Reminder: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds First "Premium" DLC Pack Now Available

Maybe it is just because I'm biased towards Smash, but this game seems to just... not work with it's crossovers as well as Smash Bros. Dont get me wrong, I think the initial Yakuza, Miku, and Persona crossovers work just fine, as does the Megaman one and the TMNT one, but like, Minecraft Creeper? Spongebob? They just don't seem to fit, which is weird to say in a franchise with as zany a cast as Sonic, I know.

@Bluelink45
That and the lack of voice acting which makes this “premium” DLC feel lifeless and below the quality of a user mod especially when even the actual Sonic DLC characters like Werehog Sonic are mute.

This game has been such a blast, I know some people are having a fit about voices, but it hasn’t bothered me in the least.

The crossovers are neat even if I don’t really care about Minecraft or Avatar, and I’m stoked to see the new stages for each IP.

I’m still most excited for all the monthly sega characters on the way. Rumor has it NIGHTS is coming in January, who is all I want.

And it also looks like we get a festival event every time a character drops, so that’s another thing to be excited for. But that makes me realize, I wonder if there will be reruns for the Switch 2 players because it got delayed?

@OFFICIALMichi Delayed?

@slowpoke_tail you be careful criticizing this game. You have no idea the Sonic Sickos that can be summoned to this place.

What, they announced the DLC before launch like Pokemon Z-A?! Well that's plain outrageous, EVIL and disgusting! Stop supporting this multi billion dollar corporation, shills and bootlickers!! I'm off to make 10 YouTube videos on this with crying AI Amy Rose on the thumbnails!

Oh wait, wrong company, it's not a Nintendo game, nothing to see here, please carry on as normal and enjoy 🙂

All Stars Racing Transformed >

So far....

@LikelySatan The fanpeoples are still smoldering in the comments of "that other article," which is... well, not surprising, I guess. But it's certainly something.

I'm personally hoping for some DLC characters that are, to put it diplomatically, of an "alternative" interest. "More," specifically. More interesting. I'm hoping for more interesting characters. Maybe some Sega ones?

I like how this game handles DLC and Smash Bros. could learn a thing or two. Distributing SEGA characters as free updates while licensed characters, that not everyone cares about, are paid DLC.

@Suketoudara
The Pokémon dlc won’t come out a couple weeks after launch and is an entire additional story not a couple characters and a track

@slowpoke_tail Yup, I've been saying the same stuff. I actually don't mind the race tracks, but the mute characters that aren't even from gaming feel like the mods that people do with games. It's like when they ask Goku for Smash, and I'm a huge DB fan. Smash is a celebration of Nintendo's legacy and gaming as a whole featuring the most iconic characters from them and the industry. Sure, Goku's iconic but it's an anime character and despite having games it's not the same thing.

Mega Man, Pac-Man and TMNT are the premium DLC packs I’m looking forward to, the rest I can be without.

as someone who's first sonic racing game was crossworlds, i was actually surprised to find out how bizarre the guest characters have been in past games too. the key word being "sonic all stars" with only like 30-40% of the roster being sonic characters

all that to say that weird racers isnt anything new to the franchise. im still not sold on the dlc but as a newcomer i do prefer the sonic cast taking the priority first, ill live off the free dlc we'll get over the next year instead

At least Mario Kart World didn't try and milk you dry with DLC from pretty much day 1.

Not interested in Minecraft. Shame they didn't actually dig deep because there's plenty of Sonic characters that could have been great in this game lie Mighty, Honey, Marine, Elise, Sticks, Chip, Zeena, and Infinite.

I want Sonic characters in my Sonic game but that's just me.

Sega conning it's fans once again I see

@SBandy1,

"At least Mario Kart World didn't try and milk you dry with DLC from pretty much day 1."

Amen. I've actually become more interested in Mario Kart World after seeing that Mario Kart World is still staying more of a complete game, and it's actually cheaper then Sonic Racing Crossworlds after its dlc. I'm still more interested in Kirby Air Riders more as of right now, but the idea of getting Mario Kart World several years down the line is growing on me (unless it starts getting a butt ton of expensive dlc).

@JohnnyMind
it feels like in general post launch DLC is more accepted or even expected in certain genres such as Racing games, fighters, party games etc vs DLC with more of a single player focus such as story DLC or extra stages in platformers, (such as the fighters pass for smash bros which iirc was available to purchase around launch of smash ultimate)

then again with fighters weve had post-launch content for generations though back then it usually involved buying an entire new game (street fighter 2 for example counts as its own "series"). Oddly enough we have had post-launch content with things like RPGs back then before but it was mainly in japan and handled similar to how fighters were, things like the "final mix" versions of the kingdom hearts games (which fortunately the HD versions are based on so the west got to play that stuff, heres hoping switch 2 gets proper ports)also iirc japan got a second version of FFVII released the same year featuring the improvements and added content from the US/EU version,though i guess that kind of thing still does happen with things like Ys X (kingdom hearts 3 however had its extra content come in the form of DLC rather than a "final mix" version, and the west got it) .

Tangent aside it does feel like Crossworlds does feel like it has more to it than something like Team-sonic-racing even without the DLC and from what ive seen of it does seem like a nice alternative to mario kart (though air riders is the game im most curious about)

@JohnnyMind
from looking at it it does feel like looking at the fantasy life article that a big thing people are getting at was the price of the DK one (i saw comparisons to a similar update in one of the God of War games which was free though i cant speak on the content since i havent played GoW)

i think one of the differences with the type of game is that it does feel like theres a want for DLC in Mario kart world though i imagine like the DK one it could come down to price vs content.

Though in terms of nintendo DLC it does seem like they have some really well regarded DLC over time like the Mario kart 8 one, the latter MK8deluxe one, Smash bros, octo expansion (though side order sounds a little more mixed reception wise) and stuff like the pokemon S/V dlc sounds like it was well received among fans of the game also the dream friends+heroes in another dimension updates for kirby star allies, it does feel like nintendo has a big history of well regarded DLC that the DK one definitely fell short of and with pokemon kind of being in a mixed place after the launch issues of S/V (though i hear a bunch were fixed over time and the switch 2 update vastly improving the game it sounds like its in a much better place now) that it definitely feels like the A-Z dlc is being looked upon quite harshly compared to prior gens (though legends arceus felt like it was well recieved)

@JohnnyMind
but yeah, when it comes to things like those youtube clickbait thumbnails and whatnot, i just avoid those. half the time it feels like channels just latching on to whatever big divisive topic is going on at the time.

I don’t understand why SEGA with a huge catalog of their own iPs has SpongeBob and Minecraft. They are getting paid to feature them and then having you pay for them as DLC

People surprised by Minecraft and SpongeBob must not have been around when Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed had Danica Patrick and Wreck-It Ralph.

@Waluigi451
The difference is that Ralph and Danica were free and Transformed wasn't 70 dollars with a 90 dollar season pass.

Mario Kart World will eventually feature DLC packs in some form, and of course it’s going to be chargeable.

Sonic Team are at least providing a robust roadmap for the next year of content to keep players engaged and coming back to play Online. The idea that the game isn’t “complete” without the DLC is a bit of a misnomer, and only used to flame the MKW pricing debate.

Besides, all the SEGA IP characters they are releasing will be free, and only the Crossover stuff is what you are paying for. Technically you can actually play on the tracks without the need for the DLC pass Online anyway, so if you care not for the characters skins and vehicles just play the courses for free in Online World matches.

The Minecraft track is really great but that DLC pass price… this is beyond madness.

Minecraft is fine in this game but the next DLC is turning this into Sonic & Nickelodeon All-Stars Racing and without voices that just makes it even worse.

I really love the game though.

Don’t encourage it then. Don’t buy it and it will be cheaper soon

I love this game, but the worst part about it is the roster. I mean, sure, maybe I’m not the Sonic fan that some others are, but man…pales in comparison to a Mario Kart game. I welcome all of the crossover stuff, and plan on using Mega Man most of the time.

Having said that, I don’t care about Minecraft. Cool course anyway, though.

A few words come to mind. Grind and cash grab. Only interested if Switch 2 version is 60fps but I doubt it

Sooo... can someone explain to me how this isn't worse than what Pokemon Z-A is doing? Yes, both announced DLC before launch, but this was almost certainly complete and ready to go before the game came out, meaning they COULD have included it for free. The Pokemon DLC isn't out for 6 months, so they could conceivably still be working on it.

@MamaSymphonia there’s no real correct answer to this one.

Ultimately it comes down to value on offer and the publishers overall goals / expectations for the games announcing DLC ahead of launch.

I guess if you were to break it down a bit, Sonic annd Pokemon are entirely different genres, and have different levels of player service and engagement requirements for support (pending of the publisher expectations).

Sonic Racing is also no different to any multiplier title releasing a post launch “roadmap” (Roadmap being a keyword for ongoing and future support as opposed to “extra story content” that Pokemon plans to offers).

CrossWorlds is no different to Smash Bros, or other fighters, shooters, etc… and the Racing genre (kart racers ‘specially) historically have a much harder time keeping players engaged post launch to justify keeping the servers online and running. It all comes down to cost at the end of the day.

CrossWorlds also mitigates a lot of the players “issues” because; (1) it’s still a full title on release (2) The DLC roadmap content is literally random third party game and media crossover franchises (so if you are in it for just Sonic you’re not really losing out), (3) you can purchase the packs individually on release or as a full season pass at your leisure, (4) extra courses are playable online for free against other players, and (5) Sonic Team are also releasing additional SEGA property IP characters for FREE across the next year alongside festival events to keep players coming back.

Pokémon Legends Z-A’s error isn’t necessarily having DLC, but moreso announcing extra content before a single player title has launched and players not having much in the way of an idea of the value to attribute to it (and asking for payment now) is, IMO, pretty poor practise. This is an action RPG title that’s not primarily geared towards enriching an online multiplayer experience, we have no idea what it’s about, and they’ve already set the preorder price because “hey it’s Pokemon everyone will buy it”.

There’s also arguments to be made against the Zelda BOTW expansion back in the day, and even Xenoblade pulling similar tricks as Pokemon. But the difference here is that structurally they were roadmapped content that give the players a good idea of what to expect over several periods of time before dropping a large scale piece of story content (in Xenoblades case, usually these are are often a full / separate game in themselves which justifies it existing outside the base game from launch).

Anyway… Pokémon Legends Vs Sonic CrossWorlds - gamers aren’t yet impressed enough with what’s incoming, so announcing DLC for 6 months time and expecting players to pre-order for £24.99 is a hell of an ask (the irony here being - as TPC expect, millions of people will moan but buy it anyway). With Sonic CrossWorlds they have an harder uphill struggle BUT we’ve known what this game is since the beta tests, and the team have been transparent with what is incoming and working on improving the game with feedback and help from the community, so already there is a symbiotic relationship of trust with the developer and the player.

Ultimately, I agree that it’s still too pricey (all DLC is) but at least you can vote your confidence with your wallet. Crossworlds at least lets you know what to expect, and you can buy it in chunks or not at all and still not really miss out on anything substantial.

@Sonicka All good points, I guess I just don't understand why people can't buy the DLC they think is worth it, not buy DLC they think is a rip-off, and go on with their lives. For example, I haven't pre-ordered Mega Dimension and I won't until I see what it is. If it's worth it to me, I'll buy, and if it's not, I won't. And I don't feel like it's something to throw a fit over.

@USWITCH64 ultimately, there’s no reason why the Switch version shouldn’t run at 60FPS.

That said, for some reason XBOX ONE X, and PS4 Pro versions didn’t have options for 60FPS performance (which is also weird considering Team Sonic Racing ran at 60FPS), so could be a UE5 / optimisation issue.

@MamaSymphonia exactly. A lot of it is going to come down to what you want out of it and what it’s provides.

For me personally, I’m the same with the incoming Pokémon DLC and will wait until I know more.

With Crossworlds I know what’s coming, but am opting to hold on until it’s all out as I don’t really care for most of the third party characters and can play the additional tracks online anyway without handing over extra money (plus, I know what SEGA get like with a sale).

If they had not taken this DLC strategy I would have bought it by now. (I put 250 hours into Transformed on Steam). I guess I will get it digitally on Series X when I can get the whole lot for say £40. Even the £80 version doesn't include these characters which is a joke.

Am I the only one who is put off by this DLC? A lot of games have "scummy" DLC, but at least it's a worthwhile addition - see DKBananza. This just feels very mobile-game-esque, maybe since it's just so incredibly disconnected from the rest of the game?

@CaleBoi25 DK Bonanza is debatable - personally I feel this could have either been included as part of the main package (considering it came out a month after launch), or as an add on for £4.99 considering the worthwhile amount of additional content on offer. That said, that’s going to depend on what the player gets out of it and if they feel £17.99 was worthy of a rouge-lite mode plus an empty (but wonderfully crafted) DK island.

Sonic CrossWorlds is no different to most post game roadmaps. Smash Bros Ultimate is probably the best comparison whereby you get 1 level + a Character/s six times over the period of 12 months. The title has zero story anyway, and incorporating other worlds is feasible because of the CrossWorld gimmick, so it keeps everything connected, even if it’s not necessary to the main game or you don’t care for it. Essentially - just more fun and gameplay because why not really.

In all honesty though, I’m not a huge fan of any DLC prices regardless of whatever game it is. The publisher is almost always greedier than the content deserves.

Honestly, as a Minecraft fan this DLC looks fun and a welcome addition to a good kart racer. I welcome the addition ☺️

@Sonicka fair, I mainly selected DKB due to it also being a high-profile DLC for a major recent game. Mileage will vary, but I do think it is a high-quality DLC, while (as I said) SRCW's DLC offerings feel incredibly random, aimed towards the largest audience possible without appealing to anyone in particular. But again, that's just me

I'm interested in this game but when I looked into buying it I found out its 70 euro here (which funnily is the price MK world also is in physical stores here).

I got burned badly on team sonic racing which dropped its price by almost 50% in some places a month after release so I'm waiting.

@MamaSymphonia I think the biggest difference here is Microsoft want a cut. Not good but slightly more understandable.

@ROMhaiku That was probably exactly the reason. They had X budget for the base game and Y budget for DLC, and planned from the beginning to sell them separately. Games have done that since the beginning of DLC though, so while it's certainly not magnanimous of them, I don't really see why it's suddenly bad.

My only issue is that it's just one track, and to unlock the Cup that contains it, you'll need 3 specific DLC packs