PLATFORM: PC, PS4/5, SWITCH, XBOX ONE/SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Returning for another 2D side-scrolling romp, Sonic finds himself on the Northstar Islands – a brand new setting for the series – where Doctor Eggman is attempting to kidnap all the poor little animals in order to enlist them into his army. Along with his pals Tails, Knuckles and Amy, Sonic travels through a dozen locations across the islands en route to the final showdown with evil Eggman.
Made with the original 1990s Sonic trilogy in mind, developers Arzest – headed by Sonic’s original designer, Naoto Ohshima – sought to recreate the thrills of those early years while bringing the gameplay into the modern era with a few new additions. Sonic Superstars’ levels are all set in brand new locations, but older players are likely to spot plenty of references to Sonic’s past and the music and sound effects very much hark back to old-school era, giving a huge blast of nostalgia for those of us who were around in the good old days. The modern twists mostly come in the form of gameplay mechanics – each of the four playable characters has their own unique ability, with Emerald Powers – special powers that are awarded each time you find a Chaos Emerald – giving even more ways to attack foes and traverse the game’s labyrinthine levels. Emerald Powers allow each character to swim easily underwater, grow vines to access unreachable areas, find hidden paths, slow down time, and much more besides, with even more abilities being revealed after all of the emeralds have been found. Elsewhere, levels are much larger than before, and Sonic moves slightly slower than he used to, giving a gentle nudge towards encouraging exploration to see what secrets you might be able to uncover.
The main story is likely to take around 4 or 5 hours to complete, but it’s well worth going through it with each of the different characters just to see how each of them is able to interact with the game’s levels. There’s also a surprise waiting at the end of your first playthrough which is likely to extend your playtime a bit further. A couple of extra modes are available too – Battle Mode, which allows up to eight players to take part in a handful of minigames, and Time Attack, where four players compete to finish a given level in the fastest time. Overall, Sonic Superstars is an excellent return to form for the series that fans both new and old should be able to get a decent amount of fun from.
