Coming in hot after last year’sSonic Frontiers,Sonic Superstarsoffers a 2.5D side-scrolling platform experience reminiscent of the classic games. It’s nice to know that there’s still space in the Blue Blur’s future for his past, but he’s not alone inSonic Superstars. Players will be able toplay as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy Rose, and even join friends via drop-in/drop-out co-op. Of course, the title may draw on classic games, but many fans will expect it to live up to modern expectations too. After a brief time with the title, it seems likeSonic Superstarswill.
Game Rant recently attended the Sega Summer Showcase in NYC where, among other titles, we were able to playSonic Superstars. We had access to a handful of power-ups, briefly enjoyed some co-op gameplay, and checked out the following maps: Bridge Island, Speed Jungle, Pinball Carnival, and Cyber Station.
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Bridge Island was the most straightforward map, a clear homage toSonic’s classic level design. The obstacles and gimmicks of the map are those common to the franchise, and it by far has the most distilled classic feel to it. It prepared us, gameplay-wise, for the following maps, but it also made sure the more in-depth gimmicks of each map stood out. Speed Jungle was much more tightly put together, creating an almost claustrophobic feel as we went from path to path. We had to grab onto vines to shoot ourselves in the right direction, had frogs latch onto us, and had to outrun or jump other obstacles. On top of that, sections of the jungle would darken the surroundings, making every dash and movement a guessing game and helping pack a lot of emotion into the zone exploration.
Sonic Superstars Bridge Island Screenshots
Meanwhile, the Pinball Carnival was perhaps the most complex and exciting map we played on. The Carnival backdrop was eye-catching, but the use of pinball-like layouts and mechanics, coupled with things like Ferris Wheels, ensured this map was a fun challenge. Cyber Station may be what one would expect fromSonic’s approach on cyber visuals, but there was an underlyingTrontone as well, as hitting certain points would digitize us and spit us out elsewhere. Passing certain thresholds would also pixelize whateverSoniccharacterwe were playing, and other thresholds would completely transform us into things like a pixel squid and a computer mouse with rabbit ears. The map designs ofSonic Superstarsseem dedicated to retaining that classic feel, but also introducing a plethora of zany mechanics to make each one memorable.
Sonic Superstars Pinball Carnival Screenshots
Complementing that, of course, is the coregameplay ofSonic Superstars. While the “Gotta Go Fast” mantra is in full effect, it’s noteworthy how useful each character’s abilities were. Sonic can drop dash, Tails can fly, Knuckles can glide, and Amy can use her hammer and double jump. It means that certain obstacles or gimmicks had to be approached differently with each character, just to meet the challenge of the map. And combining this gameplay with the Chaos Emerald power-ups ensures players are able to meet each challenge however they’d like. Finding hidden coins with the Vision power-up or spamming the screen with clones with the Avatar power-up ensured that there were a plethora of options lacking in prior games.
Sonic Superstars Cyber Station Screenshots
Notably,Sonic Superstars' Chaos Emerald abilitiescame in clutch when facing bosses. One of the first ones we basically cheesed by having our clones attack it, but it’s clear how much thought went into each one. The most memorable boss fight was against a robot that would shoot out extending arms at us. We had to kite these arms, avoiding them in the process but building a jump path up to its robotic body to deal damage to them. They’d then drop bombs on us, which we’d have to repel. Each boss saw us using new mechanics, making certain platforming decisions, utilizing these power-ups in different ways, and so forth that changed up the gameplay in the best of ways.
We briefly played inco-op with aSonicrep, and the ability to drop in and drop out at any time was certainly useful, with their transition in and out going off without a hitch. Going at it with two characters adds to the chaos of the map, and for the most part, it was beneficial to the experience. The only real drawback came when one of us fell behind or got too far ahead. We were able to teleport back close together, but being off-screen with no indication of what was happening wasn’t necessarily ideal. Still, its addition added to the fun factor of the map.
AsSonic Superstarsbarrels ahead with its October release date, it’ll be interesting to see what Sonic Team and Arzest may still hide up their sleeves. More gimmicks and more maps are on the menu, and if every single one of those hits the same heights, it seems Sonic fans will be very happy.
Sonic Superstarsreleases October 17 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Game Rant was provided travel and lodging for the SEGA NYC Showcase.
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