LEARN THE ROPES

If this is your first Sonic racing game, Normal Difficulty is a good place to start. Races are crazily chaotic so starting out there will help you learn the courses, the items and the drifting mechanics and get some Grand Prix victories under your belt before you move on. Don’t forget you can change gadgets between races too!

A WINNING COMBO

Each driver and vehicle has its own stats. The best way to choose a machine is to decide what’s most important to you. Do you want to amp up your acceleration, speed, handling, power or boost? It costs hard-earned tickets to buy new parts so don’t spend up big until

POWER-UPS WITH PUNCH

Attacking items can usually be fired backwards, so if you’re in the lead you can slow down your rivals by clocking them with a no-look shot. And if you get a strong defensive option like the shield or tornado, hold onto it and activate when you see an incoming attack! Items are integral to victory so get to know them!

SPEEDY STARTS

Just like Mario Kart you’ll get a boost off the starting line if you rev your engine just right during the race countdown. Also like the portly plumber’s powersliding spectaculars, you generally want to start holding accelerate around the time the countdown hits ‘2’. Different character/vehicle combos have slightly different timings so test until you triumph!

GO GO GADGET LOADOUT

Having gadgets equipped that match your racing style is critical in CrossWorlds, and the more slots you unlock the more you can laser in a proper perk package. If you’re just getting started though, we’d recommend Lv1 Quick Charge for hitting your level one boost faster and Boost Starter so you can rocket ahead early in each race.

THE RINGMASTER

Collecting rings increases your top speed and if you can stay on 100 (or above) you’ll get a big ol’ boost, so you might want to equip gadgets that help you get more rings and hold onto them! Dash Panel gives you rings throughout a race, Ring Thief steals rings from other racers, and Crash Pads means you lose less.