Sonic Superstars puts a glossy spin on old Sonic the Hedgehog gameplay

polygon.com:

Sonic the Hedgehog returns for a new 2D adventure this fall with Sonic Superstars, Sega and Sonic Team’s best-looking game in the franchise yet. Despite its slick, modern look, Superstars has vintage Sonic bones. Co-developer Arzest appears to have painstakingly replicated classic Sonic physics in a style similar to 2017’s Sonic Mania, keeping the franchise’s core gameplay firmly rooted in its past.

Sonic Superstars does manage to switch up the high-speed 2D side-scrolling of Sonic games past with a few new tricks. The game’s roster includes Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy Rose, and each has their own strengths and abilities. Sonic can drop dash; Tails and Knuckles can hover or float for easy platforming; and Amy Rose can double jump and whip out a colorful mallet to smack enemies.

More importantly, Sonic and friends can also utilize new Emerald Powers, evoking the power-up-infused gameplay of Sonic Colors. Using Emerald Powers, players can create clones of themselves, swim up waterfalls, and get the equivalent of X-ray vision to see hidden stage elements. The powers can be employed at almost any time, and are selected from a radial menu assigned to the right analog stick of a gamepad. The developers otherwise keep Sonic Superstars’ controls overly simple; it’s mostly controlled with just one button, but confusingly so. I rarely found myself actually using these new powers, instead relying mainly on tried-and-true Sonic platforming techniques.

Notably, for Sonic fans with kids or partners they want to rope into the franchise, Sonic Superstars can be played cooperatively, with up to four players at once. On paper, this is a compelling feature. In practice, Superstars’ co-op is incredibly frenetic, even with just two