The kart racing genre has a new top-spot contender as Sega is pushing forward with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. While this genre has been ruled by Mario Kart games for years, the developers of the Sonic racing series have walked a different path this time. Instead of being a casual arcade experience like Nintendo’s kart racer, CrossWorlds is going to be a pure competitive game.

What’s the need for this? Well, it seems like the developers are looking to enter the Esports scene with their upcoming Sonic racer. If this happens, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds may leave behind Mario Kart World by miles.

Since day one of production, the developers of this game have ensured that CrossWorlds remains a purely competitive experience. From the early reviews, the fans have clearly mentioned how this game gets frantic, but at the same time, it’s enjoyable. It may certainly sound like an experimental move, however, it’s working. Because that’s how a racing game is supposed to be – intense but fun at all times.

Despite being competitive, the developers want a completely fair gameplay experience for all players. This is the reason why they have been removing extremely powerful items from the game. During the developmental stages, the game had a lot of items and powers that could make a player go rampaging on the tracks. For all the players competing in the lobby, this would have been unfair.

With that in mind, Sega removed a bunch of items during different stages of production. They only let items that are effective and balanced at the same time. As a cherry on top, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds also supports crossplay. That being said, you can compete with players from all over the world, regardless of the platform.

This particular aspect of the kart racing genre is something Mario Kart games have avoided all their life. Hence, they were away from the Esports scene as well. But for the character that even raced with DC’s Flash, nothing’s impossible for it. The door to enter the Esports scene is wide open if things go right with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds.

One of the most engaging features of CrossWorlds is its single-player mode. It has a total of seven competitions where you can test your racing skills. In this competition, your rivals will get tougher with each passing league. While it is going to be extremely rewarding for the players, there’s something you will like even more. It’s the game’s ranked mode.

You can enter this mode to compete with up to 12 players online. Since it is going to be crossplay, you can encounter players from any platform, like PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, or PC. As you win a race in the ranked mode, you will gain XP that will increase your rank.

The ranks range from E to A, with the latter being the highest rank. If you play exceptionally well, you can achieve the highest Legendary rank in this game. This will make you stand out from other players in a match. Another benefit of ranking up is the gadgets. Each time you level up, you are rewarded with a gadget that can bolster your performance in a race.

With such features on board, it is safe to say that the long-running Mario Kart games finally have a competition.