Yo hog! While there’s been plenty for Sonic fans to worry about lately (yeah, I’m not over this), there is still plenty to look forward to on the game’s front, with Team Sonic Racing looking better and better each time it’s shown. A panel for Sonic the Hedgehog was held at the latest SXSW Expo, and some fun new mechanics were shown off, as well as some upcoming content.

First off, it’s been revealed that the upcoming racer will feature extensive customisation options for your vehicles. Have a look at the trailer below.

Team Sonic Racing says: Be quick and be seen!

In addition to allowing players to adjust the performance of their rides, the game will also offer plenty of ways in which to personalise each vehicle. Golden hubcaps, stickers, various bumpers and spoilers, the list goes on. Perhaps we can recreate the Delorean and convince SEGA to delay Sonic 06, or actually get the blue hedgehog into Melee. Jokes aside, the footage that was shown at the panel has demonstrated just how far the game has come visually; Team Sonic Racing is one of the few Sonic titles to be delayed for the sake of quality control, and the extra time definitely appears to be paying off. The characters look great and many of the courses that have been shown more recently really stand out with all of the detail and spectacle on display.

That wasn’t all that was shown, either. In a similar vein to the recent Sonic Mania Adventures shorts, Team Sonic Racing is getting a two-part animated series to promote the game and show off the characters within. The first part was revealed at the panel, and you can watch that below.

“Sonic doesn’t need a hype train, he can outrun it!”

SEGA really does appear to be stepping up their game when it comes to promoting Sonic as a whole, and this series is a great example of that. Seeing equal importance placed upon each character and how they interact, as well as bringing back fan-favourite band Crush 40 to create the game’s soundtrack (be sure to check them out here), has been great to see, and it has many fans excited after the somewhat lukewarm reception to Sonic Forces. Perhaps a fun little racing title is just what the series needs right now to get back on track (pardon the expression) and recoup some of the fans’ trust in the series.

“Now I must go, my hedgehog needs me”

On that last note, Sonic series head Takashi Iizuka did confirm at the panel that the next mainline entry in the Sonic series is already in production. No details were given, but he did say that they’ll let us know more when they have more to show. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go grab my copies of Adventure 1 and 2 and do some research on how to make a summoning circle.

Wish me luck!