When the Deadly Six threaten to destroy his world, Sonic’s new moves & power-ups are the only way to defeat them before it’s too late! This is the first out of the three titles of Sega and Nintendo's exclusive collaboration, the others being Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric/Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal.
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I went into this game thinking "Okay, people say it's bad, though I see some potential with it and maybe I'll have a good time." But yep, it sure is Sonic Lost World, a 2013 platforming video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
At least the music is really good...
At least the music is really good...
this game makes me wanna hurt people
Last time I played Lost World was back in 2015 at a friend's house, and I can't remember much about it beyond taking a while to get adjusted to the controls. I forgot I'd gotten this as part of a Sonic Humble Bundle some years until the other day, when NightlyComet mentioned it was one of her least favourite Sonic games and I became legit curious to see for myself.
Having played it over a couple days, I can definitively say that I think it's okay.
It's prolly the most experimental of the main Sonic games. Not just in radically changing the controls and overall gameplay from the last few games, but the way it's structured. How it changes level styles every stage and leans much more into an abstract sense of place, with floating tubes, planets and other bits of geometry lightly decorated with whatever theme that level wants to have.
Locales feel like the most general "desert/forest/sea" places with not much detail, to focus on more setpiece-driven designs that can completely reject the zone's established theme on a dime (e.g. going from desert temples to a candy void full of suspended cakes, sweets and liquorice). In a way it reminded me the Master System version of Sonic 1, which also leaned into "level 1 does X, level 2 does Y" stage designs - although that game managed to retain a sense of place in the level themes.
On the one hand, I kinda admire that as an excuse to let Sonic Team stretch its legs and throw whatever at the wall to see what sticks. It also that if you don't like the stage you're on, you won't have to deal with something like it again for a good while. But that abstraction means that level locales don't really matter like they do in other Sonic titles, to the point where Sky Road doesn't have a concrete setting and is just a bunch of random stages themed after earlier worlds.
Stuff doesn't build on top of each other either thematically or mechanically, and I think that causes the game to lose something. Sonic's wearing the skin of a more typical platformer, and it's a shame that the tube stages (its one distinct contribution) only appear occasionally. I can deffo see why Lost World tends to be remembered as more mediocre, while even more derided Sonic titles feel like they're trying to hit for something that's more distinct tonally or mechanically.
I thought it accomplished its intentions well enough, though I wish it controlled better so I'd feel more encouraged to enjoy the feel of moving around and want to revisit stages to try alternate routes (when they offer that anyway). I really dig the brassy, almost ska-like vibes of the soundtrack, I appreciate how easy and straightforward the bosses are, and I like that there's a Super Guide option to skip sections if you die too many times. The dub acting gives me hives though lmao.
Having played it over a couple days, I can definitively say that I think it's okay.
It's prolly the most experimental of the main Sonic games. Not just in radically changing the controls and overall gameplay from the last few games, but the way it's structured. How it changes level styles every stage and leans much more into an abstract sense of place, with floating tubes, planets and other bits of geometry lightly decorated with whatever theme that level wants to have.
Locales feel like the most general "desert/forest/sea" places with not much detail, to focus on more setpiece-driven designs that can completely reject the zone's established theme on a dime (e.g. going from desert temples to a candy void full of suspended cakes, sweets and liquorice). In a way it reminded me the Master System version of Sonic 1, which also leaned into "level 1 does X, level 2 does Y" stage designs - although that game managed to retain a sense of place in the level themes.
On the one hand, I kinda admire that as an excuse to let Sonic Team stretch its legs and throw whatever at the wall to see what sticks. It also that if you don't like the stage you're on, you won't have to deal with something like it again for a good while. But that abstraction means that level locales don't really matter like they do in other Sonic titles, to the point where Sky Road doesn't have a concrete setting and is just a bunch of random stages themed after earlier worlds.
Stuff doesn't build on top of each other either thematically or mechanically, and I think that causes the game to lose something. Sonic's wearing the skin of a more typical platformer, and it's a shame that the tube stages (its one distinct contribution) only appear occasionally. I can deffo see why Lost World tends to be remembered as more mediocre, while even more derided Sonic titles feel like they're trying to hit for something that's more distinct tonally or mechanically.
I thought it accomplished its intentions well enough, though I wish it controlled better so I'd feel more encouraged to enjoy the feel of moving around and want to revisit stages to try alternate routes (when they offer that anyway). I really dig the brassy, almost ska-like vibes of the soundtrack, I appreciate how easy and straightforward the bosses are, and I like that there's a Super Guide option to skip sections if you die too many times. The dub acting gives me hives though lmao.
meh
The platformer ever
Idc what the haters say, this game was peak