Sonic Superstars preview: Speed goes brrrrr

Sonic Superstars was one of the many games SEGA revealed during the SEGA Summer Showcase. I was able to get hands-on for about a half hour, playing as all four characters throughout four full zones in Sonic’s upcoming adventure. The blend of 2D-3D gameplay felt smooth and natural, and it takes everyone’s favorite Hedgehog back to his roots. The stages felt familiar to a long-time fan of the 2D games but with fresh new mechanics and stage layouts.

While Sonic Superstars has zones that feel like tributes to previous games’ levels, it’s done in a way that doesn’t make it feel like an annoying repeat. Not to mention, you go incredibly fast, and there are fewer impediments to stop the “speed” from happening.

---

Four stages of Sonic Superstars revealed at SEGA Summer Showcase

I briefly had access to this game across several zones (Image via SEGA)

Sonic Superstars fixes a problem I’ve had with the series for years. While I love most of the 2D Sonic games, the problem is with the speed. For a series that’s supposed to play fast, the early games throw so many impediments in the way: rocks, vertical surfaces, and having to constantly jump across platforms or swim.

However, that didn’t feel like it was the case here. Occasionally, I got stopped by a rock, or a new enemy gimmick threw me off. But overall, Sonic Superstars lets me constantly go nice and fast. I explored the game's four zones, and while I didn’t beat them all, I got nice and deep into them.

Revealed zones for upcoming Sonic title

• Bridge Island
• Speed Jungle
• Pinball Carnival
• Cyber Station

Pinball Carnival is a trip back in time to the days of Casino Night Zone (Image via SEGA)

If I must be honest, my favorite stage was Pinball Carnival. Casino Night in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is my favorite game in the original trilogy. There are several similar gimmicks in Sonic Superstars, such as bouncing off of flippers and scoring tons of extra points.

However, I regret trying the stage as Knuckles. I kept accidentally triggering his glide while jumping, which admittedly slowed me down. He also didn’t feel very good against the Pinball Carnival boss.

Bridge Island feels like every starting area in a Sonic game, but better (Image via SEGA)

Bridge Island was the traditional “Green Hill Zone” style stage, with tons of loops and straights to go insanely fast. I defeated the boss of this zone. It was Dr. Eggman in a mecha similar to the Death Egg, and it fired missile hands that exploded. It had a second phase beyond that where you had to jump over its electric prongs and bounce on its face.

Sonic Superstars also had a jungle stage called Speed Jungle. It involves lots of running along vines and using them to pull and jump to higher spots. There were also wild underground spinning mazes where you had to pick the right direction.

This stage is a good example of new monster attacks. A frog will try to latch onto you after attempting to speed past it, and if it does, it slams into you to knock all your rings away. Some of the flying enemies can now shoot lasers at you, and while going fast, this can be deadly.

Cyber Station changes you into several animals to quickly solve puzzles (Image via SEGA)

Finally, there is Cyber Station. This is set inside a computer, it seems. I used Amy Rose here, and her spinning hammer strike was indispensable. The blocky pixel art for this stage was great, and it made me really consider just how varied each level was.

You transform into other digital animals and use their powers to navigate little mini mazes. This was the only stage where I felt like I wasn’t almost constantly going fast. That said, I still liked it very much as a concept in Sonic Superstars.

---

Sonic Superstars is the upcoming 2.5D side-scroller, where four players can group up and play simultaneously, playing as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy Rose. It will be available on October 17, 2023, on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Microsoft Windows.