Unveiling the Revolutionary Twist in Sonic Superstars that Fans Can't Miss!

Highlights

Sonic Superstars breaks the trend of having two to three acts per zone, opting for one-act zones with bonus stages and character-specific acts.

Sonic Superstars provides a refreshing gameplay experience with its old-fashioned 2D Sonic fun, featuring 11 stages and a range of playable characters. Despite the disappointment of some stages being used only once, the game introduces numerous new ideas and presents challenging platforming puzzles.

Sonic Superstars is a fresh take on the Classic Sonic experience, following Sonic Mania. It maintains the nostalgic gameplay while introducing entirely new elements. The story begins with Dr. Eggman, Fang the Hunter, and Trip the Sungazer teaming up to utilize powerful animals from the Northstar Islands to fuel Eggman's badnik robots. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and a new addition to Sonic Superstars, Amy Rose, must come together to foil the villains' plans and save the day, all in the familiar 2D Sonic style.

This unexpected announcement of a cooperative Sonic game is a welcome surprise. Sonic Superstars serves as a test to see if new 2D Classic Sonic adventures can coexist alongside the 3D Modern Sonic games. It appears that Arzest and Sonic Team, the developers of the game, may have a hidden objective of ushering in a new era of Classic Sonic, akin to what Sonic Frontiers has achieved for the 3D Sonic titles. Several aspects of Sonic Superstars subtly hint at this, but the most noticeable departure from tradition lies in the game's approach to zones, breaking away from the typical two to three acts per zone.

Sonic Superstars' Zones May Only Have One Act

The adventure begins innocently enough with the majority of Sonic Superstars' stages being composed of two acts. However, as players progress, it becomes apparent that certain levels incorporate a bonus third act. For example, Bridge Island Zone offers an "Act Fruit" bonus challenge based on scoring, while Lagoon City Zone features "character acts" that require players to utilize a specific character to advance through an optional extra stage. However, there is a surprising twist awaiting fans when they reach Sand Sanctuary Zone, as the stage consists solely of Act 1, deviating from the long-standing formula.

Although Superstars could have broken bigger Classic Sonic traditions, what makes the one-act zones remarkable is the introduction of fun and exciting ideas that are unfortunately limited to a single stage. Some of these stages are more unexpected than others, like Cyber Station Zone, which is depicted extensively in trailers but only appears as one lengthy act, culminating in a challenging boss fight against Dr. Eggman, despite its significant marketing presence. This may prove to be a disappointment for those eagerly anticipating these particular stages.

How The Zones in Sonic Superstars Remain Refreshing At All Points

Despite leaving behind a few ideas compared to the 2-act Zones, Sonic Superstars avoids the pitfalls of Sonic 4 and introduces numerous fresh concepts to replace those found in other stages effortlessly. Nearly every stage concludes with a boss battle, featuring either a giant animal badnik, Fang, or Dr. Eggman himself. The later stages, in particular, showcase challenging platforming puzzles and bosses to combat, although some players may find the accompanying difficulty spike slightly bothersome.

Ultimately, with 11 meticulously designed stages that cater to all four playable characters in Sonic Superstars, there is little reason for players to become bored. Each stage introduces new concepts that are easy to grasp but require practice to master. Additionally, the character acts encourage players to explore and try out different critters they may not have played as otherwise. Sonic Superstars remains a classic, enjoyable 2D Sonic experience with plenty of challenges at every turn to keep players engaged and strategizing, even if the inclusion of a few one-act Zones may catch them off guard.

Sonic Superstars is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.