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Sonic must explore the Starfall Islands to rescue his friends from the digital realm of Cyber Space.
The consensus on the newest Sonic game isn't all that positive, so I decided to watch a longplay to see if I thought it was worth buying myself. And… the answer is no.
Okay, let's talk about what the game does well first. The story consistently held my interest as the mystery of the Ancients unravelled. Given the concept of Cyber Space and the various meta jokes about the characters and game mechanics (especially the map markers), I suspected it would build up to Sonic becoming aware that he was in a video game, that the Ancients were the players. (Spoiler alert, though: that doesn't happen.)
However, while the story is good, the gameplay is distinctly underwhelming. As you explore the overworld, you find various collectibles, including tokens used to talk to your companions and advance the plot. Sometimes, you might have to complete an obstacle course or use your Cyloop to draw a shape on the ground and unearth items. There are also portals to Cyber Space, which lead to high-speed linear levels typical of the Sonic series. I found neither the overworld tasks nor the Cyber Space levels very appealing. The latter is nothing we haven't seen before (although there is an in-universe reason for that), and they all look similar and play almost identically, so they quickly become monotonous.
Another thing I don't like is Sonic's voice: it's far lower-pitched than I'm used to. And Roger Craig Smith is no stranger to voicing the character, so I'm not sure what changed.
When I first saw the lush open world, my first thought was Zelda: Breath of the Wild. But the game also very much reminded me of Shadow of the Colossus, what with the Titans you have to defeat and the mysterious guide that may have ulterior motives.
One thing I really like is the character-building moments, especially Tails questioning whether he's just a burden to Sonic. Considering this game mentions several prior adventures, indicating that there is a series continuity, I'm curious to see how he'll develop in future instalments.
Overall, it's not bad, but definitely not one of my favourite Sonic titles.
My rating: 55%
