This game is an enigma. By all accounts of "good game design" this game is complete fucking dogshit and yet it seems like tons of people who play it end up falling in love with it, myself included.

Maybe its specifically for that kind of nonsense design it loves to indulge itself in, maybe its just the visual and audio atmosphere paired with the relative lack of challenge creating a really pleasant vibe, or maybe its just that Sonic's pinball physics make him fun to move around in such strange environments. Either way, Sonic CD is a must-play piece of art in my opinion if only just for how strange it is.

Reviewed on May 18, 2021


3 Comments


2 years ago

sonic cd in my opinion is the one sonic game that really nails the feeling that the journey is better than the destination, especially considering playing it for the destination (including the side objectives like generators) alone would make it the weakest classic sonic.

it's kinda like the one game that uses the gameplay as a backdrop for the atmosphere of it, like how sonic's physics are looser and more controllable whereas the other classic games (excluding mania) are more strict about their physics and momentum and you really have to think about how you're moving and commit to it.

2 years ago

to me Sonic CD is the closest Sega ever got to perfecting the Sonic aesthetic. This is the true sequel to Sonic 1, for better or worse.

2 years ago

I fully agree! I think there's something really special about this weird ass game, despite its design being really questionable. It's a mess but it gives me such nice vibes when I play it that I just can't resist. Maybe it's the soundtracks that are masterpieces or just the concept itself being really ambitious and extremely cool for Sonic.

1 year ago

This comment was deleted