Sonic Superstars review: Going fast, most of the time

Sonic Superstars is a game I’m pretty familiar with — before this review session, I had access to it during the SEGA Summer Festival preview. I loved the game, so I was all too glad to go hands-on with it at home, on my PS5. While I think it still suffers from issues plaguing all 2D Sonic games, it’s easily my favorite 2D Sonic over the last few years. It’s no “Sonic Mania,” but it’s far and away better than Sonic the Hedgehog 4.

There are plenty of positives in Sonic Superstars - the ability to play up to four-player drop-in/out co-op, stages with a huge variety of paths to choose from, and creative boss battles make up some of my favorite things about this game. However, some points of criticism are worth addressing.

While it may not be the best Sonic game I’ve ever played, I love it, and fans of the series should enjoy it as well.

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Sonic Superstars’ story isn’t anything to write home about, and that’s fine

Sonic Superstars takes fans to the Northstar Islands, where Dr. Eggman, Fang, and a new character, Trip, are trying to take over. Their exact plans aren't clear in the beginning, but it can't be good. Since the game is live, players will speed across 11 zones and take on some truly inspired stages to stop Eggman's schemes while controlling Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles.

Sure, this isn’t the most complex story in the Sonic franchise. In fact, it’s kind of light on narrative. However, that’s okay, I don’t come to this series to receive nuanced takes on the characters. I want to go fast and beat up egg-themed robots. I get enough of both in SEGA's latest 2D side-scroller.

Each character is special, and there are plenty of new powers to use

Each character has their own strengths (Image via SEGA)

All four characters bring something fun to the table. From Sonic’s Drop Dash to flying with Tails, each character is great in certain spots. For example, Knuckles is terrible in the Casino stage. I kept accidentally gliding when trying to bounce from objective to objective. However, the most powerful of the four was Amy, with her double jump and hammer spin.

The Chaos Emeralds have also changed in Sonic Superstars, and it’s a pretty welcome addition. Each time you unlock a Chaos Emerald, you receive a new power. These can be selected from a wheel (Right stick) and recharge every time you hit a checkpoint.

From Avatar (Tons of clones) and Vision (reveal hidden items/platforms) to Bullet (Dash through the air like a bullet) and Water (turn into liquid to swim through waterfalls and water swiftly), there’s a ton to love about these. The only downside is you must be good at the Chaos Emerald mini-game.

The zones in Sonic Superstars are incredibly fun to explore

While several of these zones will feel inspired by previous game’s offerings, they are very much their own creations. One of my favorite things about the levels is that there are multiple routes. If you want to take the higher routes, they’re faster but require a greater degree of skill.

Conversely, the lower routes aren’t as quick and require better platforming skills. I like this sort of variance — the better you are at the game, or the better you know the stages, the faster you can wade through zones in Sonic Superstars.

However, this means your first playthrough will likely be slower than preferred. That does lead me to one of my first complaints.

Sonic Superstars suffers from the same curse as every other 2D Sonic

Sonic the Hedgehog is supposed to be a franchise about going fast. That’s the idea: fast. However, for a series built around speed, there are a lot of obstacles to going as rapidly as possible. Enemies that pop up out of nowhere and hit you, huge rocks that sit in the middle of a path, such elements make a return in Sonic Superstars.

You also have darkness, mazes, and plenty of underwater sections to slow down gameplay and frustrate players. This doesn’t mean the gameplay is bad, far from it. I really enjoyed my time with the game, and look forward to playing it more with my friends in the future.

When you’re going fast, it’s amazing. Surfing across vines or lush, green platforms always feels incredible. However, there are numerous sections where an enemy suddenly emerges, and little can be done to stop it.

The game is pretty fast, but there are too many instances of being brought to a grinding halt, and I have always felt that’s antithetical to the Sonic experience. For every amazing experience, I’ve had something that slowed me to a crawl, like water areas. I’ve never understood why water areas are so problematic in the franchise.

It feels like you can hold your breath longer in these. Then, you put a boss fight with mandatory water mechanics? That might be the least fun I had in the entire game.

Sonic Superstars’ visuals and music are incredible

I adore the visual style of Sonic Superstars. Each stage looks incredible and has its own aesthetic and gameplay style. While the premise remains: Going as fast as possible from one side of the screen to the other — it’s the presentation that matters to me.

Sometimes, these visual designs are frustrating — such as platforming in the dark in the jungle. But mostly, I loved what I saw. Many stages had fun callbacks to previous games, like Pinball Carnival being reminiscent of Casino Night/Carnival Night. These visual and gameplay design references often filled me with joy as a fan.

You also have an amazing score for each level, and the music seemed to fit the level perfectly.

In conclusion

Sonic Superstars is a fun game, and I think fans will find something to love about it. I enjoyed both my preview and personal gaming sessions. I found it far more fun than Sonic Frontiers. However, the 8-player battle mode was far from fun, as it absorbed the least amount of my time.

Grinding coins for new robot parts didn’t strike a chord with me. I only saw a few battle modes during my online sessions. As long as players were going the same route, things were fine. But occasionally, the camera would freak out and not be sure which character it should follow.

However, the game shines in its visual presentation and the various ways you can get through each zone. While you aren’t always going fast, I reckon Sonic Superstars is probably a step in the right direction compared to other 2D Sonic titles I’ve played.