(Review) Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing
- Narukoopa
- Jun 23, 2021
- 6 min read
The Short Version:
One way of describing the idea of All Stars Racing would be to call it “Sega’s answer to Mario Kart”, and you can see why. It has a similar charm, a familiar gameplay loop to those experienced with kart racers and, most importantly of all, is fun to play. Sadly, it doesn’t take long for the appeal to wash away.
The problems it suffers from are plentiful, ranging from lackluster content, balancing issues, a few technical hiccups and a lack of replay value. If you’re looking for some cheap fun that’ll last you a small handful of hours, you might be satisfied with this. If it’s something more you’re after, you should probably avoid this one.
Pros:
Fun driving mechanics
Charming race tracks
Challenging AI
Terrific soundtrack
Entertaining power-ups
Cons:
Little replay value
No online multiplayer
Majority of side missions are too easy
Balance issues with characters
Dodgy collision
FPS drops
My Rating: 4.5/10 - Mediocre
Bringing a Universe Together...
As the name might imply, Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing sees various Sega franchises come together to battle it out through racing, similar to how Nintendo does with Mario Kart. You have Super Monkey Ball, Billy Hatcher, Jet Set Radio, Shenmue, and many, many more.
Accompanying a handful of Sonic characters is a playable representative from each featured series, bringing the total roster up to 20 racers. Each one has their own vehicle, which helps make them stand out. These designs range from pretty cool to rather dull, but they get the job done. The race tracks, however, are the main areas that visually shine the most.
Like the characters, the courses you compete on take place in a variety of environments based on different SEGA titles, such as the sunny and colourful Seaside Hill from the classic Sonic games and the arid Detritus Desert from Super Monkey Ball. Despite their age, these maps are still attractive to look at, and this is due to their vibrancy and presentation. Every track looks different and is filled with detail.
What helps make these races even more memorable is the iconic soundtrack. With the exception of a couple flat tunes, the music is catchy and adds to the excitement of the experience. As a whole, the sound is done rather well. There’s an exasperating narrator that can make your ears bleed, but luckily he can be turned off.
Unfortunately, these charming details are immediately let down by the numerous technical issues that are present. There is an excessive use of motion blur and visual effects, including a vignette that is most noticeable when boosting through the track. These intrude the experience and can actually make the races harder to navigate. The good news is that some of these can be turned off, in the graphics settings that are outside of the game itself, in a different exe file… a bit annoying that.
Then there are the FPS drops, and these are way too frequent. They usually appear at random, but the majority that I experienced occurred whilst drifting around corners or getting hit by other racers. I have no idea why it happens since my PC is more than capable but regardless, they impede on the enjoyment.
So… now what?
All Stars Racing contains the type of content you’d expect to see in any kart racer. There’s a grand prix mode comprising six cups, alongside a time trial mode for those who wish to compete against other player’s records, something that I didn’t really engage in, but it’s there for people who want it.
Then you have the side missions. They are supposed to be extra content, something to keep you playing after you finish all of the grand prix. The problem with them is that the majority are insanely easy, and can be completed in less than a minute. They are also basic. You do get the odd one that spices things up a little bit, but usually they fall flat. “Collect all the rings” and “Shoot the targets” are far from thrilling. Much less so when there’s over 60 of them. I only completed about half of them before I got so bored that I gave up.
This is a huge issue because there's little else to do aside from these missions. There is the shop system that allows you to purchase new characters, races and songs to play in the background using an in-game currency called ‘miles’. If you want, you can grind away to unlock all of these, but aside from that, there’s nothing.
This could have been partly solved if the PC port included the online multiplayer mode, something which could’ve given it a much higher replay value. It existed on other platforms, but not for PC. There is a split-screen mode so I will give it that, but if you want to play online with friends, you can’t.
Let the Race Begin!
Ignoring the lack of content, how does it play? If you’ve invested time in other kart racers, you should be able to settle in rather quickly. The mechanics are simple: you can drive (duh), drift and perform a stunt, with the last two giving you a speed boost upon completion. Each character performs differently in these areas based on their assigned stats such as their weight, handling, boost speed etc.
Right from the get go I encountered balancing issues. Some characters have it way too easy, whereas others are virtually unplayable. Knuckles and Amy, for example, can build up a drift very easily and boost to their heart's content. On the opposite side, you have Tails and Big the Cat, the former constantly swaying from side to side, and the latter being an absolute pain to control.
The ones that can build up drifts quickly and have shorter stunts will generally have an advantage. All of the others will struggle to compete with them, especially on tracks with tight corners. These issues become more noticeable the longer you play, and it got to the point where I only stuck with a select few characters since I didn’t see any reason not to.
Then you have the ones in the middle that while aren’t bad to play, just don’t provide any meaningful advantage, other than for the player to be able to say “Hey, look! I’m playing as the guy from Crazy Taxi!”. It’s a shame because when you can ignore poor balancing, the game as a whole is quite enjoyable to play.
What makes it fun is how action-packed it is. Whilst you’re racing, you are able to pick up power-ups. These items are diverse and have both offensive and defensive capabilities. On top of this, each character also has an “All-Star” move that is unique to them, and can be acquired if they are losing to grant them assistance. It’s a neat idea that’s executed well.
The entertainment value is further escalated thanks to the challenging nature of the AI. It’s far from perfect, as it takes them forever to use a power-up, but it’s difficult enough to be able to pose a threat. The presence of environmental hazards also adds to the challenge by providing everybody with an obstacle to worry about that can make or break a victory.
I did encounter some issues with hitboxes though, and these are especially visible when you collide with other racers. There were a few instances of characters falling through floors or being forced to a halt as a result of either colliding with someone or hitting a wall. It’s worth noting though that these glitches are uncommon, and that overall, there is fun to be had here, even if the enjoyment is short lived.
Playtime:
It took me roughly two and a half hours to complete the grand prix mode. How much time you spend after that will vary. If you’re a completionist who wants to finish every mission, do all of the grand prix on every difficulty, engage in the time trial mode and unlock every shop item, you’re looking at maybe 25+ hours, a very rough estimate. Personally, I couldn’t spend more than ten, as I got bored.
Technical Details:
My PC Specs: Operating System: Windows 10 Processor (CPU): Intel Core i7-6700k Graphics Card (GPU): Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Memory (RAM): 16GB Performance: Frequent FPS drops that seem to occur at random. Steam doesn’t detect these drops on its FPS counter, but they are definitely there. I never found a fix for them.
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