Sonic Superstars developed by SEGA, Arzest and Sonic Team is now available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5 Xbox One, Series X/S and PC.
Sonic is back in 2D form in Sonic Superstars taking on Dr Robotnick again! Players will journey to the Northstar Islands, previously uncharted and wonderous lands. Dr Robotnick decides to do what he does best and turn all of the massive animals into badnicks again and it’s up to Sonic and the gang to put a stop to it. In Sonic games at least the 2D games the story never feels like the main show, it doesn’t come up much. The story resembles the original Sonic games where odd things happen between zone transitions. Sonic Superstars story is okay really, it goes back to the classic format in which Robotnick is converting innocent animals and that felt nostalgic.
Sonic Superstars takes the gameplay back to its routes and does so pretty well, in previous iterations like Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 and 2 and others, it always felt like they couldn’t get Sonic’s momentum right, in Superstars it feels exactly like the classics. Sonic will need speed to get up platforms, or sometimes you’ll have to time things right and it is fantastic to feel that again after Sonic Mania returned to form with it. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy will explore 11 zones each with unique factors to make them different from each other. I hate to say it, but I didn’t enjoy the levels as much as I had hoped, the creativity is fantastic because they are branching out and not using older classic zones and reimagining them, these are new and original but sadly it just didn’t give me the same feelings as the classics and Mania. That isn’t to say the levels are bad they’re good, but for me, they’re not the best in the series. Some of the levels are creative in their design, with different enemies on each level and new traps and platforms, it is refreshing to see. The chaos emeralds also have a completely different function this time around. Each emerald you get in the new and creative bonus levels grants new powers, one will send endless clones to help take everything around you out, and another will send you flying forward in a flaming ring. Each power is creative and unique and offers a new way to tackle the levels. Sonic Superstars does keep it fresh by introducing new ways to take on levels with other characters it does add a lot to the replayability as it is quite a short game though they do a great job of giving you quite a lot to keep you going.
The overall design in Sonic Superstars is good each level looks unique and interesting it’s good to see them try something different and not rehash Green Hill Zone again. The design team did a fantastic job in making it different to the others and trying new things. The game is bright, colourful and full of fun. There is a lot to love in Sonic Superstars and its approach to trying new things. The Sonic music is back and pretty good each theme suits the levels well, the boss music is back and the team are trying something new with great direction. What I did love about Sonic Superstars is that it tries something new in every way and while it isn’t my favourite Sonic game of all time, it is up there, especially in its design.
Verdict
Sonic Superstars is a solid entry in the series however I just didn’t enjoy it as much as the classic Sonic games and Sonic Mania. I think the series peaked with Mania the classic look and the overall feel, will never be beaten for me unless they make a Sonic Mania 2. That isn’t to say that Sonic Superstars isn’t an enjoyable game, it truly is and it’s a step in the right direction in keeping fans of the 3D games and 2D games happy with some solid entries recently. I did enjoy my time with Sonic Superstars it does a lot new which really worked out well for it but I still didn’t feel the same feeling as previous titles. I only had one bug in the game and for some odd reason I fell through the level selection map screen which was odd it made me laugh and a good old reset sorted it out.
8/10
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