It's a game of high highs, but low lows.

"Day good, Night bad" has been said ad nauseam, because it's true. The daytime stages are fast-paced thrills, requiring precise reflexes to keep moving. When you fail in one of these stages, it's generally because of your own error, and you learn something from it. To me, they're what Sonic is all about. Speedy gameplay, diverting routes that reward masterful platforming, and wonderful setpieces. They're just plain fun to blast through. My complaints for the day stages are minimal, and boil down to them sometimes overusing QTEs. Meanwhile, the Werehog stages kinda suck. They're full of repetitive brawls, tedious tightrope sections, boring backtracking, and so on. They really kill the pacing of the game, as does returning to them because you missed a few medals. They're not all bad, but I just can't say this is what I'm playing the game for. They really hinder the sense of progression, which is a shame.

I did at least like the boss fights. All of them were memorable, and Dark Gaia was a great sendoff to the game.

Where the game truly shines is in its presentation. I love the globetrotting nature of the game, exploring the vast array of communities that you come across. The music never misses, and the game looks and runs stunningly on Xbox Series X|S as well. I was also fond of the cutscenes. You can tell a lot of love was put into these aspects of the game, so I just wish it was this consistently fun to actually play.

I don't play Sonic games for the story. That being said, it was pretty inoffensive. It added some interesting lore to Sonic's world, which is a big plus. I enjoyed seeing the friendship between Sonic and Chip flourish too. I wish the other characters didn't get so sidelined, but oh well. Everything else was fine; I liked how Sonic was motivated by a personal goal as well as by saving the planet.

All in all, fun game, but some questionable design choices hold it back, sadly. 7/10.

"alright lads, we have a problem. we've added up all the levels we've made for this game and found out it's only actually like 40 minutes of playtime"
"damn, we need something quick and easy to stretch this out"
"well the hack and slash genre is doing pretty well these days thanks to God of War"
"alright, cool, so we're gonna do really low budget hack and slash levels with only, like, 5 enemies. it'll be a cinch, make up some new playable character for this game like we always do and have them do it"
"but sir... if we do that people are only gonna play as Sonic for like 20% of the game"
"you're right... ok then we'll just have Sonic do it"
"we're gonna give him, like, a weapon?"
"no that'd make too much sense, just have him punch people"
"but Sonic's, like, really short and has noodle arms, he can't really punch a guy"
"oh yeah... ok have him turn into like a werewolf... and uh... give him stretching arms? So he can be like Spider-Man and Kratos? Yeah that sounds good. Get to work, I want this done by the end of the year"

Okay, time to share my first controversial opinion!

This game is great! A masterpiece even! Yeah, back then, Sonic Unleashed wasn't exactly well received and was even mocked for the thing I will also share my controversial opinion on. But you know what? This game was the first example to teach me to always form my own opinion no matter how opposing every other opinion out there will be.
And for me, this game rocks. In fact, despite Sonic Adventure 2 meaning the most to me, Sonic Unleashed is my favorite Sonic game PERIOD.

Coming after the dawns of darkness known as Sonic 06 and The Secret Rings, Sonic Unleashed had a lot to live up to since I almost quit the franchise. And like many others during the game's promotion, I was apprehensive and uncertain of what it was going for. In fact, I'll go ahead and admit that I hated the Werehog because, on paper, it sounded too ridiculous. But I knew that my true judgment would be after I gave the game a play myself, so I did and...
OH, MAN. I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT.
After my first playthrough, I realized that I was an ignorant fool and decided that no matter what, Sonic would be a series that I'll always be a fan of. But anyway, what's there to like about this game?

First, the gameplay. To this day, there has been no other Sonic game to match the speed and exhilaration Unleashed has. It needs to be played to be believed and that's what makes the Day Stages the most fun and thrilling experience I've ever had with Sonic. They also give the game reasonable difficulty since they rely on fast reactions and reflexes. It may not be for everyone, but it's certainly for me.
Also, side note: Eggmanland is the best Final Stage in the series AND one of the best Final Stages in gaming. Yes, it does take an hour to complete for most people, but the challenge it provides is just... brilliant. Call me sadistic, but I LOVE IT.
Then, we have the Night Stages, aka the Werehog. The big old controversy of this game. Now, I do understand why it was disliked. It deviated from the core gameplay Sonic was known for and made you flip-flop between the two styles for the entire game. I do get it! However, I've always been a forgiving person and one to give anything a chance, so after giving the Werehog one, I found it pretty fun! The brawler/beat 'em up gameplay it centered around was already a genre I had relatively decent experience with, so it wasn't a completely alienating thing.

Second, the music. Well, honestly, I don't need to go in-depth about it because we all know that no matter what, the soundtrack is going to slap, and Unleashed's music slaps HARD. The way it utilizes so many different instruments instead of mainly relying on the guitar and represents the various cultures the Stages are based on is nothing short of masterful and beautiful. It's honestly my 3rd favorite Sonic soundtrack, right behind Sonic Adventure 2 which sits behind... uh. Well, I'll mention it another time. ;)

Third, the graphics. Now I may be alone in this considering the fact that this game is 15 YEARS OLD (wow, where has the time gone, I miss my childhood;-;) and it came out on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but I think Unleashed has the best art direction, animations, and graphics in the series. Yes, I do think they're that good. The mix of beautiful locales with the cartoony look of the characters just works so well. And for a 7th gen game, it's pretty impressive.

And finally, the story. Holy mother of Gaia, Unleashed's story is perfect. It expertly blends adventure, action, comedy, heart, and tragedy seamlessly, giving what I believe to be Sonic's greatest and most memorable adventure. But the story also hits close to home as Unleashed came out when I was moving out of my first home and Sonic living his life after Chip's sacrifice reminded me of me living my life after leaving my friends and the life I knew.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get cheesy in this.

Honestly, the only flaws this game has are...
1) The fact that you have to collect so many Sun and Moon Medals to unlock the Stages. I mean, what's the point? We have to travel across the entire world to restore it, so the urgency is extremely high. It's just kind of a pacebreaker.
2) The framerate can drop during exciting moments, most notably, the Adabat Day Stage. Dear Gaia, every time I replay that stage, the framerate drop makes me cringe.
3) This last problem isn't actually about the game itself, but rather with the soundtrack. WHY THE HELL IS THE MAIN THEME, ENDLESS POSSIBILITY, NOT INCLUDED IN THE DIGITAL RELEASE OF THE SOUNDTRACK? SERIOUSLY, THAT SONG IS SO ICONIC AND BELOVED, AND YET, IT WASN'T PUT IN FOR THE DIGITAL PLATFORMS. WHY.

Okay, I think I've gone on about this game long enough. To summarize, I love this game. Go play it.

See you on the next game review I write!

Note: To make my replay of this game more comfortable, I decided to install 2 major mods for the game that will help improve my experience of the game overall.

No Medal Requirements - Basically removes any need to collect any medals to unlock any stages and progress the game, cutting any unnecessary backtracking the game had to nothing.

Battle Music Fix - Removes the trigger for the Werehog battle music to play whenever enemies are fought, purely there to make sure I don't crazy listening to the song again and again and can enjoy the actual stage music.

With that out of the way, I was pleasantly surprised about how much I enjoyed this way more compared to my previous playthrough back in 2020, with things feeling a lot more consistent than I remembered and overall having a better time with the game, though it is still not perfect.

Day Time Stages:
- While I still felt the control and gameplay for the 3D Boost gameplay felt more refined in Colors and especially Generations, I still had a pretty good time with them.
- I didn't have issues with many of the daytime stages, and what issues I had mainly came down to either very minor difficulty spikes or platforming that didn't work due to the game's slippery controls when trying slowly platform in the daytime stages (Though it was only bad in Chun-Nan and Adabat where they were the most prevalent)
- Finally, I felt that the upgrades for Day Sonic, while a bit noticeable especially in the Ring meter upgrades, didn't feel quite as drastic as the Werehog upgrades, which I'll get into shortly.

Night Time Stages:
- This was the part of the game I was most curious about when replaying it, mainly since I've played so many proper action games when I last played Unleashed (Devil May Cry series, Bayonetta 1, Metal Gear Rising, Transformers Devastations) that I wondered if the Werehog sections still hold up or aged poorly.
- First of all, I'm happy to report that I still got plenty of enjoyment from the level design, with its varied locations, puzzles, and the game rewarding you for exploring around, I especially like it more now since I didn't feel like the game didn't throw as many cheap tricks as I remembered before (Though Chun-nan and Holoska were minor exceptions to this).
- More importantly, though, I ended up enjoying the Werehog gameplay just as much if not slightly more than the Day Time gameplay. While the Werehog does start a bit unimpressive with having a very limited movelist, if you take the time to upgrade his moveset (And by that, I mean taking advantage of an exploit with the Wandering Salesman that allows you to gain infinite money and buy a shit ton of exp food which I did) then the Werehog ends up becoming way more fun to use. There are so many cool moves and combinations to use on the character that it made me wish there was an entire game dedicated to this playstyle (Which will probably never happen but that's beside the point).

Overall, while I still don't think it deserves the hidden masterpiece status that so many Sonic fans have claimed it to be, I still think it's a pretty great game on its own. I'm still able to enjoy the simple yet great story, its incredible worldbuilding, great-looking graphics, and amazing music along with being much more appreciative of both of its gameplay styles, even if the game needed some refining on its level design and progression with the sun and moon medals.

Also, Eggmanland isn't that hard, you all just need to get good.

This has the perfect recipe to be my favorite sonic game but I feel like it stumbled with just too many elements to be ignored.

Medal hunting is an absolute pace breaker, some werehog sections drag on and on, and the final chunk of the game from eggmanland onward was incredibly frustrating.

That said, I absolutely love so much about this game. Everything from its world design, soundtrack, vibe; it all works so well for me. Jason Griffith’s performance in this game is probably my favorite for Sonic in general.

Daytime stages are still some of the best bits of gameplay in the entire series, and Endless Possibility is my favorite vocal track in the series.

Lots of good, bit of bad, solid all around.

With having an Xbox Series X/S and now having to play the game that isn't played either on a 360 or through emulation, I have been playing the game on and off for a few days and I gotta say this, I love it so much!

Both the daytime stages and night time stages are fun, the Werehog's gameplay is actually quite entertaining to play through, guessing it's because I love beat 'em ups games like Devil May Cry and Hi-Fi Rush for example and the bonding between both Sonic and Chip is really wholesome!

Also for the level Eggmanland, the level isn't that hard, but it's both long and challenging, but I had fun with it.

Though there can be problems with the game because of course it happens to any Sonic games, like the quick time events, like good god can you give me more time to breath so that I can press the buttons and not even making a mistake on pressing the button to fully react.

Em um certo momento do game, presumia que seria mais um daqueles q tinha criado uma expectativa e teria perdido com o tempo, mas com insistência, o final compensa todo sentimento de rancor q tinha com o game.

Consegue ter personagens ok e até pouco carismáticos, as fases diurnos, pra mim, são as fases que dão mais emoção e divertem pela gameplay e soundtrack. Já as fases noturnas achei meh, com sistema hack'n slash e tem uns inimigos irritantes que podem atrapalhar um pouco da experiência, mas não completamente, fora alguns erros que acontece como o botão de pular não responder, às vezes. O que me faz ainda ter esse sentimento era ter que coletar Sun & Moon medals pra desbloquear as fases, sério, tinha que ficar repetindo umas fases (maioria noturna) pra coletar cada uma delas com guia no YouTube, isso me fazia ficar cansado rapidamente e já sair dps de coletar algumas poucas.

Agora o final foi que me faz contrariar a maior parte do meu desgosto que tinha desse jogo, a batalha final contra Eggman e Dark Gala até em sua forma final com a luta do Super Sonic contra o bixo é mto foda, dps é só alegria qnd zera pelas corridas que tem que fazer com um tempo bem apertado.

No geral, eu não ruim mas não 100% excelente por falhas, bugs e os coletáveis que creio q não combinam com o game, mas há diferença bem notável comparado à outros games do Sonic lançados até então, por isso, acho ótimo jogar pela história e diferenças de gameplay. 👍👍

Sonic Unleashed: Hedgehog Meets Hack 'n Slash Fun

Hack 'n Slash Mechanic with Sonic the Werehog: Who would've thought that the fastest blue hedgehog could get even cooler? The hack 'n slash mechanic with Sonic the Werehog is an unexpectedly awesome addition, making battles much more thrilling. It's like Sonic hit the martial arts gym!

Magnificent Soundtrack: The soundtrack is an absolute gem. Each piece of music fits perfectly with the environment you're in, taking the experience to a whole new level. Get ready to have these tunes stuck in your head for days.

Best Opening Cutscene of the PS2 Generation: The opening cutscene is simply spectacular. It sets the tone for the epic adventure that lies ahead and makes you want to hit the start button again and again.



PT-BR

Sonic Unleashed: Hedgehog Meets Hack 'n Slash Fun

Mecânica de Hack 'n Slash com o Sonic Lobo: Quem poderia imaginar que o ouriço azul mais rápido poderia ficar ainda mais legal? A mecânica de hack 'n slash com o Sonic Lobo é uma adição inesperadamente incrível, tornando as batalhas muito mais emocionantes. É como se Sonic tivesse ido para a academia de artes marciais!

Trilha Sonora Magnífica: A trilha sonora é uma verdadeira pérola. Cada música se encaixa perfeitamente com o ambiente em que você está, elevando a experiência a um nível totalmente novo. Prepare-se para ficar com as músicas na cabeça por dias.

Melhor Cutscene de Abertura da Geração PS2: A cutscene de abertura é simplesmente espetacular. Ela define o tom para a aventura épica que está por vir e ainda faz você querer apertar o botão de iniciar novamente e de novo.

Centenas criticarão tua otimização atroz.
Milhares criticarão tuas fases noturnas.
Milhões criticarão teu sistema de progressão escabroso.


E eu? Bem, eu te amarei incondicionalmente.
MASTERPIECE ABSOLUTA!

Please don't play this game on the Wii, please, i am begging, i will pay you, i will pay you not to play this on the wii wait come back please-

I don't get why people say this game is bad. (did they play the wii version? lol) Like- honestly- the werehog isn't that bad, guys, okay, come on, he's just a little tired, okay, he just needs a good night sleep, look at him, he's so tired he's been up all night--

Lets start with the flaws of the game. And it has to do with the werehog. Okay- not ALL of the werehog, like I said, I think he's good. But- it was something new and risky and not the tried and true format. Of course it's going to have some flaws.

The levels are too long. Sometimes agonizingly so. And there's too much combat. And- I mean- I like the combat? There's just not a lot of enemy variety. Also, goddamn, the music- please, for the love of god, someone turn it off or at least give some variety for that too, oh my god-

Also, I don't like the humans. I don't know- I've never liked humans in Sonic. Eggman is the only valid one. Everyone else can go home now, goodbye-

The pacing was strange too. And we'll get more into that with the story. Which is a pro of the game- even if it's not perfect. So lets move onto the good shit.

The day time stages are perfect. Chefs kiss. The best 3D has ever played. Bring it back, Sega. And lets also talk about the world design. Absolutely LOVE the world, especially the hub worlds. It's something that isn't present in the Wii version, and it definitely hurts the game for it. The hub worlds add a level of immersion that you need for this game. This is a game that glamorizes travel, after all! And FOOD. Love the food. And a certain someone comments on the food everytime he eats it.

Honestly, I thought I wasn't going to like Chip. I don't typically like sidekick-y characters like him. (I don't know- maybe it's just his English voice, it's just grating to the ears a little--) Anyway, Chip is great. He gets better, trust me. And I really miss him.

Sonic and Chip's friendship through the game are the highlight for me. This story feels so short- and I think that's the worst part of it. There's these little animated shorts that are extras you can find that aren't actual cutscenes in the game. Heck- they also made a whole Halloween inspired short with them too. And it adds a feeling of... longevity. It makes the journey feel longer than it actual was, in the game. In fact- I'm certain the writers intended to imply that Sonic and Chip traveled together for a lot longer than they actually did. The pacing of the game just would've been better if we actually got to see that. Those little moments. Just pad it on for a little bit more. It'll make it better, I promise.

In a way, I feel like the developers were trying to convey that with the werehog. Take in the sights. Take things slow. Have a nice time with it. If the werehog was removed from this game, it would lose something, I think. You need those slow times. It can't all just be go, go, go.

(...Just not that slow. Really, Sega, 30 minute levels? Calm down-)

Anyway, this is one of the better Sonic games. Definitely give it a try, you might be pleasantly surprised.

The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is one I wish I liked more than I do. It’s always taking big swings, always reinventing itself and trying something new, and that’s something worth applauding in a AAA landscape that seems more and more content to keep regurgitating the same ideas and expecting you to pay ever more money for it. I just find it hard to appreciate Sonic’s constant innovation when it so rarely coalesces into anything I can find enjoyable. The Werehog stages in this game just aren’t fun. They’re slow, the battle theme is awful, the combat run-of-the-mill. They single-handedly ruin what could’ve been a decent game, because everything else about Sonic Unleashed is fine.

Sonic Unleashed is a childhood game of mine that I will forever love no matter what. I stand by this game having the best 3D levels in any Sonic game by far. The music is absolutely wonderful. I love the vibes of the 2000's Sonic story. And yeah idc, Wearhog Sonic is fucking cool.

With that said, this replay might have convinced me that this is no longer my favorite 3D Sonic game. The medal collecting was a bit of an unnecessary grind that I hate every time I play this game. Werehog, while I don't think it is nearly as bad as people thing, is a little tedious with how long some of the levels end up being. And GOD is Eggman Land such an unfun final level. With all that said, this game has some of the highest highs of the entire series. While I do think Generations is the better 3D Sonic overall, this game reaches higher highs than Generations, and will forever hold a special place in my heart. I love this game despite its flaws.

This is the first time I've played this game in almost 15 years.

I loved this game as a kid, it was one of my favorite Sonic titles, right alongside the Adventure games. Sadly over the years, I've seen more and more people say this game isn't great. Constant video essays, twitter debates, and discussions about this being yet another mediocre entry to the series, with confusing ideas and bad execution. I was worried that upon returning to it, my opinion would shift, that the passage of time would have caused me to view this game as lesser.

I was wrong. Sonic Unleashed is not only underrated, I believe it to be one of the best games in the series. I think everything this game does is great.

The daytime levels are a blast of pure dopamine and speed. They are methodically designed and challenging, highly replayable and memorable, and despite being the first instance of the Boost format of 3D Sonic, it EASILY does it the best.

The nighttime levels are constantly called the worst part of the game, labeled as dull and boring, and I couldn't disagree more. Its an excellent change of pace. The combat is extremely simple, but fun and flashy. The slower more precise platforming is a great refresher after the blinding speed of the day stages. The boss fights are all fun too, minus maybe one or two.

The story is also heartwarming and easily enjoyed. The characters are charming and its a wonderful globe trotting adventure with Sonic and newcomer Chip, the latter garnering way more hatred than he ever deserved. It all leads to a bombastic final level and ending, extremely challenging, fun, and exciting.

I will never ever understand the hate this game receives. Does it have it's issues? Of course it does, the boost and homing attack both being the same button sucks, some of the bosses are a little boring, the framerate chugs in many levels, the camera is wonky, but I don't think ANY of that negates what is otherwise a truly special experience.

Sonic Unleashed deserves to be played, it deserves to be remembered, and it deserves far more than what people have given it since it's release.