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  • Review Roundup: Sonic Superstars Opens to "Strong" Ratings

    Aggregate score of 76 across the top critic reviews.
    Dreadknux  · 
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    The initial review scores for Sonic Superstars are now in, and while the scores appear to be scattered across the board (nothing new for a Sonic game), on aggregate the assessment appears to be positive, with Opencritic labelling the game "Strong" with an average score of 76 and Metacritic calling the feedback "generally positive" with a 75 average score.

    Sonic Superstars - 25.webp

    Among the highest-scoring reviews, GLHF on Sports Illustrated writes in its 9/10 review that "Sonic Superstars is the modern 2D Sonic game I never thought we’d get. It updates the visual style in a way that feels true to the classics while bringing in top-tier level design that allows the core platforming mechanics to shine."

    IGN Spain also commended the game's "mind-blowing effects" in a 9/10 review - although IGN's US reviewer saw things a little differently, noting, "While the campaign is still enjoyable, Superstars’ multiplayer components are far worse options than anything in past Sonic games. Like digging Emeralds out of the rough, Sonic Superstars’ new ideas end up feeling like a mix of both interesting and ill-advised, making it an amusing Sonic game but not exactly a Super one." IGN US scored Sonic Superstars 7/10.

    ShackNews praised the 2D adventure's "inspired level design" and "great soundtrack" in its 8/10 assessment, stating, "if Sonic Superstars is the future of the franchise, then it's bright enough that the blue hedgehog will have to wear shades."

    Elsewhere, VGC rated Sonic's latest quite highly, with its 4/5 review stating, "Sonic Superstars absolutely nails the classic 16-bit Sonic gameplay. Its power-ups are hit-or-miss and its extra modes and co-op will divide opinion, but fans of the Mega Drive / Genesis days will adore the way this mixes that old feel with a new look."

    GamesRadar offered the same high score, adding, "Sonic Superstars is like a modern version of the Genesis classics, with all the good and bad that entails. The four-player, same-screen co-op functionality works surprisingly well, and the new Emerald powers keep things fresh. While it isn't as good as Sonic Mania, Superstars is a fresh twist on classic Sonic action."

    The sentiment matches our own at the Sonic Stadium, with the definitive fans' review scoring the game 4/5 and concluding that, "While it doesn’t quite hit the highs of Sonic Mania, Sonic Superstars is a worthy successor in almost every way. It plays faithfully to the classic games, the new stages are wonderfully designed, the challenge is well-balanced outside of some of the bosses, and the presentation is simply perfect - this is the best that Sonic has looked in decades."

    Sonic Superstars - 16.webp

    Sonic-themed social media news channel, TailsChannel (score N/A), agrees that the game is a "worthy successor" to Evening Star's 2017 sprite-based masterpiece, adding that "despite its small hiccups, Sonic Superstars proves its place among the best of the classics," with the reviewer considering it "one of my favorite games from the franchise."

    This positive reception was somewhat balanced out by some more critical reviews from a number of outlets. TheGamer's 3.5 out of 5 review points to classic gameplay elements such as "Knuckles’ terrible recovery speed" (we assume this relates to when he lands from gliding) and "strange instances where a single hit reduces our ring count to zero" as areas of concern. 

    VG247 looked at the new gimmicks introduced in Sonic Superstars and found them to be lacking, with Emerald powers in particular "never [feeling] like they actually matter... given that there’s no guarantee that you’ll find a giant ring or then successfully complete the special stage, levels have to be designed to be played without any of the special Emerald Powers... But [the game is] good. In fact, it’s good enough that I expect fan debate about which game is superior to be fairly heated."

    PushSquare rated the game 6/10, stating "We're a bit at odds with ourselves on Sonic Superstars. Fundamentally it's a really enjoyable side-scrolling Sonic title, but the two big ticket features — chaos emerald powers and co-op — are arguably the worst parts of it."

    At time of writing, the most critical review seems to be from GamingBolt, whose 5/10 review criticises the lighting, soundtrack and some of the stage gimmicks while praising the game's controls.

    Sonic Superstars - 12.webp

    Overall, it seems that the presentation and base gameplay mechanics have been well-received, but the new features introduced - Emerald powers, co-op and Battle Mode - tend to be points of contention. Sonic Superstars officially launched on October 17, and you'll be able to see for yourself which of these reviews you agree with.

    We've included a roundup on the most important scores so far below.

    The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way. All proceeds will go to supporting our community and continued coverage of Sonic the Hedgehog. Thank you in advance for your kind support!
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    Kot_Box

    Sounds like we have a winner. Doesn't need to be better than Mania, but the fact that so many sources are still praising it is a great sign.

    All I know is I'm sure I'm going to have a good time with Superstars

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    FReaK

    Dunno, after hearing those Sonic 4-esque tracks I can't really 'get in the mood', and I'm usually all classic Sonic...let's hope it doesn't bother me that much ingame. Glad critics like it though.

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    The Swordsman

    The Swordsman 82

    Posted

    "strange instances where a single hit reduces our ring count to zero"

    That isn't strange...thats how its supposed to work. You get hit you lose all your rings but can pick some up again. Has this critic ever played a Sonic game before?

    • Chuckle 1
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    Rabbitearsblog

    Rabbitearsblog 2,905

    Posted

    YAAAYYY!  Glad that this game is getting some good reviews!  Makes me really want to play this game even more than ever (even though I was going to play this game anyway, regardless of what the critics say).

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    SKSpawn
    18 hours ago, The Swordsman said:

    "strange instances where a single hit reduces our ring count to zero"

    That isn't strange...thats how its supposed to work. You get hit you lose all your rings but can pick some up again. Has this critic ever played a Sonic game before?

    What's really weird is that the review specifically mentions Sonic Mania and Sonic Frontiers and talks about the retro games, so they must be aware of this mechanic.

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    Ratchet25tx

    Ratchet25tx 244

    Posted

    From the time I'm posting this, I am excited for Superstars to release. Now, with the reviews on its multiplayer and some actual gameplay instead of trailers, I can't say that the multiplayer will be AS successful as they thought, but I think that is one of the main features in the game.(Or I'm just bias because i like multiplayer games lol)

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    Ryno1

    Deservedly so, as a huge fan dating back to the 90’s, I’m so happy with how this game looks, plays and feels. If Tee Lopes had taken care of the whole soundtrack, I feel like it would have been even better. 

    I dream of a future DLC which brings us additional music, and a settings menu to choose which music you want to play on each act

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    Milo

    Mid-week update since there are now enough reviews for some of the other versions on Metacritic.

    Opencritic - 72 "Fair", 64 reviews (4 unscored), 63% of critics recommend

    Metacritic:

    PS5 - 74 "Mixed and/or average", 55 reviews (1 unscored)

    Switch - 73 "Mixed and/or average", 6 reviews

    Xbox Series X - 79 "Generally favorable", 6 reviews (1 unscored)

    -

    (PC version has 1 review. No reviews for the PS4 and Xbox One versions.)

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    Dummy Bear

    Dummy Bear 642

    Posted

    Does anyone else find some of the reviews a little weird?

    Push Square's review for example lists 6 pros and 3 cons(two of which, the emerald powers and the co-op are largely optional. And it only says a "couple" of nasty bosses. I'm holding them to that.) But they give the game a 6/10 which isn't a bad score when you read the system right(5 is supposed to be mid, not 7), but the desparity just feels too wonky.

    Same with that lady from IGN who was literally complaining about the basic building block of Sonic level design(the tiered system) not being classic Sonic speed.

    Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and all but... I'unno.

    This isn't even me going, "b'awww, the critics are biased against Sonic" but more of a "Did people even read the reviews or did they just look at the score?"

     

     

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    Milo

    Three weeks post-release aggregate update. By this point it's best to assume these are the "final" metascores for the game, beyond some straggler reviews posted afterwards. Will likely do one last update at the end of the month.

    Opencritic - 74 "Fair", 75 reviews (4 unscored), 59% of critics recommend

    Metacritic:

    PS5 - 73 "Mixed and/or average", 64 reviews (2 unscored)

    Switch - 71 "Mixed and/or average", 9 reviews

    Xbox Series X - 76 "Generally favorable", 10 reviews (1 unscored)

    -

    (PC version has 2 reviews. No reviews for the PS4 version. [The Xbox One version has since been removed.])

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