Sonic Superstars Preview: Gotta Go Fast (With Friends)
Sonic the Hedgehog has been on a bit of a hot streak lately. Following the acclaimed release of Sonic Mania back in 2017, Sega followed up one of the Blue Blur's best 2D outings with Sonic Frontiers, which took the series into an open-world (or "open-zone") format for the first time ever. Now, Sonic and friends are poised to go on another adventure later this year in Sonic Superstars, which is bringing some new shakeups to the Sonic formula. And based on what I've played, there's some definite promise with what Sega is cooking up.
During Summer Game Fest, I was able to go hands-on with about 30 minutes in total of Sonic Superstars. The build I played allowed me to experience two different levels from the game and also let me choose to play as either Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, or Amy. For the most part, what I played was reminiscent of other 2D Sonic games, which isn't a bad thing whatsoever. In fact, for Superstars to have immediately felt so familiar on a mechanical level was something that I appreciated as someone who has been playing this series for over 25 years.
While the baseline running and platforming in Sonic Superstars is similar to past outings, that doesn't mean that there wasn't anything different in store. One of the newest additions that Sonic and co. can take advantage of in Superstars involves the use of various powers tied to Chaos Emeralds. After obtaining any of these Emeralds for yourself, you'll be able to use their unique abilities in certain situations. One of the Emeralds I snagged in my own demo allowed me to transform into a water-based version of Sonic and climb up waterfalls. Another let me create a number of Sonic clones that would run across the screen at once and damage everything in sight. These various Chaos Emerald powers have the chance to really set Superstars apart and could particularly be a blast to use in 4-player co-op.
Bosses also proved to be quite a lot of fun during my time with Sonic Superstars, more so than I was expecting. The handful of bosses that I got to duke it out with were mainly new robotic contraptions piloted by Dr. Eggman. Unlike other battles of this type seen in past Sonic titles, though, the way I had to defeat these foes was pretty unconventional. One Eggman boss wouldn't allow me to deal damage directly and instead forced me to turn the robot's own attacks against itself. Another then let me dodge Eggman's own explosive assaults to leave him exposed before then jumping on his machine to damage him. Sonic bosses never require much strategy to take down, but there seems to be more inventiveness on display here than what I'm used to.
Even though I generally found Sonic Superstars to be enjoyable to play, the artwork and overall design of the game is something that I'm not crazy about. I'm definitely a purist when it comes to my 2D Sonic games and the 2.5D nature of Superstars is something that I personally do not care for. That being said, this game is still one that looks pretty fantastic in action. Colors pop well on stages even when hurtling through them at high speeds and the lighting was also noticeably impressive. While I wished its visuals were more akin to the original Sonic games, what Sega has done here is still worth commendation.
The thing I remain most curious about with Sonic Superstars is its multiplayer/co-op aspect. This is something that I wasn't able to try out for myself in my own time with the game and it remains the more alluring component of Superstars based on what we've seen so far. Multiplayer is likely the element of the game that I think has the chance to hook me the most, but until I play it for myself, I'm not sure what it will be like to play a 2D Sonic title in this manner with friends.
Sonic Superstars doesn't seem like it's going to completely change the way that fans look at the Sonic the Hedgehog series, but it should be yet another solid entry in a growing list. Given that the quality of Sonic games has been on the rise in recent years, it seems like Sega has definitely found its stride with its most popular character. Hopefully, Superstars doesn't do anything that's currently unseen to set back the goodwill that has been earned of late.
Sonic Superstars doesn't yet have a release date but is set to launch at some point in fall 2023. When it does arrive, it will be playable across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
