Probably the only game I've played to have successfully emulate and even evolve Sonic Adventure 2's gameplay loop in an interesting way. Elements of extreme speed, meaningful combat, vast exploration, and general cool factor all work together in singular, packed levels (mostly) instead of being split across multiple sets of levels. In that sense, the core design is really something special, especially when you take into the level of customization that comes with upgrades (both of the mobility and combat variety). It's frankly addicting, scratching a very similar itch that I get out of many of my favorite Sonic (or other movement focused) games. The final level in particular is a phenomenal set piece that is genuinely one of the most exciting platforming stages I've played in recent memory. Thematically it's pretty incredible too, even if the story had a hard time gaining any sort of interest from me until then.
However, this aggressively united design philosophy can lead to a sometimes overwhelming sense of clutter and complexity. The first few levels felt rough for me as I wasn't exactly sure how the levels were meant to be played. I'd jump into what seems like a large platforming jungle gym and be greeted with a running timer, health and power bars, slots for exploration items, a combo counter AND meter, and a whole multitude of different UI elements. It's frankly confusing, and the two different ranking systems (that can't realistically be perfected in tandem) just made my first impressions all the more awkward to say the least.
Of course though, over time I learned it's mechanics and grew to appreciate all the different factors at play as it can be extremely rewarding to blast thru these levels and aim for the (admittedly difficult) diamond ranks. I just wish it were either more condensed/simplified, or there was an elongated intro where all these elements are introduced to you separately before bringing them all together for the main course.
But as it is, I really do think that this is something special. And I do hope that this team continues to experiment and improve on what they got here, whether it be with Spark or an entirely new character.
However, this aggressively united design philosophy can lead to a sometimes overwhelming sense of clutter and complexity. The first few levels felt rough for me as I wasn't exactly sure how the levels were meant to be played. I'd jump into what seems like a large platforming jungle gym and be greeted with a running timer, health and power bars, slots for exploration items, a combo counter AND meter, and a whole multitude of different UI elements. It's frankly confusing, and the two different ranking systems (that can't realistically be perfected in tandem) just made my first impressions all the more awkward to say the least.
Of course though, over time I learned it's mechanics and grew to appreciate all the different factors at play as it can be extremely rewarding to blast thru these levels and aim for the (admittedly difficult) diamond ranks. I just wish it were either more condensed/simplified, or there was an elongated intro where all these elements are introduced to you separately before bringing them all together for the main course.
But as it is, I really do think that this is something special. And I do hope that this team continues to experiment and improve on what they got here, whether it be with Spark or an entirely new character.