Running left to right
There’s a certain feeling a good 2D Sonic game can elicit. The sense of zipping through levels at a pace that seems way too fast, as even the scrolling screen struggles to keep up with how fast the blue blur is moving, is a core memory for those who grew up around a Sega Genesis. And it’s a feeling I got when I was playing the newest Sonic entry, Sonic Superstars.
Sonic Superstars is, to put it frankly, a classic Sonic game. It’s 3D in models but 2D in design, though there are plenty of twists to change that up. The base foundation is familiar: you run, left to right, across the screen to hit the goal. Every so often, Dr. Robotnik / Eggman will roll in with an increasingly complicated machine you’ll need to bonk your head against a few times.
The basics of a classic Sonic game are here. It’s the ways in which Sonic Superstars twists them just a hair that I enjoy, and think this might find a home on co-op players’ systems.
It’s a party now
In the demo I played, as part of Summer Game Fest 2023, there were two level options and four characters. The first one I rolled up was a classic set-up, with lots of ramps and ledges to spin-ball over as my chosen hero, Sonic. If you’re going to demo a Sonic game, you really have to start with the basics, right?
But for other options, there are also Tails, Knuckles, and Amy. It’s a set-up that instantly reminded me of a personal favorite, Sonic Advance. Immediately, I started to notice how certain levels might feel different playing as another character. Sonic might speed through the area, while Tails takes a higher route and floats along. Cliffside jumping puzzles were easily circumvented by Knuckles. Amy? She’s got a hammer.
This becomes more noticeable as the levels’ mechanics get more complex. Multiple avenues of progression felt available at any time, letting me carve a path through all the obstacles laid out in front of me. Some areas let me jump in and out of the foreground and background courses, creating a neat 3D effect to the side-scrolling action. In another, I was hopping from vine to vine across a chasm, and navigating the fog of a dense jungle biome.
Sonic Superstars doesn’t feel wildly different in the way, say, Sonic Frontiers did. I don’t really think that’s the goal. Superstars feels like it’s trying to create a pick-up-and-play Sonic with some co-op appeal.
Because, yes, you can play this co-op. I didn’t get a chance to try that part of the game out myself, but it seems like a great way to get a group together, like a New Super Mario Bros. for Sonic.
Embrace the power
Sonic and pals can also wield a wealth of powers, through the Chaos Emeralds. By finding special locations in each level, I could enter a 3D space where my character had to swing between grab points in order to catch a Chaos Emerald.
Once I nabbed it, I could use a special power. Two of them were available to me during my demo; the first let me turn into water and scale waterfalls, while the second summoned a swarm of clones to attack everything on screen. These powers had limited uses, but it was an interesting little wrinkle to toy around with in this setting. These new tricks are neat, and I’m curious to see how much replayability or player expression they bring to running these levels. Even just finding a slightly different way to tackle an area, through use of my powers, was intriguing enough.
The Robotnik battles were fairly straightforward too, offering the right amount of puzzle-challenge and platforming skill. The second one, in a jungle area, really had me working to figure out how to bonk it most efficiently.
It’s hard to write too much more because, well, this is some classic Sonic. Sonic Superstars isn’t really trying to radically reinvent Sonic. While playing it, I was just reminded of how good a 2D Sonic can feel. And I had a pretty enjoyable time working my way through it, even passing the controller off to friends who interrupt my appointments wanting to play. That last part really sold me on Superstars being a fun co-op game, and having that same couch vibe that a good Sonic can have.
Sonic Superstars is set for fall 2023.
