First of all I gotta praise this game where it deserves it, for such a small team, this game has insane pixel art you could gush about for ages, the game is packed full of artistic charm and attention to detail. It really shows that this game is a labour of love from the developers and artists whom worked on it. The music also bangs, those remixes especially SLAM.
Alright, so why don't I like this game? Basically, its the controls. All three playable characters feel extremely floaty and hard to wrangle, they keep drifting away from where you want them to go, and often into the path of danger. I was almost ALWAYS taking damage, and I hardly ever finished any zone with more than one single ring. Another issue I had with this game is that for a game where you "gotta go fast" you are rarely going fast. Sonic and pals walk through levels, speeding up to a light jog, and them maybe in very rare cases actually break out into a super-sonic sprint, only to be interrupted seconds later by a wall or enemy, killing the vibe in a shower of rings. Boss fights were very easy, hit the enemy three or five times and they die, attacks are usually very easy to dodge, and if it catches you off guard, you can come back for another attempt quickly, once you spend one or two lives learning a boss' attack patterns it becomes trivial. Coming off Hollow Knight, bosses felt very underwhelming.
This game was not worth what I paid for it, around A$20 back in 2017. I was really looking forward to this game, and I was disappointed then, and I was reminded of why I was disappointed when I picked it up again to finish the last few levels these last couple of evenings.
Alright, so why don't I like this game? Basically, its the controls. All three playable characters feel extremely floaty and hard to wrangle, they keep drifting away from where you want them to go, and often into the path of danger. I was almost ALWAYS taking damage, and I hardly ever finished any zone with more than one single ring. Another issue I had with this game is that for a game where you "gotta go fast" you are rarely going fast. Sonic and pals walk through levels, speeding up to a light jog, and them maybe in very rare cases actually break out into a super-sonic sprint, only to be interrupted seconds later by a wall or enemy, killing the vibe in a shower of rings. Boss fights were very easy, hit the enemy three or five times and they die, attacks are usually very easy to dodge, and if it catches you off guard, you can come back for another attempt quickly, once you spend one or two lives learning a boss' attack patterns it becomes trivial. Coming off Hollow Knight, bosses felt very underwhelming.
This game was not worth what I paid for it, around A$20 back in 2017. I was really looking forward to this game, and I was disappointed then, and I was reminded of why I was disappointed when I picked it up again to finish the last few levels these last couple of evenings.
Reviewed on May 30, 2023
3 Comments
i think a major issue with sonic is that it tricks you into thinking that its about going fast, when in reality its more about platforming and exploration
the games expect you to understand levels and maintain your momentum through mastery of mechanics but they do a really bad job communicating that
cool review though
the games expect you to understand levels and maintain your momentum through mastery of mechanics but they do a really bad job communicating that
cool review though
@novabrightstar yeah some of my friends explained that to me when they saw my review too!! They told me the game is really more about replayability and mastering the levels by remembering what path to take and when to make your moves to keep your momentum up. I watched a couple of speedruns of this game and I can see what they mean, but even then the game still looks a bit slower than I would have wanted. This also doesn't detract from my strong dislike of Mania's floaty and unwieldy controls.
Thanks for liking my review and sharing your thoughts, I REALLY appreciate you coming to chat with me!
Thanks for liking my review and sharing your thoughts, I REALLY appreciate you coming to chat with me!
Shien
10 months ago