Unlike Bayonetta 3, this is a happy 3.5 stars. I enjoyed my time with this game, and since it's been so long since the last time I can truly say that about a Sonic game, I'm pretty happy about that. There's a ton of jank and physics don't work the way they should, which is an issue that has been plaguing modern Sonic (and apparently every Sega game lately), and it's not very well polished either — the draw distance is garbage for some reason (on PC????), and PC settings themselves are fairly limited; you can't, for example, turn the FPS higher than 60. I noticed a lot of aliasing too.
However, there's a lot to enjoy with this game. It feels a lot like a Sonic game from the early 2000s but in the best way, the phenomenal soundtrack reflects that too with the inclusion of a number of extremely corny butt rock songs, but the cyberspace levels (your typical Sonic levels of this game), are more electropop, seemingly combining three of my favorite styles of Sonic music, namely Sonic Forces, Sonic Rush, and even a little bit of Sonic R. The cyberspace level design is all great too, and I'm really excited to watch ILs for this game because they're really fun. I want to thank Sonic Team for including an Arcade mode after finishing the game that lets you select levels from a menu, because I think I will be revisiting them a lot.
The individual islands were surprisingly fun for a first attempt at an open design. Some have criticized them for feeling empty, but I opine the exact opposite; there's quite a bit to do in these landscapes, although I think that they feel more haphazardly strewn about rather than being cohesive. The enemy design is done pretty well too, as rather than using a homing attack like in previous games (although this is still the case for cyberspace levels), a number require you to use different parts of Sonic's moveset which broke any monotony pretty well. The minibosses are really fun, as each variety feels like you're playing a minigame with them rather than just being a simple battle; the bosses are even better.
I have a lot to say because there's a lot to talk about. This really feels like a winning formula for Sonic that just requires some tweaking (maybe toning down the ambition a little bit too), so I'm hoping we can get some fantastic Sonic games again soon. I recommend this one.
However, there's a lot to enjoy with this game. It feels a lot like a Sonic game from the early 2000s but in the best way, the phenomenal soundtrack reflects that too with the inclusion of a number of extremely corny butt rock songs, but the cyberspace levels (your typical Sonic levels of this game), are more electropop, seemingly combining three of my favorite styles of Sonic music, namely Sonic Forces, Sonic Rush, and even a little bit of Sonic R. The cyberspace level design is all great too, and I'm really excited to watch ILs for this game because they're really fun. I want to thank Sonic Team for including an Arcade mode after finishing the game that lets you select levels from a menu, because I think I will be revisiting them a lot.
The individual islands were surprisingly fun for a first attempt at an open design. Some have criticized them for feeling empty, but I opine the exact opposite; there's quite a bit to do in these landscapes, although I think that they feel more haphazardly strewn about rather than being cohesive. The enemy design is done pretty well too, as rather than using a homing attack like in previous games (although this is still the case for cyberspace levels), a number require you to use different parts of Sonic's moveset which broke any monotony pretty well. The minibosses are really fun, as each variety feels like you're playing a minigame with them rather than just being a simple battle; the bosses are even better.
I have a lot to say because there's a lot to talk about. This really feels like a winning formula for Sonic that just requires some tweaking (maybe toning down the ambition a little bit too), so I'm hoping we can get some fantastic Sonic games again soon. I recommend this one.