Sonic Superstars feels like some classic Sonic with a few new tricks

destructoid.com:

There’s a certain feeling a good 2D Sonic game can elicit. The sense of zipping through levels at a pace that seems way too fast, as even the scrolling screen struggles to keep up with how fast the blue blur is moving, is a core memory for those who grew up around a Sega Genesis. And it’s a feeling I got when I was playing the newest Sonic entry, Sonic Superstars.

Sonic Superstars is, to put it frankly, a classic Sonic game. It’s 3D in models but 2D in design, though there are plenty of twists to change that up. The base foundation is familiar: you run, left to right, across the screen to hit the goal. Every so often, Dr. Robotnik / Eggman will roll in with an increasingly complicated machine you’ll need to bonk your head against a few times.

The basics of a classic Sonic game are here. It’s the ways in which Sonic Superstars twists them just a hair that I enjoy, and think this might find a home on co-op players’ systems.

In the demo I played, as part of Summer Game Fest 2023, there were two level options and four characters. The first one I rolled up was a classic set-up, with lots of ramps and ledges to spin-ball over as my chosen hero, Sonic. If you’re going to demo a Sonic game, you really have to start with the basics, right?

But for other options, there are also Tails, Knuckles, and Amy. It’s a set-up that instantly reminded me of a personal favorite, Sonic Advance. Immediately, I started to notice how certain levels might feel different playing as another character. Sonic might speed through the area, while Tails takes a higher route and floats along. Cliffside jumping puzzles were easily circumvented by Knuckles. Amy? She’s got a hammer.

This becomes more noticeable as the levels’ mechanics get more complex.