This game is the first draft of a truly incredible sonic game. The pieces are all here, it's just dragged down by a few creative and technical issues.
For starters, the open world is incredible to run through. The platforming challenges are really fun and the puzzles (for the most part) aren't too bad. The combat is nothing crazy, but it's very fun and absolutely the direction they shoud go with it. The bosses and most of the mini bosses are fucking incredible and this game has, quite possibly, the best sonic soundtrack of all time.
So, what's the problem? Well, a few things. Chiefly among them being that this game is simply not finished.
Considering the game doesn't look THAAAT good, the numerous technical problems feel especially off putting. The pop-in in this game is so ridiculously bad that I feel like I'm playing Sword and Shield again. But at least in that game it doesn't disrupt gameplay. Between that and both a ton of jank in the camera and combat, it definitely feels rough.
But that's not all. While the cyberspace levels were mostly really good, they take the level layouts straight from the previous 4 boost games. And some of the levels they took from are incredibly baffling. Like, why did you take the fucking drift level from the garbage Unleashed DLC?
Similar to the cyberspace levels, while the story is mostly pretty good and most certainly the best one since Black Knight, I think that there are definitely some issues with it. Without going into spoilers, i think the ending is very rushed and doesn't really feel all to satisfying.
And finally, on a more specific and non-spoilery level, this game would have gotten an 8 up to this point, if Island 3 wasn't as frustrating as it is. It's both unfun to traverse, has the worst boss in the game, and has multiple, garbage, unskippable sequences that are the low points of the whole game.
It may sound like I hate this game from this review, but try to remember that i don't. It's just that the bad stuff sticks to this game with me more because they were SO FUCKING CLOSE. This game is already incredibly fun, has a pretty good story, an excellent soundtrack, and some truly unforgettable setpiece encounters. If they just had another year of development to iron out the rough edges of their game, this could have been the best sonic game of all time.
For now though, it is the beginning of what could eventually be the best sonic game of all time. I just hope they stick with this formula throughout.
For starters, the open world is incredible to run through. The platforming challenges are really fun and the puzzles (for the most part) aren't too bad. The combat is nothing crazy, but it's very fun and absolutely the direction they shoud go with it. The bosses and most of the mini bosses are fucking incredible and this game has, quite possibly, the best sonic soundtrack of all time.
So, what's the problem? Well, a few things. Chiefly among them being that this game is simply not finished.
Considering the game doesn't look THAAAT good, the numerous technical problems feel especially off putting. The pop-in in this game is so ridiculously bad that I feel like I'm playing Sword and Shield again. But at least in that game it doesn't disrupt gameplay. Between that and both a ton of jank in the camera and combat, it definitely feels rough.
But that's not all. While the cyberspace levels were mostly really good, they take the level layouts straight from the previous 4 boost games. And some of the levels they took from are incredibly baffling. Like, why did you take the fucking drift level from the garbage Unleashed DLC?
Similar to the cyberspace levels, while the story is mostly pretty good and most certainly the best one since Black Knight, I think that there are definitely some issues with it. Without going into spoilers, i think the ending is very rushed and doesn't really feel all to satisfying.
And finally, on a more specific and non-spoilery level, this game would have gotten an 8 up to this point, if Island 3 wasn't as frustrating as it is. It's both unfun to traverse, has the worst boss in the game, and has multiple, garbage, unskippable sequences that are the low points of the whole game.
It may sound like I hate this game from this review, but try to remember that i don't. It's just that the bad stuff sticks to this game with me more because they were SO FUCKING CLOSE. This game is already incredibly fun, has a pretty good story, an excellent soundtrack, and some truly unforgettable setpiece encounters. If they just had another year of development to iron out the rough edges of their game, this could have been the best sonic game of all time.
For now though, it is the beginning of what could eventually be the best sonic game of all time. I just hope they stick with this formula throughout.