Sonic Superstars recaptures the magic of 16-bit Sonic - but it's not a perfect return to form

It’s interesting to see what Sonic Team and Arzest have come up with with Sonic Superstars – it’s a game that pays tribute to Sonic’s past while exploring new concepts along the way, but it’s also a title with some curious design choices and fascinating technical decisions. Today we’ll explore this Unity-powered platformer from both gameplay and visual perspectives while weighing in on different versions of the game across multiple platforms, including PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Switch.

At its core, Sonic Superstars is a return to the classic side-scrolling Sonic formula, but constructed entirely in 3D. We’ve seen this before with varying levels of success, such as the classic Sonic stages built for Sonic Generations, but Superstars is the first title since the 16-bit era to crack the control physics conundrum that made the original 2D titles so fun to play.

These early Sonic games are known for their specific brand of acceleration and momentum – the way Sonic interacts with slopes, loops and other terrain features is key to its design. The problem is, after the shift to polygons, this aspect of Sonic was largely lost – with both 2D and 3D attempts failing to deliver anything remotely comparable to these originals.