| Sonic Superstars | |
|---|---|
 Cover art | |
| Developer(s) | |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Director(s) | Shunsuke Kawaraduka |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Designer(s) |
|
| Programmer(s) | Shinji Iseki |
| Artist(s) | Daisuke Kojima |
| Writer(s) | Takashi Iizuka |
| Composer(s) | Jun Senoue |
| Series | Sonic the Hedgehog |
| Engine | Unity |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | October 17, 2023 |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player,multiplayer |
Sonic Superstars[a] is a 2023platform game developed byArzest andSonic Team and published bySega. It featuresside-scrolling gameplay similar to theSonic the Hedgehog games released for theSega Genesis in the 1990s. As one of fourplayer characters—Sonic the Hedgehog,Miles "Tails" Prower,Knuckles the Echidna, andAmy Rose—the player completesside-scrollinglevels as they set out to defeatDoctor Eggman andFang the Hunter.Superstars introducespower-ups that the player can obtain by collecting the sevenChaos Emeralds and four-playerlocal multiplayer.
Sonic Team's head,Takashi Iizuka, wanted to modernizeSonic's traditional side-scrolling formula so it could continue independently from the 3D games. After plans for another collaboration with the developers ofSonic Mania (2017) fell through, Iizuka began discussing a collaboration with Arzest, a studio founded bySonic co-creatorNaoto Ohshima. Development onSuperstars, which marked Ohshima's first contribution to aSonic game sinceSonic Adventure (1998), began in 2021. Arzest sought to replicate the GenesisSonic gameplay while innovating with newgame mechanics, with the Chaos Emerald powers introduced to encourage players to seek all seven.
Sonic Superstars was released forNintendo Switch,PlayStation 4,PlayStation 5,Windows,Xbox One, andXbox Series X/S on October 17, 2023. It received mixed reviews from critics, who felt it was superior to the previous 2D gamesSonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I (2010) andEpisode II (2012) but inferior toMania. They praised its replication of the Genesis-eraSonic gameplay but criticized its new mechanics, while the visuals and music were divisive. Initial sales were slightly below expectations, attributed to competition from the similar platform gameSuper Mario Bros. Wonder (2023), though Sega reported it had sold well by June 2024.
Sonic Superstars is aside-scrollingplatform game similar to theSonic the Hedgehog games released for theSega Genesis in the 1990s. The player must complete a series oflevels across several zones, presented from a2.5D perspective,[1] to defeatDoctor Eggman, who has hiredFang the Hunter and Trip the Sungazer to capture the North Star Islands' giant animals so he can build a powerful army.[2] There are four initialplayer characters, each with their own unique abilities:Sonic the Hedgehog can roll into a dash after a jump;Miles "Tails" Prower can fly;Knuckles the Echidna can glide and climb; andAmy Rose can attack enemies with a hammer anddouble jump.[2][3] Players unlock an additional character, Trip, by completing the maincampaign once; her moveset combines Amy's double jump with Knuckles' climbing.[4]
The North Star Islands comprise 12 zones,[3][5] which house 26 levels ("acts").[6] The number of acts in a zone varies between one, two, and three.[7] Each contains elements such as springs,vertical loops, collectiblerings that serve ashealth, and shieldpower-ups.[8][9][7] Some zones feature unique elements, such as a jungle with vines the player can grind on and a futuristic zone where they transform into avoxel creature,[1][9] and some feature acts exclusive to the selected character.[10] Each act ends with aboss that the player must defeat while dodging attacks.[9] In between levels, the player explores a 2Dhub world where they can select a zone and change or customize their character.[10] The campaign takes four hours to complete as a single character,[11] and about 15 hours as every character.[12] Unlike previous 2DSonic games,Superstars does not featurelives, so the player will never receive agame over.[13] Completing the main game unlocks a more difficult campaign in which Trip is the only playable character.[14]
Superstars features two kinds ofspecial stages. In the first, accessed through giant rings hidden in each act, the player swings from bubbles in a 3D environment to obtain one of the sevenChaos Emeralds.[8][3] Each emerald grants the player a power-up ability, such as the ability to swim up waterfalls or create clones of the chosen character;[15] the seventh provides a character-specific ability.[8] Collecting all seven emeralds allows the player to transform into their character'ssuper form, granting them speed and invincibility at the cost of ring depletion. The player can swap abilities from a selection wheel at any time.[16] Players must complete both the main campaign and Trip's with all the Chaos Emeralds to unlock the Last Story.[17] In the second special stage, accessed by passing checkpoints,[18] the player navigates a rotating maze, similar to those fromSonic the Hedgehog (1991), to collect medals.[3]
The campaign supportslocal multiplayer for up to four players who can join or leave at any time,[19][20] a first for the series.[21]Superstars also features aplayer versus player component that can be played locally oronline and supportscross-platform play.[22][23] Players create robots to partake in competitions,[24] which include races, battles, collection competitions, andlast man standing.[25] The medals collected in the main game serve as currency to purchase parts for customization.[10]
The idea forSonic Superstars originated withSonic Mania (2017), a 2D game developed byChristian Whitehead, PagodaWest Games, andHeadcannon. TheSonic series' producer,Sonic Team'sTakashi Iizuka, was surprised byMania's success and saw it as confirmation that fans were still interested in the series' "classic" style. Sonic Team and theMania developers, who formedEvening Star Studio in 2018, began discussing another collaboration followingMania's release.[26] They did not want to make aMania sequel since Iizuka felt casual audiences would dismiss it as a rehash; he wanted to abandonMania'spixel art style asMania had been intended for hardcoreSonic fans, and he thought a new 2D game needed to appeal to a broad audience.[27][28]
Whitehead said that Sonic Team and Evening Star "agreed early on that we should try to make something fresh", such as using a new art style liketraditional animation or 2.5D graphics and not reusing content from priorSonic games.[28] Evening Star created a 2.5D prototype that experimented with depth using its in-developmentStar Engine. However, Sonic Team and Evening Star eventually decided against developing the prototype into a full product,[28] and Evening Star moved on to developPenny's Big Breakaway (2024).[26] Whitehead denied rumors that the decision was caused by creative differences and said that Evening Star's relationship with Sega remained friendly.[28]
During aCOVID-19 pandemic lockdown, Iizuka andSonic co-creatorNaoto Ohshima held a drinking party overZoom for fun. They expressed mutual interest in a new 2DSonic game and began discussing a collaboration.[29][27] Although Ohshima left Sega in 1999 and had not contributed to aSonic game sinceSonic Adventure (1998), he remained a fan and had enjoyed games such asSonic Colors (2010),Sonic Generations (2011),Mania, andSonic Frontiers (2022). Additionally, he noticed many of his followers on social media wereSonic fans and wanted to show his appreciation for them.[30] Although Evening Star was no longer involved, many of the ideas Iizuka had discussed with Whitehead heavily influenced those he developed with Ohshima;[28] Evening Star received a "special thanks" credit inSuperstars.[31]
Development onSuperstars began in early 2021 and lasted two and a half years.[32] Ohshima's studioArzest primarily handled development, with Sonic Team providing support.[29] Shunsuke Kawaraduka directedSuperstars, with Iizuka, Ohshima, and Yasuyuki Tsuzuki serving as producers.[30][11] Iizuka felt Arzest was a natural fit due to their experience developing 2D games forNintendo.[27] He compared Ohshima's return to a family reunion and said that he had retained his design sensibilities from the Genesis era.[30][33] Several Sonic Team members, including Iizuka, flew fromBurbank, California toYokohama, Japan to assist.[30] Only four team members—Iizuka, Ohshima, character supervisorKazuyuki Hoshino, and composerJun Senoue—worked on the Genesis games.[34]
Iizuka handled marketing so Ohshima could manage development,[30] though Iizuka noted he was more involved than he normally is withSonic games.[34] Iizuka wantedSuperstars to be a faithful sequel to the Genesis games,[35] and described the goal as blending familiar gameplay with modernhigh-definition graphics.[36] The designers sought to closely replicate the Genesis gameplay; they first focused on perfecting thephysics engine before working on thelevel design and ensuring they meshed.[37]Superstars was developed from scratch using theUnitygame engine,[27][38] though the physics code was translated from theMania version of Whitehead'sRetro Engine.[39] Replicating the physics proved difficult, and the developers ran the original games while they worked onSuperstars so they could cross-reference.[27] To ensure the character handling was accurate, Arzest recreated stages from priorSonic games in theSuperstars engine and overlayed gameplay footage for comparison.[35]
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In contrast to the previous 2.5D gamesSonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I (2010) andEpisode II (2012), which drew from more recent games likeSonic Advance (2001), Iizuka saidSuperstars was inspired by the Genesis games: the originalSonic the Hedgehog,Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992), andSonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (1994).[40] The team opted not to continueMania's pixel art style because they felt it would limit the appeal.[37] They considered using hand-drawn animation, but chose 3D graphics since they could easily replicate the pixel art style.[41] The use of 3D graphics also allowed for elements that could not be accomplished in the Genesis games, such as the characters moving between the foreground and background.[42] The opening cutscene, which uses 2D animation, was produced byTelecom Animation Film and directed by Toshihiko Masuda, who previously worked on theSonic animeSonic X (2003–2006).[31][35]
After working on the physics and level design, the developers began exploring newgame mechanics,[37] as Iizuka felt it was important thatSuperstars be "new, interesting, and innovative".[43] He hoped to provide a new experience after the release of the compilationSonic Origins (2022),[43] and modernize the series' classic formula.[44] Previous side-scrollingSonic games featured a set number of acts for each zone, so Arzest decided to use a different number for certain zones to add variety to the pacing.[7] Ohshima created level maps as a base for the developers, and Iizuka provided input and corrections. They felt it was important to pass their knowledge to younger developers.[34] The developers introduced the Chaos Emerald power-ups to motivate players to seek all seven, drawing inspiration from theWisps inSonic Colors.[44] They made the power-ups optional to avoid interfering with the classicSonic gameplay,[43] and included visual indicators to signal when they would be useful. The developers limited themselves to seven power-ups to correlate with the emeralds.[16]
Iizuka said that unlikeSonic Frontiers, which was aimed atgamers,Superstars was designed for children and parents alongside longtimeSonic fans.[43] He wantedSuperstars to feel as distinct fromFrontiers as possible since he hoped the 2DSonic games would continue independently from the 3D ones.[41] Sonic Team long wanted to include four-player multiplayer in aSonic game, but found it difficult to integrate with the series' gameplay. Iizuka said Sonic Team had abandoned the idea, but Ohshima encouraged him to make it work.[45] Levels were designed so they could be played in both single-player and multiplayer,[36] and Sonic Team played several platformers with cooperative gameplay, such as theNew Super Mario Bros. series, for inspiration. Implementation proved challenging due toSonic's speed.[40] Arzest did not include online cooperative multiplayer to avoidlag ruining players' experience.[27]
Iizuka wrote the story,[32] which, like the Genesis games, is told through character interactions between levels rather than throughvoice acting and text.[42]Superstars chronologically takes place betweenSonic Mania andSonic Adventure.[36] Unlike contemporarySonic games,Superstars does not reuse any levels from previous games, such asGreen Hill Zone.[42] Iizuka described this as a story-based decision, asSuperstars features a new setting.[2]
The title,Sonic Superstars, reflects the game featuring the "superstar"Sonic characters: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy.[44] Iizuka said Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were necessary since they were playable in the Genesis games.[35] Though Amy was introduced inSonic CD (1993), she was never playable in any of the Genesis games, so the developers felt her being playable would please fans.[41][35] A playable rabbit character based on one of Ohshima's prototype Sonic designs was included as askin for Sonic. The developers animated the rabbit based on Ohshima's memories of his movements in prototypes ofSonic the Hedgehog, and Ohshima described the skin as essentially a new playable character. For the battle mode, Ohshima designed robot versions of Amy and Tails.[35]
Sonic Team was surprised by how excited fans were when the obscure charactersMighty the Armadillo andRay the Flying Squirrel appeared inSonic Mania, so Arzest decided to bring back a similarly obscure character inSuperstars. They chose Fang, an antagonist from theGame GearSonic games.[43] Of the characters they considered, Sonic Team and Arzest thought Fang was the most well-known and that his characterization and design fit the direction ofSuperstars.[46] Additionally, Ohshima designed a new character, Trip,[47][44] whose armored appearance he based on asungazer lizard. Iizuka wanted Trip to add story depth,[48] and he worked closely with Ohshima to define her character and appearance.[49] Iizuka sought to distinguish Trip from previous games' powerful villains, such as Infinite fromSonic Forces (2017), with a backstory and characterization "that people can kind of relate to and empathize with and enjoy... because [she] mean[s] something to the world".[48]
Jun Senoue led a mix of internal Sega staff and external contributors to compose theSuperstars soundtrack.[29] Contributors included Takahiro Kai,[50]Tee Lopes,[29]Hidenori Shoji,[50] and Rintaro Soma.[51] Iizuka said theSuperstars team sought to remain faithful to the Genesis games'pop style.[44]
Sega announcedSonic Superstars atSummer Game Fest on June 8, 2023,[19] followed by promotion atGamescom in August.[52] It was released for theNintendo Switch,PlayStation 4,PlayStation 5,Windows,Xbox One, andXbox Series X/S on October 17, 2023.[53] Players who signed up for a Sega newsletter prior to January 31, 2024 received adownloadable content (DLC) code that unlocks Amy's modern outfit seen inSonic Adventure onward,[54] while those who pre-ordered the game received a reversible cover, an acrylic display stand, and aLego Sonic the Hedgehog-themed Eggman skin.[55] A Lego Sonic skin is also available as free DLC.[56] "Digital Deluxe" DLC includes additional Lego skins, the rabbit skin, an additional Metal Fighter skin for the multiplayer mode, an artbook, a soundtrack, and menuwallpapers.[57] Sega released a promotional animated short,Trio of Trouble, on September 20.[58] On February 15, 2024, a costume based on the characterShadow the Hedgehog was made available as free DLC.[59]
Sonic Superstars was released three days beforeSuper Mario Bros. Wonder, a similar side-scrolling platform game for the Switch byNintendo, which journalists found noteworthy given the rivalry between theSonic andSuper Mario franchises duringthe 1990s console wars.[60][61][62]GamesIndustry.biz questioned why Sega chose to release aSonic game so close to a similarMario game, especially givenSonic's popularity on the Switch.Superstars debuted at fourth place in the UK physical sales charts, behindWonder; 49% ofSuperstars' sales were for the Switch.[63] In Japan, it debuted at ninth place, selling 4,128 copies during its first week on sale.[64]
In November,Sega Sammy Holdings' president Haruki Satomi said that initial sales were slightly below what Sega had hoped, which he attributed to competition from other games likeWonder. However, he said Sega was spending 90% of the marketing budget during theChristmas and holiday shopping season and anticipated it would ultimately sell on par withFrontiers.[65] Sega reported in June 2024 thatSuperstars had sold well.[66]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 73/100 (PS5)[b][67] 67/100 (NS)[c][68] 76/100 (XSXS)[d][69] |
| OpenCritic | 60%[e][70] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Destructoid | 5.5/10[79] |
| Digital Trends | 3/5[71] |
| Eurogamer | 3/5[72] |
| Game Informer | 7.5/10[73] |
| GameSpot | 7/10[74] |
| GamesRadar+ | 4/5[13] |
| IGN | 7/10[12] |
| Nintendo Life | 8/10[75] |
| Push Square | 6/10[76] |
| TechRadar | 4/5[77] |
| Video Games Chronicle | 4/5[11] |
| VG247 | 3/5[78] |
According to thereview aggregate websiteMetacritic, the Switch and PlayStation 5 versions ofSonic Superstars received "mixed or average reviews",[67][68] while the Xbox Series X/S version received "generally favorable reviews".[69] On the aggregatorOpenCritic, the game has a "Fair" approval rating.[70]The Guardian described the reviews as "solid appraisals", though not acclamatory.[33] Critics felt thatSuperstars successfully replicated the classicSonic gameplay from the Genesis era, but criticized its additions as unnecessary or poorly implemented.[73][74][12][76] Comparisons to previous 2DSonic games were common; critics generally regardedSuperstars as an improvement overSonic the Hedgehog 4 but inferior to the Genesis games andSonic Mania.[78][11][80][81]
The presentation divided critics. WhileVG247 wished the developers had used pixel art, they thoughtSuperstars was the best take on the classicSonic art style in 3D.[78]GameSpot,Push Square, andTechRadar praised the visuals as colorful,[74][76][77] andNintendo Life wroteSuperstars "nails [Sonic's] overall aesthetic and art style."[75] Conversely,Digital Trends andEurogamer called the art style unattractive,[71][72]Eurogamer writing that zones lacked the detail and identity of those from the older games.[72]GameSpot andIGN praised the soundtrack, which they respectively called "delightful" and "phenomenal",[74][12] butDigital Trends andEurogamer found it unremarkable.[71][72]VG247 said the soundtrack was inconsistent; while some tracks were among the series' best, others were "wack".[78]
Reviewers commended the gameplay for its faithfulness to the Genesis games, and the accuracy of the physics received particular praise.[73][13][75][78][11]Game Informer compared playingSuperstars to "putting on an old glove",[73] andGamesRadar+ andVG247 said that while they were not one-to-one, the physics were closer to the Genesis games than any previous 2.5DSonic game.[13][78]VG247 added the physics never caused frustration as those inSonic 4 andSonic Generations had.[78] The level design was generally praised for having multiple routes,[71][73][75][78] though some critics found difficult-to-avoid obstacles annoying.[71][73][12]IGN wrote thatSuperstars focused more on exploration, which "create[d] a unique dynamic to each level" but failed to provide the speed they expected fromSonic.[12]
Critics generally disliked the campaign's local multiplayer.[12][73][76] They felt cooperative play did not mesh well withSonic's design, which emphasizes speed and branching level paths.[73][76]
Push Square summarizedSuperstars as "[f]undamentally... a really enjoyable side-scrollingSonic title, but the two big ticket features—chaos emerald powers and co-op—are arguably the worst parts of it."[76]
Sonic Superstars was nominated for Best Family Game atthe Game Awards 2023, though it lost toSuper Mario Bros. Wonder.[82]
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