Summary
Sonic might just be the fastest video game character of all time, but this hasn’t stopped him from jumping into a few races with his buddies and even his longtime villains on more than a few occasions. TheSonicseries doesn’t exactly have a Mario Kart equivalent racing game which releases periodically, so it’s surprising that there is still such a staggering amount ofSonicracers out there, many of which are very high quality and a ton of fun to jump into.
Still, these racing games, very much likethe mainline entries, are very inconsistent with some being noticeably worse than others, whether this is down to the lack of content, clunky mechanics, or even just for not being creative enough. This luckily isn’t the case for the majority ofSonicracing games, which arefun, fast-paced, and exciting,so with that being said, here are the very best racing spinoff games that featureSonicand the rest of the gang.
After the surprising success ofSonic Rivalsreleased onthe PSPin 2006, a sequel came out just a year later, and while the gameplay was almost identical to that beloved first game, this new iteration still did enough different to make it a fantastic successor. Obviously, the races take center stage, and while the idea of a 2D racing game might sound strange, the game manages to make it feel fun and pretty engaging thanks to the stages, which are just a little easier than the typicalSonicplatformer game.
While the story is very fun to blast through, itunfortunately is pretty shortand quite repetitive after a few hours, but that’s where the Free Mode comes in. This was a new feature that allowed players to explore the zones at their own pace without enemies, so while the game is pretty light on overall content, the gameplay is still riveting in small bursts.
Released in 1994 just three years after the Blue Blur’s inception,Sonic Driftwas the very first racing game in the series, and while it can feel a little basic nowadays, there’s no mistaking the sheer amount of charm this game has. Despite there only being four available characters, the game features 18 tracks to burn some rubber on, all of which werebased on stages found in the first few games, which all had very memorable and visually striking designs.
There’s also a feature in the game that really isn’t seen in racing titles anymore, and that’s the fact that each character has their own sort of “perks” that can help them score the victory. Sonic, for example, has plenty of acceleration, but it can bepretty tricky to control him at high speeds. Meanwhile, Eggman struggles to catch up but can leave his opponents in the dust once he gets going.
Before this unique sub-series lost all steam after the disaster that wasFree Riders, it was becoming an incredibly polished and well-received set of racing games that undoubtedly peaked withZero Gravity. This game took what was great about the high-speed hoverboard antics ofSonic Riders, and ironed out all the major issues, the biggest being the fuel system which would force players to run to a pit stop in the middle of a race.
This time around, the characters' Extreme Gear hoverboards are charged with Gravity Points that can be acquired by performing tricks and taking out opponents. The zero gravity gimmick was also actually very fun and in many ways, an accurate precursor to what fans would eventually get withMario Kart 8. Overall,Sonic Zero Gravityis a very fun racing game that may have a few issues here and there, such as the constant bugs and predictable story, but it’s still by far the best of theSonic Riderstrio.
In theory, theSoniccharacters racing one another on foot shouldn’t exactly be the most fun experience in gameplay, but by slowing down the pace just a little bit, it resulted in one of the most beloved games in the entire franchise.The controls are definitely very unorthodoxwith every character feeling like they’re skating on an ice rink, but it somehow pairs well with the fantastic tracks, all of which felt unique.
While the Resort Island was reminiscent of the many seaside levels seen throughout the games,Radical Citywas set in a much more atmospheric urban environment that featured dim lights and large stretches of highway. It’s also commonly agreed among much of the fanbase that this game features one of the best soundtracks of any game in the series, which is saying something. There are a few small drawbacks that prevent the game from being perfect, one of which is the controls mentioned previously, which are admittedly very clunky and quite divisive. There’s also the lack of balancing between the characters, but if the player can look past these, they’ll be in for a real thrill ride that never gets boring.
The most recent racing game in the series,Team Sonic Racing,takes a unique approach to the classic racing formula by puttingeach character in a team of three. Characters will be able to work together by using slipstreams and exchanging items to blitz past their fellow racers across 21 stunning tracks either in the decent story mode or in an offline or online Grand Prix. The game also features a plethora of customization options for each character, which was a much-needed addition considering how much it could display the fun and vibrant personalities of these characters.
Because of how much the gameplay revolves around the team mechanic, it leads to a surprisingly steep learning curve, but it’s also so satisfying to get in the rhythm of work in conjunction with two other allies to travel at immensely high speeds across the track. The story is unfortunately a real letdown that massively harms the replay value, but the fun and innovative gameplay is where it shines, especially when playing with friends where it becomes one of the best tag-racing games ever made.
While this game is admittedly full ofSega mascotsand characters who aren’t a part of theSonicuniverse, there’s so much content from that respective series, from the stages to the characters, that it might as well be seen as aSonicracing title with a few additional characters added to the mix. As far as kart racers go, there isn’t much to complain about withAll-Stars Transformed. The game features a staggering amount of stages, all of which are richly detailed and fairly lengthy, and there’s also a very fun mechanic where cars will reconstruct into a boat or plane if the track calls for it.
It also manages to strike the perfect balance between luck and skill that many racing games always struggle so hard to find. A lot of this has to do with thechaotic power-upswhich are easy to throw out, but very difficult to master, such as the Hot Rod Engines, which are most effective when used during shortcuts. There’s also so much content to dig into, whether it’s the Grand Prix, the challenging Time Attack, or the extremely fun Career Mode. There’s a lot here to enjoy, and since the game has been ported so many times, it’s very accessible.
