Regarding the actual game

[Trick]

I've read the various complaints regarding Denuvo and Epic. And while yes, it's justified criticism I'm curious about the game itself. How would you rate it? Is it fun? And most importantly, is it worth the price tag?

[Major Gnuisance]

How would you rate it? Is it fun? And most importantly, is it worth the price tag?

The general consensus seems to be: 7-8/10, yes, not really.

[soso]

It has some of the best 2D levels ever. Literally. The core game itself is great, bring back the OG director was the right choice. It's more challenging and creative than most Sonic games. I prefer it over Sonic Mania.

[Renos]

solid 8/10
would prob be higher if certain zones got split into to 2 acts
and a certain boss fight is made either shorter or easier

[soso]

I would rate it an 8/10, decent amount of content. Characters are fun to play as (especially Amy and Trip). Some of the most fun and creative 2D levels in the history of Sonic. Amazing boss fights. Very replayable. The price is steep though. I would only recommend it at this price for hardcore sonic fans.

[Major Gnuisance]

By the way, Steam user review scores are a form of self-selected approval rating.
The data is gathered not from a random selection of users, but from people that have enough interest in the game to get it and then review it.
It's a system of measurement that's heavily biased towards positivity, so if SEGA didn't sour things with Denuvo, Epic Online Services, DLC mishandling and overpricing, it'd probably be sitting at around 90-95% instead of 66%.

[Snickerbockers]

pretty good, not as good as 3k or mania but still one of the better post-dreamcast sonic games.

it follows the 1/2 school of level design moreso than the 3k school of level design, they're a bit more linear and there aren't as many opportunities to explore as 3k had.

chaos emerald powers are worthless (especially vision lol), not sure why they even put them in.

the new special stages might actually be the worst special stages ever.

if you liked all the genesis games i think you'll like this too.

also the battle mode is way more fun than i was expecting, too bad there's barely anybody to play with. it takes about a minute or two to get a game together and usually at least half the players are bots. i keep seeing the same people in every game, which generally means that nobody's playing lol.

[The Logic Captain]

Originally posted by The Open Steel Trap Maniac:

How would you rate it? Is it fun? And most importantly, is it worth the price tag?

I would rate it as 6.5-7. Early yes, but late game isn't as enjoyable especially late game bosses. I don't think it's worth the price tag.

Played the switcher version, just recently got around to finishing it.

[Tanoomba]

Originally posted by Major Gnuisance:

It's a system of measurement that's heavily biased towards positivity

I'd think the opposite. People who are upset about their game tend to be FAR more vocal than people who are satisfied or even overjoyed with their game. If anything, negative opinions tend to be over-represented.

[Major Gnuisance]

Originally posted by Tanoomba:

Originally posted by Major Gnuisance:

It's a system of measurement that's heavily biased towards positivity

I'd think the opposite. People who are upset about their game tend to be FAR more vocal than people who are satisfied or even overjoyed with their game. If anything, negative opinions tend to be over-represented.

Fair point. Dissatisfied users are more likely to make a review to voice their dissatisfaction.
That's another form of self-selection and it's counteracting the one I mentioned, though I'm not sure to what extent.

[Golddude]

to be fair there are parts i enjoyed and parts i didn't
the abilities are fun however the game is really difficult especially with bosses

the build your own robot is a neat idea but the parts are too expensive and getting coins can be tedious at times i think the parts should either be cheaper or free and if you were like me you wouldn't be buying parts until you've already beaten the story

also superstars seems to suffer the same issue as the original game, the characters are more or less always in a position where you can't react in time unless you're going at a snail's pace

[GlaceonChireiden]

Rewriting this now that I've actually beaten it all + seen the true ending:

I like it! Pretty fun game, even with its few problems. I'm going to ignore the elephant in the room with the whole Denuvo/EGS fiasco since it doesn't affect me. Simply put, I do not care and have yet to be given a reason to.

For the game itself, it's pretty neat. It's not perfect and a lot of level design (especially during Trip's campaign) is VERY hit or miss. But as far as the main cast goes, the level design is pretty smooth and fun. It moreso takes the design philosophy of Sonic 1/CD where speeding through the levels and getting a good time is moreso a result of memorization and knowledge of the stage, instead of 2/3s way of just railroading you along the fast route.

The biggest downside I'd say are the bosses. Mainly, the stage bosses. They're very "wait for your turn, then get 1 hit off". If you know how they work, they're pretty fast and you can quickly learn how to get a few cheap hits in with the emerald powers to speed them up. But regardless, you are still waiting through simple patterns for a chance to do that.

The final bosses on the other hand? Apparently I'm in the minority on this, but I adore them. They aren't over in minutes like most sonic bosses are, put up a good challenge, and don't let you gorilla your way through by living forever with 1 ring.
They're a lot more about correct positioning and managing your speed/momentum. Their attacks are simple, and even their OHKO attacks are extremely easy to dodge if you know how they work. The final bosses don't ask for much, just your attention and for you to actually watch and observe how their attacks work. I've seen a lot of people chalk them up to being unfair with unpredictability, when really just watching their attacks will show you exactly how they work and what the safe methods for them are.

Basically, the final bosses of this game expect you to play well. It will not take sloppy play as an acceptable answer.

Same goes for the super sonic boss, though like tradition at this point, that boss is kind of whatever. Not much of a challenge when you learn how it works (which won't take you long at all), just a kind of uneventful endurance test more than anything else.

Basically, boring/mediocre stage bosses but great ending bosses. Great stages for the most part, held back by trying to make them more difficult for a certain repeat playthrough.

Oh, and the music is kind of whatever. It has its great tracks like Lagoon City act 2, but also has its forgettable/bad tracks like Sky Temple. The ost is what it is, they really need to keep Jun away from classic osts. Just give them to someone else at this point.

[Vissova]

It's good, but it does not in any way surpass S3&K or Mania. In fact it's quite a step down from Mania. The levels range from decent to ball-bustingly frustrating with many instant deaths. Though I didn't hate any of the levels and found them decently enjoyable overall, minus the frustration. My biggest issue is the amount of automation where you don't even need to touch the controller.

The music is the laziest and most forgettable I've ever heard in a Sonic game, which is criminal. The fetish this composer has for the Genesis synth snare gives me migraines and they need to be put on a rocket and sent to Mars so they never compose for another game again. Total trash.

The bosses are the worst aspect of the game, far and away. For the most part I didn't hate them, but towards the end they're just ridiculous. The problem isn't that they're difficult, it's that they're ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ B O R I N G. The amount of time you spend waiting between attacks/phases is agonizing and stretches what should be very brief fights into tedious slogs. The lack of checkpoints between these lengthy phases is also a big problem.

Lastly, the emerald stages are incredibly poorly designed and executed. I really like the concept, but I found myself completing them in literally seconds first try before even fully understanding what I was doing. They're far too easy.

I think this game is a 6/10. It's overall pretty decent, but it exudes the mediocrity we've come to expect from Sonic Team and most importantly is not worth the insane $80 CAD pricetag.

[CosmikOtter]

(I played on PS5)

So the main story mode is pretty solid stuff outside of Press Factory, which is more or less Wacky Workbench 2.0 with all the verticality and incredibly stupid gimmick of having a machine in the background shoot you up unless you're hopping about when it slams down. Not Mania good, but still something I can see myself coming back to.

However, the post game is some of the worst stuff I've seen in an AAA platformer in a while. Trip's Story is awful in every way. As someone above me mentioned, it's like someone's first attempt at making kaizo garbage. For those of you who have played Sonic Megamix...it's like every level is that games take on labyrinth and scrap brain but even more obnoxious. I'm very thankful I went and got all the emeralds *before* doing this bit of the game because by the time I got halfway through I decided to just hang onto 50 rings and completely disengage with the bad level design by going super. (But she turns into a dragon at least and hey that's kinda cool ig)

Last Story is equally bad. 10 minute fight plus sparse rings plus a random ass QTE pattern right at the end when no other bit in the game has them. If there wasn't a trophy tied to it I probably wouldn't have bothered.

Overall it is worth playing the main stuff but tbh that's like 5 hours of gameplay and nowhere near worth sixty dollars. I'd say it's a wait for a sale kinda game unless you're really into sonic and/or are willing to tolerate the God awful post game in its current state.

[Malogor]

people being very generous to say this is a 7 or even 8 out of ten. Personally i'd give this 5 since this game feels like very definition of mediocrity. Everything good is outweighed by everything bad and the only way I see the bad stuff ever getting fixed is through fan mods since it's stuff that's way too ingrained into the coregame for the devs to even consider changing it. Very easy "do not buy" from my end as the pricetag in no way reflects the quality. This game should have been 20 bucks at best.

[⛥Arcana⛥]

Well it's nowhere in the same league as mania or some of the original classics so don't get your hopes up too high or you might find yourself getting disappointed. There are a few gripes I have with the game here and there, but fairly, I'd say that the game is at best - alright, but nothing to write home about really.