Sonic Superstars – Review In Progress

Sonic Superstars sprints to stores next week, and while I’ve wrapped up the main adventure and partaken in the other activities, such as Battle Mode, one big highlight eludes my evaluation: co-op. 

One of Superstars’ biggest selling points is to take down Eggman with up to three other players. Unfortunately, local co-op play is the only option. Living alone and working remotely makes couch co-op a tricky proposition, and the only way for me to test this is by using the PS5’s Share Play feature with another editor, but that feature won’t work until the game launches next Tuesday. Until I can get a sense of what it’s like to take down badniks with another person, my general thoughts on Sonic Superstars is that if you’re looking for a Genesis-era throwback, Sonic Team and Arzest have nailed it – for better and worse. 

Sonic’s adventures feel exactly the same when you control him and his friends. Sonic was my favorite game as a Genesis kid. I can still remember the childhood feel of platforming. Amy is the most enjoyable character to play due to her double-jumping ability and hammer which destroys enemy. You can relax if you thought Superstars would be a copy of Sonic 4. This means that old irritations, like the slow regaining of running speed and inability to stop suddenly, are still present. Superstars brings back all the old Sonic platforming quirks. 

Superstars’ presentation looks great, and the new zones showcase this with vibrant colors and layers of detail. Although the level design has some fun new platforming twists, it also throws a ton of well-placed, almost mean-spirited hazards that, due to the speedy nature of 2D Sonic, you often won’t – or can’t – anticipate until it’s too late. You can expect to have a great time flying along a rollercoaster sequence, only to be abruptly stopped by a spike pit you didn’t see coming or an enemy. I probably uttered the phrase, “How would I have known…?” more than any other, even after relying on traditional cautionary measures, like spin-balling everywhere to plow through potential incoming threats. The series has used this trial-and error design for years (and you now have an unlimited number of lives). But Superstars brings it to the forefront with its modern sensibilities.

The new Emerald Powers, abilities gained from finding Chaos Emeralds, can be helpful, but I didn’t feel compelled to use them as often as I hoped. Bullet is a power that rockets characters into a specific direction. Avatar covers the screen in multiple versions of the user. Outside of the game nudging players to use an Emerald Power in a certain zone (such as getting notifications of concealed hidden rings or platforms that the Vision power can uncover), I often forgot I had them due to the levels neither requiring them nor being challenging enough to turn to. It was enough to overcome obstacles with some perfectly timed spin-dashes or jumps. Plus, some powers just aren’t applicable in certain levels, such as one that only lets you climb waterfalls. The Emerald Powers aren’t bad and don’t hurt the experience, but I wish they felt more integral and less of an afterthought.

It’s the soundtrack that is my biggest disappointment. Music is only serviceable, but not particularly memorable. From Sonic 2 to Sonic Mania, the 2D entries have a legacy of providing toe-tapping earworms, but Superstars doesn’t stack up to the best the series has offered in the past. 

Battle Mode is uninteresting and shallow outside of the main story. Multiple players are pitted against each other in minigame rounds. The Battle Mode is not for me. After playing a couple of rounds with my partner, it’s just too boring. Unfortunately, a lot of customization depends on the game. In this mode you can customize a robot avatar by spending special coins you have collected during the Campaign and Battle Mode. It includes new heads, limbs and color schemes. It takes away some of the fun of earning them by completing Sonic 1’s special stages. 

Sonic Superstars delivers a good time, and it manages to provide a nostalgia experience that is modernized. I had a fun time running through it despite its old-school frustrations, and I’m curious to see how the action holds up with other people running alongside me. I’ll be playing around with it some more until release, so keep an eye on the site for my full review once Sonic Superstars arrives on October 17.