[Review] Team Sonic Racing

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Team Sonic Racing is an upcoming 2019 kart racing game and a spinoff from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehogseries. Controlling one of 15 characters from the series' cast players compete in races using sports cars. They view gameplay from a third-person perspective while performing tricks, drifting , and collecting power-ups Team Sonic Racing differs from traditional kart racers because of its focus on  cooperative gameplay, akin to the kind featured in Splatoon (2015) and Overwatch (2016)—the player is part of a team of racers and win races through efficiency rather than speed.  game modes  include earning competing to earn points , time trials, customizing the racing rules, and a story-driven campaign that serves as a tutorial.

Sumo Digital worked on Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2010) and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012), is developing Team Sonic Racing. Sonic Team head and game producer Takashi Iizuka conceived the cooperative gameplay, and Sumo Digital used the team-based Sonic Heroes (2003) as a point of reference. Unlike Sumo Digital's previous racing games, Team Sonic Racing only features characters from Sonic, as the team wanted to expand the series' world and character roster. They aimed to make the game stand out compared to other racing games and developed it using a modified version of the All-Stars game engine. Musician Jun Senoue who had not contributed to a major Sonic game since Generations (2011), composed the soundtrack.

Team Sonic Racing is scheduled to be released by Sega on May 21, 2019. It was initially slated for release in late 2018, but Sega delayed it in October to give Sumo Digital more development time.

Sumo Digital wanted Team Sonic Racing to stand out compared to other racing games and with the engine of previous games they had a solid foundation to build a new experience. Iizuka suggested that they designed it so it was easy for beginners, as he wanted his children to enjoy it. Sumo Digital also wanted to build upon the gameplay of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Transformed, which many players enjoyed. Iizuka conceived the team-based gameplay after watching his son play a kart racing game with his friends. He observed that they were not all happy and pondered how they could all enjoy the game. Observing other games, Sumo Digital found that team gameplay was very po[CENSORED]r; noting that racing games were largely single-player experiences, they decided to combine the concepts to create a unique and exciting experience. Iizuka echoed these sentiments, saying the development team was not inspired by other kart racing games like Mario Kart because they wanted to make a game that emphasized teamwork instead of a "network game" . Sumo Digital has since said that Sonic Heroes which features team-based gameplay, was used as a point of reference.

The "team" in Team Sonic Racing's name serves quite an important denotation. While traditionally a racing game is merely about being the fastest player on the track, Team Sonic Racing focuses on teamwork. That's not to say winning doesn't matter, it just isn't the most crucial part.

Each race will contain four teams comprised of three players, making a total of 12 racers on the track at a time. You, along with the other characters on your team, must work together to obtain the most points. This can be done by simply helping team members who aren't performing well by sharing power-ups. Golden rings, a staple of Sonic games, can also be collected to earn points. And of course, points will be allocated to players depending on their position in the race. 

Once you fill up an Ultimate Meter with your points you can unleash a large speed boost for your entire team that allows you to mow down your rivals and spin them off course. This is an added incentive to work together and promote cooperation. If you prefer to be a lone wolf, you can still go it solo while your teammates are replaced with AI. Maybe that'll even mean less frustration on your behalf.