Team Sonic Racing
Game Details
Title: Team Sonic Racing
Developer: SEGA
Publisher: SEGA
Website: https://www.sonicthehedgehog.com/en-gb/teamsonicracing
Genre: Racing
Platform: PlayStation 4
Age Rating: PEGI 3
Release Date: 21/05/19 Out Now
Price: £34.99 – Rapid Reviews was very kindly provided with a review code for this title.
Team Sonic Racing combines the best elements of arcade and fast-paced competitive style racing as you face-off with friends in intense multiplayer racing. Race together and work together as a team by sharing power-ups and speed boosts. Take control of your racing style – Choose from 3 distinct character types and unlock game-changing vehicle customisation options to suit your racing style. Gear Up, Speed Up – Team Racing at Sonic Speed!
We have been spoiled with racing games over the past few years, each with different quirks to entice even the most hardcore of fans. Team Sonic Racing is no different here and after playing a heap of Formula 1 2019, DiRT Rally and Xenon Racer I always find myself coming back to this game. If you remember playing the last two Sonic Racing games, they offered real Arcade Racing with AI that meant that you had to work for a victory and to pick a character that had just the right skill to pull it off.
As a kid, I was never a Mario Kart fan (shocking I know), but a Diddy Kong Racing fan, the level of detail and skill needed was above and beyond. Within the first 10 minutes of playing Team Sonic Racing, I felt all the nostalgia from 1998 and goosebumps all over my arms.
What makes it so special? Well from the start, with the cheesy story screens, and wacky voice acting you set about playing in a tournament to compete against some of the best in the world, but there is a catch. You have to play as a team of 3. Immediately I thought this wouldn’t work as I always want to win and have to rely on AI teammates that won’t pull their weight, I was proved wrong just after the first few stages of Adventure mode. They act as a tutorial of sorts, teaching you how to work as a team, slipstreaming the leading car, collecting power-ups and gifting them to your characters. The aim is obviously to finish as high as possible.
You can have it where you win the race, but your teammates could finish in the bottom two, meaning you get fewer points overall. I found myself staying further back until towards the end to ensure I had power-ups to gift and use effectively to win. Something needed towards the end of adventure mode. With 15 characters to choose from including Sonic, Tails, Metal Sonic, Amy Rose and of course Dr Robotnik there are lots for everyone. Each race in adventure mode has 3 stars to collect, and these can be based on different factors such as winning the race, getting 100 rings, and finishing under a time threshold.
For the completionists it can take quite a while to do, for me this took 35 hours to master and not one second was I bored, this is only Adventure mode! There are 21 tracks to enjoy, spread over 7 zones. Each one is as picturesque as the other and stunning in HDR. There’s the traditional Grand Prix of single races and Time Trial which is hard as nails on the higher difficulties. With all the controversy of loot boxes, Team Sonic Racing does have them, but they are unlocked via in-game currency earned in the game. You can get lots of items to pimp out the car. My favourite one is the Classic SEGA sound from the early mega Drive games, pure nostalgia.
Online is fun to play, up to 12 players racing through tournaments and Grand Prix, little lag and the pure desire to play as a team. I spent 6 hours on this overall, and I couldn’t wait to get home from work to blast it. If online isn’t your cup of tea, the game supports 4 player local, either play as a team, or each player has 2 AI teammates. A nice touch.
In conclusion, Team Sonic Racing is a dream to play. From the outset, this is a game that caters to all ages. It includes plenty of content to keep you going for over 20 hours and is one of this year’s finest racers.
Rapid Reviews Rating
You can purchase Team Sonic Racing from the PlayStation Store on the following link, https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/product/EP0177-CUSA11115_00-TEAMSONICRACING1
