i had higher hopes than most. i don't mind the visuals (most of the time), the bosses or the chaos powers. what i do mind is the sheer lack of energy that carries this whole game

superstars is the negative extreme of what a sonic detractor perceives the series as. there's little to no thought or challenge throughout. you're just constantly going with the motions and holding right - sometimes left - occasionally making some precise jumps - but then it's back to going through the motions

almost every zone bleeds together design-wise. the camera really doesn't help - it's too damn close. i have no desire to revisit and explore the majority of these zones because:

a.) i have no fucking idea where i'm going in them half the time

b.) spatial awareness is unimportant anyway because there's no real upside to being on the skilled path vs the baby road

there's stage gimmicks everywhere, but they largely amount to wasted momentum. the game's constantly moving onto new thing after new thing at a pace more rapid than the tiktok algorithm, but for every attempt at variety there's little to no commitment or follow-through. almost every idea feels half-baked. case in point: one of the final stages being a half-assed shmup segment; or THE final act just being the second-to-last but backwards

ironically the bosses were the highlight for me. they're the only points throughout where you're forced to stop and think for a moment. there's a few annoying ones, but generally they reward efficiency and offer more opportunities for damage than they initially let on. i'd say that's a success as far as sonic fights go

what kills me here is i don't think that sonic team's heart is really in the wrong place - trip's a great newcomer and it's nice to see mostly original zones, but i really hope the next outing isn't so painfully safe. this series is always at its best when it's being bold and confident - neither of which i can call superstars in any capacity

also ditch that garbage ass soundfont pronto