I was, admittedly, not very excited for this game when it was announced. Besides Sonic Mania, which I did not touch until years after release, I had not been keeping up with Sonic games in about a decade or so. As more of the game was shown off, I was intrigued. Slowly, I warmed up to it. I wasn't expecting a masterpiece, but I was cautiously optimistic that it would at least be a fun time. It felt good to be even mildly looking forward to a Sonic release. It had been a long time.
I'm happy to say that the game lived up to my optimistic wishes. I had a lot of fun with this one. It feels really good to just run around big environments as Sonic. The 'open world', while not the most complex or in-depth, offers some bursts of fun with puzzles, grind rails, and little platforming sections that break up what might otherwise be monotonous, and I think that's a big strength of this game. Bored of platforming in the open world? Go tackle a Cyberspace level, and get some keys. Looking for something less high octane? Go fishing. Ready for more excitement? There's an open world boss monster over there to kill. All of these different systems always kept me engaged in the game, in some form or another. Sure, some enemies might be less fun to fight than others, not all Cyberspace levels are created equal, but just the fact that you can change up what you want to do on a whim really did a lot for keeping me having fun. It helps that the core experience was fun for me; I really enjoy the feel of running in this game, the combat system was a nice addition, and the boss fights are, for the most part, fantastic. Easily some of my favorites in the series.
The game is not perfect, by any means. Some islands are definitely better than others, some of the puzzles/minigames to progress the story are mediocre, and the story, while I know many people liked it, did nothing for me. I didn't actively dislike it, but it was almost a non-factor for me in my opinion of the game. No strong feelings one way or another. The game does also have some visual rendering issues on the Switch. They did not personally bother me, and I never experienced any kind of detrimental performance issues, but they are nonetheless present.
All things considered though, I'm really glad I got this game. It has helped spark my interest in a new generation of Sonic games, and I truly think that if the development team takes this game as a base, build on its strengths while trimming away the weak points, they'll have something really special on their hands. On a more personal note, this game has reignited enjoyment for a character and franchise that meant so much to me growing up, making me remember how cool it felt to rush through the streets of City Escape for the first time, or battle against Perfect Chaos in the flooded ruins of Station Square, and for that I'm thankful.
I'm happy to say that the game lived up to my optimistic wishes. I had a lot of fun with this one. It feels really good to just run around big environments as Sonic. The 'open world', while not the most complex or in-depth, offers some bursts of fun with puzzles, grind rails, and little platforming sections that break up what might otherwise be monotonous, and I think that's a big strength of this game. Bored of platforming in the open world? Go tackle a Cyberspace level, and get some keys. Looking for something less high octane? Go fishing. Ready for more excitement? There's an open world boss monster over there to kill. All of these different systems always kept me engaged in the game, in some form or another. Sure, some enemies might be less fun to fight than others, not all Cyberspace levels are created equal, but just the fact that you can change up what you want to do on a whim really did a lot for keeping me having fun. It helps that the core experience was fun for me; I really enjoy the feel of running in this game, the combat system was a nice addition, and the boss fights are, for the most part, fantastic. Easily some of my favorites in the series.
The game is not perfect, by any means. Some islands are definitely better than others, some of the puzzles/minigames to progress the story are mediocre, and the story, while I know many people liked it, did nothing for me. I didn't actively dislike it, but it was almost a non-factor for me in my opinion of the game. No strong feelings one way or another. The game does also have some visual rendering issues on the Switch. They did not personally bother me, and I never experienced any kind of detrimental performance issues, but they are nonetheless present.
All things considered though, I'm really glad I got this game. It has helped spark my interest in a new generation of Sonic games, and I truly think that if the development team takes this game as a base, build on its strengths while trimming away the weak points, they'll have something really special on their hands. On a more personal note, this game has reignited enjoyment for a character and franchise that meant so much to me growing up, making me remember how cool it felt to rush through the streets of City Escape for the first time, or battle against Perfect Chaos in the flooded ruins of Station Square, and for that I'm thankful.