Despite decent entries like last year’sSonic Frontiersand outright successes such as 2017’sSonic Mania, it’s still not terribly easy to get excited for a new Sonic game. The series' nearly fifteen-year-long period of struggles still hangs squarely over the Sega mascot’s head it seems, but if Sonic Team can keep up its momentum with releases like Sonic Superstars, then perhaps there’s still a chance that the blue blur will one day be able to put his troubled past well and truly behind him. Truly, if the gameplay shown at TGS 2023 is indicative of the full release, then Sonic fans do indeed have something good to look forward to next month.
To be completely honest, it was a little difficult to not walk into the Sonic Superstars demo without at least some feeling of skepticism. Sonic Team may have been able to make something many fans enjoyed in Sonic Frontiers, but the fact remained that the series' last good 2D game had been made by another team entirely. Perhaps Sonic Team itself was very aware of this fact, because it seems like it’s done everything it can to prove that it’s still got it when it comes to 2D Sonic. Yes, Sonic Superstars was indeed a blast to play, and that was largely due to a great amount of creativity expressed in the stage design and new powerups.
Sonic Team seems to have gone to great lengths to make sure that the new transformations and powerups don’t feel like mere gimmicks. Each is well-suited to the stage it’s located in, so much so that the stages even have elements implemented to take advantage of them. For example, the digital-looking Pac-Man-esque stage features at least two transformations: a squid and a mouse.
The squid can free-float in the air, while the mouse runs along tracks set in the background. Each has their own hazards to deal with like electrified moving barriers for the squid and cat-like enemies moving along the mouse’s tracks. Both have patterns to exploit, so these sections are just as much about careful observation and action as they are just trying to get through as fast as possible.
Both brought to mind features like the animal buddies from Donkey Kong Country and the transformations from Yoshi’s Island, though these were integrated more fully than in the latter game. Level features went beyond the transformations, though. This level saw Knuckles (my choice of character) getting beamed around like in the Studiopolis stage from Sonic Mania and zipping through power lines as an electric signal. There were other interesting-looking elements peppered throughout the stage too, but I was unable to make it over to them. All said though, movement in the Sonic Superstars demo was enjoyable and maintains that all-important feeling of speedy flow more often than not.
The TGS demo also offered a chance to try out one of the new bonus stages, this one a remixed version of the spinning labyrinth from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. Those who are familiar might remember it as kind of confusing and overly difficult to complete without a lot of practice, and fortunately the same isn’t true of this new version.
This version gives players an initial view of all three segments, then challenges them to not only make it through, but also manipulate them in such a way that hazards are avoid and the correct path is unlocked. Some might consider it too easy, but it nonetheless feels like a much more interesting and cohesive challenge than the original.
There are a few things that must be said before closing this out, though. First, while there’s a lot of creativity on display here, it’s not yet clear whether there’s more or less of it in Sonic Superstars as there was in Sonic Mania. The latter game still has the edge for now, but then all anyone’s seen of the former so far is a brief demo, so the jury is still out on this point.
Next, the game is visually appealing. Sonic Team has put a lot of color and flair into these visuals while still ensuring that players don’t lose their character while speeding through it all; it’s very well done. Finally, the music is catchy. Here’s hoping we’ll all be enjoying at least one or two stand out tracks from Sonic Superstars long after release.
While it still remains to be seen which end of the Sonic spectrum Sonic Superstars will ultimately fall on, chances seem good that it’ll wind up on the good end rather than the alternative. All of the elements are there, and Sonic Team seems to have poured a lot of fun and fresh ideas into its latest effort. So, if nothing else verify to give this one a try at some point.
