Sonic Superstars‘ departure from 2D assets made me worry that any possible follow-up to 2017’s excellent Sonic Mania would run the risk of not living up to its predecessor, mainly due to Sonic’s spotty track history when it comes to his jump to polygonal graphics.
Thankfully, Sonic Superstars is an excellent game that nails the look of classic Sonic and the feel and physics of both the Genesis and Christian Whitehead’s work on the series, ultimately making for a solid first entry into a new 3D era for classic Sonic. Strangely, the weakest aspect of Sonic Superstars is its insistence on multiplayer and its included battle mode.
Not to say the multiplayer aspects of Sonic Superstars are bad, but when compared to the solid single-player experience, everything else comes off as a bit tacked on, which is odd, as both the name of the game and its marketing heavily seem to want to sell the multiplayer aspect of the game. In fact, outside of collecting rings and the 7 Chaos Emeralds, Sonic Superstars features gold coins, which act as currency to exclusively be used to unlock cosmetics for the title’s battle mode.
“Sonic Superstars is an excellent game that nails the look of classic Sonic and the feel and physics of both the Genesis and Christian Whitehead’s work on the series…”
Gold coins can be earned by simply finding them across the 11 worlds available in Sonic Superstars’ story mode. This generally boils down to finding them in hidden areas within a stage or, more commonly, within special stages that recreate the special stages from the very first Sonic the Hedgehog game, but now with added layers of complexity, replacing the Chaos Emerald at the end with several gold coins, with the amount dependent on the player’s ability.
Chaos Emeralds, instead, feature their own unique special stages, which utilize Sonic Superstars’ transition into 3D by taking advantage of depth, requiring the player to swing across points in the environment to eventually get close enough to nab the prized Emerald. Although not bad, I found these stages to be a bit too easy and not as fun to play compared to Sonic Mania’s Sonic CD-inspired special stages that mixed Saturn-inspired 3D graphics with 2D assets.
Sonic Superstars’ campaign features a mixed bag of stages that don’t quite live up to some of the bombast and cool set pieces of its former entry but get the job done. Most of the standout stages appear in the later half of Superstars‘ story mode, with my favourites being Egg Fortress and Cyberstation Zone, two areas that justify classic Sonic’s transition to 3D by doing things that otherwise would not be possible in purely flat experience.
“..for a younger audience or a family experience, Sonic Superstars’ multiplayer can be a great way to brute force the game to get through some of the stages and the boss encounters, which may be tougher alone for new or younger players.”
The co-op play in Sonic Superstars is by far the weakest element of the game, as the camera tends to focus on whoever is leading the charge, which makes the inclusion of additional players feel tacked on and clumsy. Saying that, however, for a younger audience or a family experience, Sonic Superstars’ multiplayer can be a great way to brute force the game to get through some of the stages and the boss encounters, which may be tougher alone for new or younger players.
The most significant addition to Sonic Superstars, in terms of gameplay, is its Sonic Colors inspired Wisp-like abilities, which are tied to the 7 Chaos Emeralds and unlock as the player collects them. At first, I found most of these abilities to be superfluous, outside of making it easier to find secrets within various stages. However, by the game’s end, I found myself using them more and more against some of the end-game bosses, which, when supplemented with abilities such as Charge and Bullet, grant the player the opportunity to get in a few extra hits with ease.
In terms of performance, Sonic Superstars runs mostly at a locked framerate on PlayStation 5. However, I did notice some significant but momentary slowdowns during a bridge section during the first zone of the game, in addition to some slowdowns when using the Emerald abilities during action-heavy sequences.
Speaking of the Chaos Emeralds, it is nice that they do more in the game than ever before, which, outside of granting Sonic the ability to transform into his Super form, now also includes new forms for Sonic Superstars‘ extended cast, something that hasn’t been seen since the Sonic & Knuckles days.
Outside of the co-op, Battle mode, which can be played online, features an assortment of competitive party-style mini-games that feel reminiscent of something like Fall Guys or Mario Party, which, although definitely not my favourite aspect of the game, seems like it has potential for some chaotic fun for those who like those kinds of experiences with friends.
If you’re a longtime Sonic fan like myself, then you probably remember SEGA’s earlier attempts at reenvisioning a 2D Sonic experience for modern audiences with the ill-fated release of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I. Sonic Superstars finally feels like the redemption from that game, in that it delivers a 2.5D experience that combines classic and modern elements in a way that everyone can appreciate.
