isn't much here. The rest of Water Palace has a lot of lengthy straightaways, and a very basic boating section that's so obviously meant to be the boat tutorial. I do like that massive off-road cut right before the finish line, but a lot of this track is just kind of a bore.

34. Crystal Mine
Crystal Mine feels like a bit of a missed opportunity because the concept of a track built on a cliffside mining station is so cool, but there just isn't much done with it outside of a single moving crane obstacle that's super easy to dodge. There are some tight turns befitting a Cup 4 track, but most of Crystal Mine feels pretty short and lacking in noteworthy shortcuts.

33. Galactic Parade
Galactic Parade suffers from a similar issue to Roulette Road where it feels like a cut-down version of its original version in Transformed, but not to as bad of a degree. Following the Starlight Carnival paths while dodging robot lasers is as fun as always, but it does drag a bit since this is most of the Crossworlds, and the interior and asteroid field sections have definitely been downgraded.

32. Kraken Bay
I'll be honest and say most of my disdain towards Kraken Bay comes from how hard it was for me to A-Rank. It has a really cool setting and was super cinematic at first, but the cracks do start to show. This is a very awkward track to drive on with a lot of bumps and sharp turns, and the tentacles have pretty janky hitboxes and poor telegraphing so weaving under them feels unreliable and not worth the risk. 

31. Market Street 
Man, I was really hoping the Rooftop Run track would be better. I do like the main concept of hopping across elevated platforms and rooftops, but I think Market Street is primarily let down by just how muted and empty the visuals are. Spagonia is such a vibrant and bustling setting, arguably the most out of any location in Unleashed, and I just don't think Market Street is fully able to capture that same magic. 

30. Rainbow Garden
The second of the three tutorial tracks is easily the least bad since it keeps the flying tutorial to a very short part of the track. Most of Rainbow Garden is actually still pretty solid, with a fair amount of satisfying turns, a fun alternate path that opens up in the third lap, and a memorable section where you trick down a bunch of stacked flower beds. This is still a fairly simple beginner's track, don't get me wrong, but it's the only one in the first cup that I still think holds up even after hours of playtime.

29. Sky Road
Sky Road is a perfectly solid Crossworld track, though it peaks pretty early with that tight twisty path with its surprisingly challenging alternate routes. While the second half of Sky Road is still pretty linear, bouncing atop balloons is still enough of a fun gimmick to carry me through to the end. I also think the aggressive bloom is at its absolute worst here, so despite what's supposed to be an awe-inspiring setting, Sky Road isn't that much of a looker either. 

28. Urban Canyon
Urban Canyon has a really fresh setting, being this futuristic metropolis built into a canyon. However, despite the cool premise, most of this track is set on a twisty metallic highway and barely utilizes the canyon aspect of the setting outside of a few shortcuts that only open in the third lap. Urban Canyon does have a great sense of flow to it as it's pretty much all back-to-back drifts, but with no obstacles or fun gimmicks, it does feel a bit forgettable.

27. White Cave
Being the one stage returning from Riders, White Cave is pretty solid. It does a pretty good job at capturing the same vibe as the original track, and it's legitimately challenging with its bumpy terrain and tricky vine obstacles. That being said, like several other Crossworlds, a lot of White Cave is still just driving straight. If the track was a bit more twisty, it would probably get bumped way higher on the list.

26. Metal Harbor
Metal Harbor is another fairly unremarkable track but it is a lot more complex than anything in the first cup, and it represents the source material quite well. I especially like the two shortcuts right at the end of the track that really reward skill, along with the robot enemies that serve as solid obstacles. The third lap shift that sends you into a giant ramp is also a pretty cool spectacle at first, but I do think it loses its luster a bit upon replay. 

25. Sweet Mountain
Sweet Mountain is easily one of the more twisty and varied Crossworld tracks. While most of its parts are fairly basic in isolation, the sheer variety on display helps elevate the track for me, between boating along a chocolate river, tricky through donuts, recreating the drift segment at the start of Sweet Mountain Act 2, and dodging gumball cannoballs being fired out of an airship. There's a lot to love here, even if I think the track feels a bit undercooked.

24. Sand Road
Sand Road is a pretty fun desert track with a lot of snakey turns, environmental changes, and off-road cuts. I love tricking down the dunes ala Desert Hills, and the third lap even sends you into a water section just for some added variety which is nice to see. However, what holds Sand Road back for me is just how slippery the sand is. I'm not against dealing with slippery physics as you'll see later on, but having to pull off a bunch of counter-drifts while sliding around on the sand gets a bit annoying, I'll be perfectly honest.

23. Magma Planet
Magma Planet is the only track based on a non-Sonic Sega game, that being a shmup called Galaxy Force 2, and it's a stellar homage to the original game. Even more, as a fan of shmups, this track feels like an awesome love letter to the genre as a whole with its 90s rock music and the emphasis on flying. I'd actually argue Magma Planet is probably the best showcase for the flying mechanics, with a nice variety of obstacles like laser grids, giant lava dragons, and dripping magma to dodge. It even has a rare sharp turn that you have to take mid-flight. Not gonna lie, pretty underrated track.

22. Northstar Islands
Northstar Islands is a pretty cute tribute to Sonic Superstars which is only held back by the fact that I have zero attachment to Sonic Superstars. Okay, seriously, it is a fun track with a lot of cool environment shifts, a great sense of flow, and some fun gimmicks like a halfpipe and a press that launches you upwards, only held back by its layout being a bit too simple. Also screw that one red ring, you know the one.

21. Ocean View
Ocean View is such a weird track since it's basically the tutorial track in Transformed, but it got upgraded to a midgame track and it actually kinda works. Ocean View has quite a lot of sharp turns and satisfying shortcuts that force you to manage your accelerator, and pulling off a clean run in Time Trial in particular feels fantastic. My only gripe is the lack of obstacles, particularly those giant wheels that were in the original Ocean View. 

20. Golden Temple
Golden Temple starts off a bit slow with a pretty long straightaway, but once it picks up, it really picks up. Drifting down the twisty slide while dodging giant boulders is such an engaging challenge, and the boating section that has you taking a bunch of sharp 90-degree turns that you can even cut with well-placed charge jumps is brilliant. Add in a super cool aesthetic and great music, and you get a Crossworld that I'd actually want to play pretty regularly.

19. Radical Highway
Radical Highway is a solid track that captures the essence of the source material very well. It's fast-paced, intense, and has a solid amount of branching paths. But I think the X factor that really elevates Radical Highway for me is the Golden Gate Bridge which allows you to ride alongside the railings on the side for an amazing shortcut. Yeah, I know it's basically just the Mushroom Bridge shortcut but I'd argue it feels even better to pull off in this game. 

18. Dragon Road
Dragon Road is just plain fun. It's a great conversion of the original level as it as you do some satisfying drifts along giant dragon statues, before going into a wide open boating section as you dodge the Dark Gaia Phoenix's attacks. That Dark Gaia Phoenix section is really the highlight here, it's so fun especially since you can charge jump over his attacks which feels fantastic.

17. Eggman Expo
Eggman Expo is the last track in the main Grand Prix, and it's a great finale with some tight turns, all three vehicle types being utilized, and a deceptively devious boating section. The concept of an expo of Eggman's robots is also a pretty cool idea for a setting, and I like that the robots activate and start attacking you in the third lap. That being said, this is also my main issue with the track. Since Eggman Expo really only introduces hazards in the final lap, the first lap feels a bit underwhelming especially for what's supposed to be the final gauntlet. A common issue in Crossworlds is that it sometimes feels like tracks handicap themselves to make the third lap more exciting, and it's especially noticeable here.

16. White Space
White Space is the last track in general, and I think it's a slightly more challenging and rewarding final challenge than Eggman Expo. It's got a lot of really sharp turns, devious cuts, and some challenging boat and flying sections. Not to mention, this is kind of a section course as the final lap is entirely different from the first lap, switching to the Doom Zone and taking you through different parts of White Space. My only real gripe here is really just that I find White Space to be a pretty bland location visually, but the strong track design is just enough to make up for that.

15. Steampunk City
Steampunk City is definitely one of the coolest original settings, and the track itself is quite fun to as it has you dodging trains and smokestacks, driving across spinning gears, and even entering a giant mechanical tram. There's also an impressive amount of sharp turns, tricky shortcuts, and branching paths here, along with an entire bottom path that, unlike in Digital Circuit, actually feels worth it to race on. Out of all the Crossworlds, I genuinely think this is the one that could've easily been its own track, only being held back by the flying sections feeling a bit straight-forward.

14. Coral Town
As a certified Yoshi Valley hater, I'm so happy to say that Coral Town is Yoshi Valley done right. Despite having a ton of different routes, most of them feel totally viable and have their own pros and cons. If you're skilled enough, you can even hop between a few paths so the skill ceiling here is quite high. I also love the final section that has you bouncing across corals, especially in the last lap where you have to quickly direct yourself to the Shortcut Portal. While most of the actual turns here are fairly simple, the nonlinear layout and chill vibes really help give Coral Town a unique identity.

13. Apotos
Apotos was an immediate standout when I played it during the Open Network Test and it was for one reason: The funnel. This track starts with a long narrow corridor right after a set of item boxes, which means that each race will start with everyone spamming their items in a cramped area and cause incredible amounts of chaos... and I love it. Seriously, it's such a wonderfully devious design choice that really helps make each race on Apotos feel memorable and interesting. That being said, this track does kinda peak early. The rest of Apotos is still fun with some smooth turns, a fun split path, and a cool third lap reversal, but I can't deny that this track is primarily carried by its chaotic opening seconds.

12. Donpa Factory
Donpa Factory is yet another really cool setting as it's set in a car factory, and I'd say it utilizes this setting pretty well. There's a nice variety of hazards here along with a deceptively tight shortcut, and most of the turns feel really satisfying to pull off. While the first lap can still feel a bit barren, the third lap that activates a huge conveyor belt pushing everyone forward is an absolute blast. I also really like the sleek aesthetic and optimistic soundtrack, it helps give this track a lot more energy.

11. Wonder Museum
Wonder Museum has one of the coolest concepts for a kart racer track I've ever seen, being a riff on Night At The Museum that has you drive through a museum only for all the sculptures to come to life and start attacking you. The layout is super tight and satisfying to navigate, the hazards are a joy to deal with, and of course Ohtani's jazz score is an absolute banger. However, the only thing holding back Wonder Museum from being an easy Top 10 candidate is the same issue that held back Eggman Expo: The hazards only appear in Lap 3. 

Come on, man, we were so close to perfection. 

10. Hidden World
Hidden World is basically the Excitebike Arena or DK Spaceport of Sonic Racing: Crossworlds. It may be a straight-line, but it's filled to the brim with crazy hazards based on Sonic Lost World's trippy secret world. Tight turns on an antigravity half-pipe, a flying section that has you squeeze through tight corridors, a wince-inducing stretch that has you dodging fast-moving giant furry Pac-Mans, it's such a wonderfully chaotic ride of a track and the frenetic music only adds to the psychadelia. Hidden World is a testament to how much engaging hazards and track gimmicks can add to even the simplest of layouts.

9. Chao Park
FINALLY! An amusement park track that actually takes advantage of the setting. Screw Baby Park, screw Water Park, I'm a Chao Park fan now. This track takes place entirely on a twisty rollercoaster that has you going up and down and all around, it's an incredibly frenetic track that never lets up for a second. There's coaster cars to dodge, an infamous tight turn that forces you to learn acceleration control, a bunch of tricky corner cuts, and an almost entirely different third lap that contains a twisty path through a tornado and an incredibly tight boating section. Chao Park is a fantastic challenge and takes full advantage of its gorgeous amusement park setting, and I only wish it was just a bit longer.

8. Cyber Space
I'll be perfectly honest and say Cyber Space is pretty hard-carried by its music. The saxophone-laden remix of Flowing is just heavenly, and the final lap mashup isn't half bad either. That being said, the track design is no slouch, boasting a satisfying shortcut, a whole bunch of hazards and uneven terrain, and a chaotic traffic segment reminiscent of Crown City's bridge that gives you free reign to drift to your heart's content. Once again, this is a Crossworld I'm always going to be happy to play. 

7. Blizzard Valley
Considering my issues with Sand Road, you might be surprised to find that I absolutely love Blizzard Valley. This track has you deal with ice physics and wind physics, but I actually found myself adoring the challenge here. The layout here feels deliberately designed around the slippery physics, and managing to wrestle the controls and pull off a clean turn feels so damn good. And once you get good at dealing with the ice, there's a bunch of hidden boost pads and alternate paths that you can go for that really test how well you can master the driving.

Beyond just the ice physics though, I love the atmosphere of Blizzard Valley. The concept of a desolate Eggman base drilling into an icy tundra is pretty cool, and the chill-inducing soundtrack gives the track an even more dramatic edge. This track also has one of my favorite third lap shifts as part of the base crumbles away thanks to the drill, forcing you into a sudden flying section. It's the most Transformed-ass lap shift in the game and I adore it. Blizzard Valley is awesome and if you don't like it, you are weak you won't survive the winter (literally).

6. Pumpkin Mansion
Pumpkin Mansion is one of the coolest ghost tracks I've ever played in a kart racer, and it's so dense with gimmicks that I don't even know where to begin. I love the antigravity section at the beginning, and how you can drop chandeliers from the ceiling onto racers on the floor. I love the invisible path that forces you to follow a trail of fire reminiscent of Hang Garden. I love the pumpkin maze that tests your reaction time, and all the crazy off-road cuts in the final stretch. The sheer amount of references to prior Sonic ghost levels both in the music and the track design is also just wonderful, I only wish it kept the internal name of Lah's House to fully commit to the bit.

5. Holoska
Holoska is easily my favorite Crossworld and it's not even close. Every single second of this track is fun and unique, from dodging ice spikes at the start, to sliding down a bit ice slide, to the section where you can swap between boat and plane at will, to the finale that has you crashing into the icicles. Add in some incredible music and plenty of twisty turns, and you get a track that feels like the complete package.

4. Colorful Mall
Yeah, I know this track is basically just copying Coconut Mall's homework, but you take from the best. Colorful Mall is yet another stellar mall track that still has its own unique identity thanks to the multiple vertical layers, which feel very reminiscent of an actual 2D Sonic game. There's a lot of different paths you can take through the track, and even more open up in the third lap. The cramped layout and frantic music also helps make Colorful Mall feel just as bustling and chaotic as its inspiration.

3. Mystic Jungle
Mystic Jungle was the track that sold me on Crossworlds and truly showed me that these tracks were going to have more depth than they initially seemed. It takes the pretty annoying water slide gimmick from Forces and makes it really fun by letting you trick off the sides and take these massive shortcuts. The fact that basically half the track is a halfpipe gives you so much freedom, and that's not even counting the several other tight shortcuts that help give this track a wonderfully high skill ceiling.

2. Kronos Island
Even as someone who doesn't like Sonic Frontiers, I can't deny that Kronos Island is a perfect tribute to that game and actually makes me a bit nostalgic for it? Plenty of Frontiers' enemies get involved here as hazards, there's a bunch of wide open spaces that echo Frontiers' open design, and there's even a section where you get to ride alongside Squid's tail. The music is also phenomenal, especially the synth remix of I'm Here that plays on the final lap which never fails to get me hyped up. But ultimately, I think what really elevates Kronos Island is just how clean it feels to play. Every turn flows so perfectly into the next, and pulling off a perfect run through the track will make you feel like a god.

1. Aqua Forest
Once again, the big tree track ended up being my favorite in the game. Maple Treeway, Wild Woods, Acorn Heights, and now Aqua Forest. I don't need to tell you that this track is absolutely gorgeous, easily the prettiest one in the game, and the Celtic-inspired music is just heavenly. From a track design standpoint, Aqua Forest once again has a fantastic sense of flow with plenty of smooth turns and a lengthy water slide that perfectly tests your mastery of the boat controls, but what solidifies it as my favorite track in the game are the several wonderful shortcuts that are entirely skill-based. Charge-jumping into Boost Rings that send you onto other parts of the track will never not feel amazing, but it's also not as easy as it sounds since being in the pack means someone can knock you off-course and make you miss the shortcut. So Aqua Forest really has everything I want from a good kart racing track. Stellar aesthetics, tight track design, satisfying shortcuts, and a great sense of challenge. It absolutely deserves to be ranked right alongside some of the best the genre has to offer.