I really like this game, but the positive review rate glazes it a bit too much.
The driving model doesn't really reward holding momentum or hitting perfect lines as much as it should. One exception is that going off-course can be really punishing; I wonder if speed boosts should be buffed. Drifting is nearly always mandatory, even for handling-specific builds. This feels really wrong if I think about it in-race. Compared to Mario Kart World, drift boost doesn't help recover from a bad or wide line. Flying and boat driving models are okay but could have perhaps used more time in the oven. For instance, boats should have a sense of weight and carve at lower speed, as well as be affected by waves and currents. Flying feels uninspired, especially compared to MKW's relaxed gliding mechanic.
What works is the real sense of speed and chaotic nature of the action. Collecting rings is great, too.
But there's also a huge range of quality represented in the tracks, and in my opinion, the classic tropical Sonic theme is under utilized. Graphically the courses range from "looks like early Source1 engine" to "Sonic: Furmark." The 60fps maximum is a totally absurd limit to impose on PC (try enabling frame generation in your driver UI). Background animations running at 15fps is also strange. Graphical options are oddly limited. Gameplay-wise, gadgets are also a bit convoluted. The DLCs also have their own issues beyond the scope of this review.
I'm a "buy" at 50% off, especially assuming you have a splitscreen application. This was my situation and it worked out fine.
This game would be much better if it just stuck to Sonic franchise characters only. Less could have been more. I'm still waiting for a properly physics driven kart racer with the hi-poly graphics of my kid dreams. This'll do for now.
