Over the past six years, Sonic the Hedgehog has had somewhat of a renaissance in both gaming and elsewhere in media. This all started with the magnificent return to the classic 2D side scrolling formula when Sonic Mania released back in 2017. Now, six years later Sonic and his friends return to the classic formula, albeit not fully 2D, in Sonic Superstars. While it doesn’t hit the same highs as some of its predecessors, its still a joy to return to the classic Sonic the Hedgehog formula.
Sonic Superstars opens with a beautifully animated cutscene with Sonic and his friends Tails, Amy, and Knuckles join up to take on series antagonist Dr. Eggman as well as Fang and newcomer Trip who aim to take over the Northstar Islands. Thus, in classic Sonic fashion, it’s up to our heroes to stop them and rescue all the captive little critters put to nefarious deeds. You aren’t alone in your quest either as, for the first time in the series, up to 4 players can join together and play through the game’s story.
With the Northstar Islands being a new location, all areas and levels in the game are completely brand new in Sonic Superstars. While not as visually striking as the classics or Sonic Mania’s 2D levels, the levels in Sonic Superstars are still graphically beautiful in their own right. There are some later levels that are very memorable for their aesthetic and mechanics. To support the coop aspect of the game, the levels are massive with a wide variety of different routes you can take. Some levels are so big it took upwards of 10+ minutes to complete them when deciding which way to go and wanting to see everything a level has to offer.
Speaking of wanting to discover everything in the levels, there are so many secrets and bonus levels to find hidden throughout the game. Some levels features hidden coins or fruits to collect which can be used to unlock cosmetics or additional levels respectively. The classic 50 rings at a checkpoint bonus levels return which will net players additional coins. Then, there’s the hidden stages that you’ll find which have you trying to collect the chaos emeralds. Collecting the emeralds also unlocks the game’s newest mechanic with Emerald Powers. These seven new powers allow for new types of traversal through a level or a new type of attack to get you through an enemy encounter or boss fight in a pinch. Each ability can be used throughout a level at any time and can be used until the meter runs out.These new abilities are really fun to experiment with and I can’t say how many times one got me through a tough boss fight after trying multiple times.
Aside from story mode, there are two additional modes you can play in Sonic Superstars. The first is the multiplayer Battle Mode which allows up to four players to compete instead of work together. The mode has you play through three rounds of randomly selected minigames. There are only four types of minigames, however it would have been nice if there were a few more added as the repetitiveness of playing the same ones again and again gets old pretty quick. Then, there’s the classic Time Attack mode where the goal is completing the levels as quickly as possible. As a longtime fan of classic Sonic, this was a highlight trying to get a level down to the shortest time I could.
There are a few gripes with the game though. While bring able to play with your friends is nice, it can get a bit hectic with four players wanting to go through a level. Though, that comes with any multiplayer setting. My biggest gripes though are two things specifically. The music of the 2D Sonic games is something that stands out as memorable. However, Sonic Superstars doesn’t feature the strongest soundtrack, and I can’t say any level features any memorable music. Then, with the addition of Emerald Powers, the game lacks the classic Sonic power ups. I only remember finding one Invincibility box throughout my entire playthrough of the game. While the Emerald Powers are unique, it is a bit underwhelming that the classic power ups are mostly gone.
Overall, Sonic Superstars is a delight to play. The game plays well and the levels are way bigger and feature more exploration than you would expect. While not the same direction that people wanted 2D Sonic to go, SEGA still treated the series with respect and is building a good foundation for where the 2D games can go if they don’t want to go fully classic like Sonic Mania. Whether you’re new to 2D Sonic or a longtime fan, there’s plenty to enjoy about Sonic Superstars.
Score: 8 out of 10
Reviewed on PlayStation 5