13 December 2025

Mario Kart World’s Game Awards Win Should Have Gone to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

By newsgame

Switch 2 exclusive Mario Kart World won Best Sports/Racing Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2025, and while I think MKW is a great game, I also think Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds was criminally overlooked. The Game Awards 2025 nominated five games under the Sports/Racing Game category, with Mario Kart World competing against EA Sports FC 26, F1 25, Rematch, and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds.

Personally, I would take Mario Kart World over EA Sports FC 26 and F1 25, but I think Rematch and especially Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds were a bit more deserving of the big prize. Rematch, developed by Sifu developer Sloclap, is a live-service soccer game that blew up in popularity when it first released this past summer. It’s easy to pick up and play yet tough to master, and while it doesn’t have nearly the same amount of content that Mario Kart World does, I have still managed to get a lot more playtime out of it.

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Sonic Racing’s Feud With Mario Kart World Raises Questions for Another Nintendo Franchise

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is enjoying taking a few digs at Mario Kart World, but it makes one wonder what it’ll do to future mascot collaborations.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Should Have Won at The Game Awards

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a game I would take over all the others nominated for Best/Sports Racing Game at The Game Awards 2025, and based on the reaction it got from the TGA crowd, it seems many others are in agreement. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is one of the more ambitious kart racers that I’ve played, with vibrant graphics, exciting action, and a varied roster of Sonic and other Sega characters (plus DLC crossovers with characters like SpongeBob SquarePants). All the tracks look nothing short of incredible, and the “CrossWorlds” gimmick, where players are transported to a completely different track for a portion of the race, lends a sense of unpredictability to the proceedings.

Mario Kart World looks good, and the open world concept is interesting, and while I really liked it at first, I came to realize that it simply did not have the staying power to match the previous games in the series or other kart racers that released in 2025. Mario Kart World dramatically expands what players can do in any given race, but it’s ultimately dragged down by the open world and the impact that it has on courses. The boring “Route” tracks that connect the courses keep the game from reaching its full potential, and I wound up dropping it a lot quicker than I would have guessed. The fact that the Free Roam open world doesn’t have proper split-screen support also killed its replay value for me. At the end of the day, Mario Kart World is the kind of game that leaves an incredible first impression, but its flaws become more apparent the longer you play.

Kirby Air Riders Also Has Mario Kart World Beat

Kirby Air Riders released too late in the year to be eligible at The Game Awards 2025, and it’s unfortunate, because it also has Mario Kart World beat. Kirby Air Riders, directed by Masahiro Sakurai, is a fast-paced kart racer that is absolutely stuffed with worthwhile content. Since launch, I have played Kirby Air Riders daily, and I still have plenty left to unlock and do, and so far, it hasn’t gotten old. Compare that to Mario Kart World, where I felt like I had my fill about a week after launch.

Kirby Air Riders features standard races, a chaotic City Trial mode, mini-games, achievements, comprehensive online and local multiplayer support, and a fun single-player mode complemented by drop-dead gorgeous cut-scenes. If Kirby Air Riders was nominated at The Game Awards, I still think Mario Kart World would have won over it, but not because it deserved it. Mario Kart is just a massive brand and makes it difficult for other kart racers to get a truly fair shake.

Future Mario Kart World updates and potential DLC could potentially bring me back to it. For now, I’ll stick with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and Kirby Air Riders for my racing game fix, and Rematch whenever I want to enjoy a quick competitive online sports game.