It wasn’t long after Super Mario Bros. Wonder, that I caught the SEGA booth and the offering to try out the upcoming Sonic Superstars. I’m certainly a fan of both the character and the broader franchise, but haven’t seen as much of this leading up to PAX AUS 2023 as I would have liked. With that said, Sonic Superstars might feel like a recreation of some of Sonic’s best moments, but it’s also one of the cleanest and freshest representations of a game from an era that has since passed. And I am more than happy to welcome Sonic and the gang back for another run.
We got the chance to try the first level, Bridge Island, which is an immediate throwback to that 16-bit era, made more vibrant and detailed. While you get the chance to choose between the whole gang, be it Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy, I stuck to the titular blue blur.
As many would expect, Sonic Superstars feels like it’s made for you to blast through at breakneck speeds. While there is a little more going on should you choose to slow down, there’s still a fantastic sense of speed and motion that comes with holding the stick in one direction. As simple as that sounds, the rollicking hills and loops seem, to meld together as one, as you hit some ridiculous speeds.
You’ll also be hunting for Chaos Emeralds, which grant players new and unique abilities to use within levels. These are usually placed within the hidden bonus stages ripped straight from previous games; in our case, we got the chance to skydive through the sky in a bid to collect as many rings as possible.
At the end of each area, you’ll also get the chance to face off against a unique boss. In this case, it was the nefarious Doctor Eggman (then known as Dr. Robotnik), who jumped into that classic mech suit to throw bombs at you. While the battle itself is relatively easy, I can’t necessarily complain when it has been so lovingly recreated with new and fresh visuals in mind. Even on the ageing Nintendo Switch, this looks fantastic.
Sonic Superstars is set to launch later this month on the 17th of October, on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Stay tuned for our review closer to release.
