Whereas strategy in kart racers previously was all about preserving which pickups you had until an opportune time, Team Sonic Racing one ups this by encouraging players to stick together. However, after just a few races it starts to make sense and becomes quite fun. Initially, the teamwork element doesn’t feel as welcome or intuitive. This charges your ultimate team ability and when full, unleashes a gold glow for each of your racers as they plough through anything in front of them, be it other races, obstacles or attacks. This teamwork is further incentivised by a growing yellow meter behind each racer. For example whichever member is currently in front will leave a yellow slipstream trail behind them that others can use to catch up, skimming by another teammate will apply a short boost to the player to help them recover from attacks and utilising class abilities helps clear the way for shortcuts and vast overtaking. Unlike a typical kart racer, where your job is to win at whatever cost, instead you are encouraged to work together with your teammates for success. Technique characters are able to traverse rough and hazardous terrain with impunity while enjoying better handling and power characters are able to plough through hazards and barriers without spinning out, while also being bulky enough to force other racers off the road with a good shunt. Speed is as it sounds, the karts are faster and have the benefit of getting to the front of the pack easier with correct play.
Each character you select comes under one of three group types, speed, technique and power. Additional boosts can be gained by performing drifts and tricks while taking to the air in big jump sections and there are the typical weapon pickups which now take on the form of wisps that allow you to shoot, block or disrupt opponent racers in their bid to overtake.Īdditionally, there is the team mechanic which stands as the core to this game. This is very much a Sumo Digital title, so drifting and capitalising on spare space on the track is the right route for success. While the game lacks the planes and boats of Transformed, the kart gameplay feels as zippy and precise as ever.
#TEAM SONIC RACING REVIEW SERIES#
As a whole though, does it stand up to the quality of the Sega All-Stars series?įirstly, the fundamental racing mechanics of the previous series is still prevalent. Team Sonic Racing thankfully plays far better than it did at the preview events, with a good level of polish and much easier to grasp team mechanics that make sense. The team went back to the studio and delayed the title for a few months to tweak things and this appears to have been a winning strategy. It seems that Sumo Digital and Sega heard the echoed feedback from these preview events. This general worry was further expanded upon when I played preview builds at Gamescom and EGX, the action felt choppy, team racing felt alien and I couldn’t help but feel that the lack of a wider Sega roster made things less fun overall. Alongside the missing characters, the themed courses also disappeared and seemingly worst of all, introduced in this game was a team mechanic that dictated the need to play with two teammates, AI or otherwise that would ultimately dictate how well you would do in each race.
Gone were the wide cast of Sega mascots, pared down only to the Sonic cast. Six years passed before Team Sonic Racing was announced and to tell the truth, all semblance of excitement turned to palpable concern. The only issue with all this, is that despite being a great addition to its genre, it seemed that we would not see a follow up. It mixed tight controls, speedy gameplay and a genuine love for the subject matter that celebrated the history of many properties that I and many others grew up with. While a lot of its ideas could have been called the result of gimmickry and the need to be different for the sake of it, it provided some incredible smile widening moments for an aging Sega fan like myself.
The Kart racing genre isn’t exactly known for being the most exciting in terms of freshness and innovation, but for what it’s worth, Sumo Digital’s Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing Transformed was the closest we have been to this in the decades of iterative Mario Kart titles and the many clones they spawned.
#TEAM SONIC RACING REVIEW PS4#
In PS4 / Reviews tagged All-stars / kart / sega / Sumo Digital / Team Sonic Racing / transformed by Grizz
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