This was one of the free games of the month on PS Plus. That’s about the only reason I gave it a try. This game seemed to be marketed more towards those hardcore Sonic fans with the ability to add your own self-insert fanfic furry into the game.
It’s kind of a fun comparison to make between Sonic Forces and Sonic Mania. This game is more for the new Sonic fans where Sonic Mania was built by fans for the fans of the Sega Genesis versions. I definitely enjoyed the older style of gameplay in Sonic Mania, and if I remember correctly most everyone else did too, as it sold much better.
The gameplay here is blink and you’ll miss it. Most of the levels are doing good to last a minute and it feels like you’re just getting started when the end gate appears. Save for a boss or two and the final few levels, they aren’t very challenging. It’s not hard to stay on the track and most of your input is just pushing forward on the analog stick. There is a little bit of variation where more skilled players can find alternate routes through the level, usually by using the homing jump ability. There are a few levels where you play as classic Sonic and they are laid out as such. These are some of the better levels as they seem to last a bit longer and there’s more of a platforming challenge here. The levels where you play as your custom furry are relatively easy. You get a powerful flamethrower to start with that can lay waste to any enemy you encounter. Honestly most of the gameplay seems to consist of watching cool things happen like swinging across giant chasms or running around a big loop. There’s also not a lot of levels. I beat this whole game in about 4 hours.
The world design is neat enough. They sort of did a mash-up on classic levels, Green Hills is now mixed with a sandy desert, Chemical Plant has a little Oil Ocean in there, and Casino World is now in a rainforest. Again, they are neat aesthetics. Heck, one boss battle is on the back of a giant snake. The graphics aren’t anything to scoff at either. It’s kinda weird seeing Sonic’s gloves being fully textured with a cloth like fabric. Getting screenshots for this game was a bear. One of my pet peeves, this game doesn’t pause the world when you hit the screenshot button, making it hard to get good shots and not die. This game also gets carried away with restricting screenshots in cutscenes. I’ve had a few other games have certain pivotal cutscenes be restricted from screenshotting, but this game thinks every cutscene is pivotal cause you can’t get any good screenshots of them, and that stinks for a game with a customizable player character.
The music is also a bit of an interesting oddity. They really like using songs with lyrics for background tracks, which works cause most levels last as long as an average pop tune. Some of them are a little catchy. The classic Sonic levels have instrumental backing tracks. It was also a neat feature that classic Sonic used the old school sound effects for his jumps and dashes.
One of the big selling points of this game is the ability to create your own Sonic animal. Depending on what type of animal you pick you get different abilities, which was a neat touch. I don’t have any OC Sonic character, so my custom animal ended up looking like Deputy Dog in a Mission Impossible jumpsuit. You unlock new customization options as you play through levels and complete certain challenges. By the end of the game you have a decent selection of clothing to play animal dress-up with. Once you beat the game you also unlock the ability to create a second custom animal. So if you like playing around with customization options you get ample opportunity to
Then there’s the story… I mean, yep. It’s weird and a little cringey, to use that overused word. You have these Muppet-like characters running a post-apocalyptic military talking about everything with total seriousness. They do have attempts at humor, but calling them attempts is being polite. Maybe it would’nt’ve hurt the developers to take a step back and realize they are making a game about a cartoony hedgehog that runs quick. The dialogue is all dry and trying to be deep. The only time it feels a little tongue in cheek is in regards to Shadow, who is meant to be the ‘edgy’ character. The over seriousness makes the whole game unfun to play. The first act shows Sonic “dying” and Tails goes mental, but Sonic is rescued the very next level, Tails stays shell shocked though. Also, when did Robotnik get renamed Eggman, never figured that out.
All in all, if you get this game free from PS Plus, it can be knocked out in an evening if you are starved of something to play. If you are a diehard Sonic fan, I’m sorry, and I reckon you’d be the audience for this game. I enjoy the greater challenge of Sonic Mania, even if it does raise my blood pressure.
