Specifically, in an interview with Eurogamer, when asked about the Sonic franchise’s inconsistency, Utsumi touched on the success of releases such as Sonic Frontiers and Sonic X Shadow Generations, while also bringing up the comparative failure of the 2023 sidescrolling title Sonic Superstars, which he labelled a “disappointment”.

“We were trying to do something creative with Sonic Frontiers,” he said. “With Sonic Superstars it turned out to be a disappointment, in terms of the outcome compared to what we delivered. This time we have Sonic X Shadow Generations and the next Sonic movie, so we’re pushing things in the transmedia direction – movies and games working in harmony to make things bigger. But the core [of the experience] is the game. The game needs to be very good or else there is no transmedia effect.”

Not long after the sidescrolling platformer’s launch last year, Sega confirmed that the game had got off to a slower-than-expected start where its sales were concerned, something the company would later go on to partially attribute to the game releasing in close proximity to fellow sidescrolling platformer Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

As for what’s next for the Sonic IP, at The Game Awards last week, Sega unveiled Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, the next instalment in the Sonic kart racing series.

Obviously, the one game that the game was probably in most direct competition with was fellow megaton sidescrolling platformer Super Mario Bros. Wonder, launching just three days apart- and that close proximity of releases has impacted Sonic’s sales, according to Sega.

Sega recently published an official English translation of its most recent quarterly Q&A with investors (caught by VGC), where, upon being asked about Sonic Superstars’ lower-than-expected sales, the company pointed to how close its launch was to “competing titles in the same genre”.

“Although Sonic Superstars has generally been well received by those who have played it, the timing of the launch coincided with competing titles in the same genre, and it has been short of the initial forecast,” Sega said. “The strategic expansion of Sonic IP is progressing well, and we will continue to work to increase repeat sales of this title.”

There was a significant gap in the critical reception for Sonic Superstars and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which is likely to have contributed to the disparate commercial performances of both games, with the former sitting at a Metacritic score of 73, and the latter at 92.

As of December 31, Super Mario Bros. Wonder has sold nearly 12 million copies worldwide. It is the fastest-selling Super Mario-related title to date.

Later this year, Sega is set to release another Sonic game in the form of Sonic X Shadow Generations, an expanded remaster of 2011’s Sonic Generations that will include an entirely new, standalone campaign focused on Shadow the Hedgehog.

During Sega’s recent quarterly earnings call, CEO Haruki Satomi revealed that in terms of sales, Sonic Superstars had a “slightly weaker start” than the company had anticipated.

However, Satomi explained that the company expects the 2D platformer’s sales to pick up in the months of November and December, which is typically the period where Sonic titles enjoy the strongest sales. In fact, as per Satomi, 90% of the title’s marketing budget is set to be spent over the course of the Holiday period, following which Sega is expecting sales on par with last year’s Sonic Frontiers (which had sold 3.5 million units as of May).

“Sonic Superstars was released in October, which is a slightly weaker start than we had anticipated,” Satomi said (transcription via VGC). “But in reality, when Sonic IP sells the most is mainly November to December, and more than 90% of this title’s marketing cost will be spent in the Thanksgiving and holiday season from November onwards.

“Although in the financial results announced today, we are forecasting this title’s sales slightly weaker with the view of the status of start mentioned above, we plan to continue our marketing efforts to sell on the same level as Sonic Frontiers.”

When asked about what had impacted Sonic Superstars’ sales, Satomi explained that the busy period in which the game launched had been a factor. The likes of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, and many others were released in close proximity to the 2D platformer.

“We believe that the impact of other companies’ major title[s] released at the same time is significant, but we plan to expand the promotion towards the Holiday season, especially in the overseas market,” he said. “Both the Metacritic score and user score are higher than Sonic Frontiers, and we would like to continue to sell firmly.”

Upon its release in the UK, physical launch sales for Sonic Superstars in the region were 63% lower compared to what Sonic Frontiers managed upon its launch last year.

Sonic Superstars is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Read our review of the game through here.

However, the other big story is that Sonic Superstars held its own against Nintendo’s flagship property. The 2D side-scrolling debuted in fourth with 49 percent of physical sales on Nintendo Switch, 34 percent on PS5, 10 percent on Xbox and six percent on PS4. Launch sales were down 63 percent compared to Sonic Frontiers, but it could receive a boost from Black Friday later this month.

Other new releases include Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged at 32nd place. Lords of the Fallen,  which debuted last week in fourth, fell to 18th place with sales dropping by 70 percent. Check out the full top-ten best-selling games for the week ending October 21st below.

While retaining the same feel as classic Sonic the Hedgehog platformers, Sonic Superstars supports four-player co-op. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy Rose are playable and can utilize new Emerald Powers, like throwing a bunch of clones at your enemies, scaling waterfalls, and much more.

Sonic Superstars also doesn’t utilize any stages from the previous games, thus delivering a fresh experience. You can check out our review for more details. We gave it a 5 out of 10, praising the visual fidelity, controls and sense of speed but criticizing the overall design of the Zones, the Emerald Powers, music, and more.

Are you going to get an amazing 3D adventure with killer music that probably won’t age as well down the line (but is still awesome)? Probably. Maybe a disappointing side-scrolling that doesn’t deserve a mainline number, much less any mention in the series’ history? Most likely. Some of the worst stories ever told with some of the dumbest plot twists and gameplay mechanics possible in 2006? Indubitably. It’s a benefit and curse of being a Sonic fan.

"However, like any Sonic game, you never really know until you get into it, and after getting into Sonic Superstars, I can confirm that it’s a mess."

Nevertheless, the franchise has been doing pretty well as of late. Sonic Mania is an incredible throwback, delivering an incredible 2D side-scrolling adventure while adding some of its own ideas. Sonic Frontiers took the 3D platforming into a new direction, warts and all while presenting one of the best soundtracks in the series to date. Such is the anticipation for Sonic Superstars because it’s the first co-op title to support up to four players in the story.

There are plenty of other firsts, though, like Emerald Powers and Amy Rose being a central playable character (who also plays an important role in the story). It also doesn’t utilize a single zone from previous titles, instead featuring all new ones in the Northstar Islands. Also, unlike Sonic Generations and its side-scrolling levels, the controls in Sonic Superstars are a bonafide successor to the original Sega Genesis game.

However, like any Sonic game, you never really know until you get into it, and after getting into Sonic Superstars, I can confirm that it’s a mess. Even worse is that it’s a mess I wanted to like as a long-time Sonic the Hedgehog fan. One that I go back to, thinking that I’m looking at it wrong, only to become frustrated at what could have been, especially with what it gets right.

The story, such as it is for a Sonic game, is minimal and completely ignorable, even if those animated cutscenes look good (though not as good as Sonic Mania). Thus, the presentation comes to the forefront – the visuals and soundtrack. At first, the former catches your eye – bright, colorful and in line with that classic Sonic aesthetic but in 3D.

"There’s no way of sugar-coating it – Sonic Superstars has one of the worst soundtracks in the entire franchise."

There’s an ample amount of fidelity, as well, whether you’re admiring how Sonic’s quills bounce while he’s traveling at top speed or the background detail. The textures are also sharp, and the animations are on point, whether it’s the characters or the enemies and bosses.

Of course, there’s a catch, and it’s the lighting. You won’t notice it at first, but sooner or later, it becomes clear that some parts of the stage are darker while others have glowing outlines for no reason. The characters themselves are strangely lit, and while the effect may be to help objects stand out, the application leaves a lot to be desired.

It’s not horrendous like Sonic 4’s visuals, but it wastes much of the work that went into the environments and their multitudes of details. When you go from Bridge Island and Speed Jungle to Lagoon City or even Sky Temple, the difference in lighting is so glaringly obvious that it’s insane. You could argue that this is a stylistic choice or even done to improve visibility, but instead of immersing one in the adventure or the sense of speed, it creates an unnatural feel.

As annoyed with the lighting as I am, my disappointment is immeasurable, and my day ruined thanks to the soundtrack. There’s no way of sugar-coating it – Sonic Superstars has one of the worst soundtracks in the entire franchise. One or two decent tunes put it above the bottom of the barrel, but you’d be hard-pressed to remember anything afterwards.

"If there’s one bright spot in Sonic Superstars, it’s the controls. Arzest and Sonic Team wanted to capture the feel of the older titles, which is no easy feat. To say they succeeded would be an understatement."

It’s a shame because, among many things, the soundtrack is one of the core pillars that makes a Sonic game, adding to the atmosphere, lending a sense of urgency, creating tension and ushering in victory. Instead, Sonic Superstars’ soundtrack feels bland and uninspired – like an imitation of what someone thinks Sonic music should sound like. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not going to tell you what does or doesn’t qualify as Sonic music, but when you’ve spent as many decades with a series, the magic and charm of a compelling soundtrack is undeniable.

You hear it in Sonic Frontiers, Sonic Mania, Sonic Generations, Sonic Unleashed, the original games – the list goes on. Even Sonic ’06 had some memorable tracks – and yes, vocal tracks count. Superstars lacks all of that, and the worst part is that the mixing is done horribly, with tracks sounding too low (despite bumping up the in-game volume). It just makes the soundtrack blend into the background all the more.

If there’s one bright spot in Sonic Superstars, it’s the controls. Arzest and Sonic Team wanted to capture the feel of the older titles, which is no easy feat. To say they succeeded would be an understatement. Each character’s movement, from Sonic’s spin-dash to Knuckles’ gliding, is on point, from the responsiveness to the momentum.

It also doesn’t hurt that the sense of speed is captured well when it wants to be (more on that in a bit). Long story short, if you enjoyed the older games or Sonic Mania, you’ll feel at home with Superstars‘ controls. I wasn’t a fan of some changes, like Knuckles’ glide having a recovery when it ends, extended if he lands on his stomach, but I digress.

"While the effects can be interesting, the Powers feel tacked on – at times, it’s possible to forget you even have them and play like any other regular Sonic title."

The new addition is the Emerald Powers. Whenever you collect a Chaos Emerald via a new grapple-heavy Special Stage, it’s no longer just on your person, waiting to be stolen through story circumstances beyond your control (hint hint). Instead, it grants an ability. The Red Chaos Emerald gives the Bullet ability to shoot ahead in a direction of choice. The Blue Chaos Emerald has the Clone ability to summon a venerable army of clones across the screen to defeat enemies (or die mercilessly).

While the effects can be interesting, the Powers feel tacked on – at times, it’s possible to forget you even have them and play like any other regular Sonic title. Some abilities, like Vision, are completely useless during boss fights. Water allows you to climb up waterfalls, which is also highly situational (no river in the desert here, unfortunately).

It also doesn’t help that the Zones aren’t very well-designed to take advantage of the new Powers. You may discover a hidden wall here or there and maybe even reach out-of-the-way areas with Bullet, with the game helpfully indicating where you can use power, but that’s pretty much it.

This brings us to one of the game’s biggest failings. At first, it seems like the new Zones balance classic Sonic gameplay – where you play through stages again and again to find your optimum run – with several new gimmicks. Bridge Island, the first Zone, is a good example, as it features the usual half-pipes, loops and classic foes, balanced with a few new additions.

"As for the bosses, they range from interesting to – you guessed it – needlessly tedious and become all the more frustrating as you near the finale."

However, this approach can go overboard as early as in Zones like Sky Temple and Pinball Carnival. The former consists of one Act with numerous gimmicks, seemingly cramming multiple Acts into one. Some, like the Brickout-style mini-game or the brief homage to Windy Valley from Sonic Adventure, work well, while others – like slowly hovering between points, precision platforming and avoiding projectiles with iffy hitboxes – don’t.

The latter slows the game down to an annoying degree, to the point where it feels less like finding your optimal path and simply surviving as much zany nonsense as the game can throw at you. There’s one frustrating Act involving finding switches to ensure that Eggman’s machine in the background didn’t blow up and kill you. Another causes you to jump automatically due to an earth-shaking press in the background, screwing up your timing. I also can’t state enough how bad the pinball mechanics feel, especially when there’s an entire Zone dedicated to the same.

Some portions of levels also feel like they’re designed for four players to stop and ponder or die and retry multiple times. The digital rat maze in Cyber Station is one of many examples, except they feel tedious even with several players involved. The fact that your allies automatically teleport when you speed ahead of them tells me these sections are placed to ensure that doesn’t happen, thus affecting the overall flow and speed of the game.

As for the bosses, they range from interesting to – you guessed it – needlessly tedious and become all the more frustrating as you near the finale. Some even have attacks akin to being crushed by the environment, resulting in your immediate death. The fact that certain bosses are trivialized with an Emerald Power like Clone is also hilarious since they effectively bypass mechanics that require reaching the boss’s weak spot.

"It may be a mode that fans try out once or twice, but Battle Mode’s staying power is highly suspect. The fact that Medals don’t do anything else, like unlock new concept art or wallpapers, is disappointing."

Though the returning Special Stages, where you navigate a constantly rotating maze, can be enjoyable, the new one – where you grapple from one to another to reach a fleeing Chaos Emerald – feels incredibly janky. Otherwise, each character has dedicated Acts in certain Zones which advance the plot and are tailor-made for their abilities. Those belonging to Knuckles and Amy feel fine.

However, Sonic and Tails have some extremely annoying and frustrating gimmicks, like surviving attacks from Fang at high speed or navigating sections filled with environmental hazards while flying. You also have bonus Acts accessible by spending fruit, which is less stressful and provides ways to earn Rings and Medals.

Speaking of Medals, they’re used for the new Battle Mode to unlock parts for customizing your Metal Fighter. The rate at which you earn Medals during the story feels way too low, even if you’re constantly playing through Special Stages. As for the mode itself, which involves competing in three randomly chosen multiplayer mini-games, it’s fine.

The mini-games don’t feel particularly compelling, and though you can play offline with up to seven AI bots, no Medals are awarded. It may be a mode that fans try out once or twice, but its staying power is highly suspect. The fact that Medals don’t do anything else, like unlock new concept art or wallpapers, is disappointing.

"A Sonic game like this with a not-insignificant amount of development resources could’ve and should’ve been so much better."

Upon completing the story, you unlock an additional playable character in their own story, with slightly revamped levels tailored more to their abilities. They’re fun to play, but it’s here that the tedious Zone design strikes again, robbing you of any real enjoyment. The fact that even the character-specific Acts are needlessly difficult in this particular story mode is baffling.

I had high hopes going into Sonic Superstars. When it started with that classic-style animated cutscene and the promise of adventure in these brand-new Zones, there was excitement. The initial Acts also felt fine, even if the presentation left something to be desired, but the experience fell off a cliff as it wore on. Maybe it’s because the overall flow of the levels and how they went against a defining principle of Sonic titles, particularly of the 2D side-scrolling variety, annoyed me.

However, the most disappointing part about it all is that Arzest and Sonic Team had the tools to deliver a compelling experience, from the controls to the visual fidelity. Superstars has a decently large scope and tries to do something new, but the result doesn’t come together in a way that feels thematically coherent or mechanically fun.

As enjoyable as the sense of speed can be, with the background rushing by (thanks especially to the rock solid frame rate), it doesn’t make up for all those times where the action comes screeching to a halt as you deal with stage hazards and annoying gimmicks. Maybe you’ll have more fun with friends in co-op or embrace the potential online chaos that Battle Mode can offer. A Sonic game like this with a not-insignificant amount of development resources could’ve and should’ve been so much better.

This game was reviewed on PS5.

Speaking in a recent interview at TGS with Japanese outlet Den-fami Nico Gamer, Naoto Ohshima – the original designer of the Sonic the Hedgehog character, and executive vice president of Sonic Superstars co-developer Arzest – revealed that the upcoming 2D platformer will run at 60 FPS on the Nintendo Switch.

Ohshima did not mention whether it will run at 60 FPS only when the game is played in console mode, or if it will also maintain that frame rate when played in handheld mode. That said, this presumably means that it will target 60 FPS on all other platforms as well, since they’re all working with much more powerful hardware than what the Switch offers.

Sonic Superstars is due out on October 17 for Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

The new Zone is set in a jungle and features elements like boxes with pull strings that dispense rings. Some fast-moving enemies will pursue Sonic on various paths, and he must effectively outrun them. Two bosses are showcased, with the second being a new Eggman creation that players must outwit.

Sonic Superstars is out in late 2023 for Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Nintendo Switch. It’s primarily developed by Arzest of Balan Wonderworld infamy, with Sonic Team providing support. Stay tuned for more details and gameplay in the coming months.

We live in a rather dark and bleak world, especially right now with everything seeming to be on fire. That’s why it’s nice to have games like Balan Wonderworld to interject things with a bit more color and whatnot. We’re seen quite a lot of the opening worlds of the game, but we haven’t seen a lot of how it plays just yet. It’s still several months down the road, after all. However, the ESRB is giving us a taste and, well, it may be a bit surprising.

The ESRB has officially rated the game, and there’s mention there of how the game plays. There’s mention of using abilities such as fireballs and tornadoes, which kind of matches what we’ve seen, but maybe the surprising thing is the game apparently has mechs of some kind in it. Can’t say I saw that coming. There’s also reference to shooting in first person with certain weapons. It’ll be interesting to see what that’s about when the game does come out next year.

“This is an action platformer in which players explore a magical world while battling enemies in order overcome roadblocks. From a third-person perspective, players traverse platform environments, solve puzzles, and use various abilities/weapons (e.g., fireballs, tornadoes, blasters) to defeat fantastical creatures. Some weapons allow players to aim and shoot at enemies from a first-person perspective; robotic/mech suit costumes allow players to shoot small lasers from their chests.”

Balan Wonderworld is set to release for all major platforms March 26th, 2021. You can see both the game’s opening cinematic and boxart through here.

Next year we’ll be getting the incredibly colorful and unique looking Balan Wonderworld. The game has a striking look to it, and will see you go through a variety of different fantasy worlds. We’ve gotten to a see a little of that already, as well as the game’s opening cinematic, which gave us a taste of what to expect. Now we have a little more of the game’s opening chapters.

The official Twitter released some screenshots of the game’s second and third chapter worlds. The second chapter is an underwater world where you navigate ruins as well as have to look out for once friendly dolphins that seemed to have turned on you. We actually saw a little of this world in video form not long ago. Then we have a forest world filled with bugs and seems to hint at some trouble with spiders. The worlds are said to be born from the reflect of the heart of the characters and how they see the world. There’s a lot of games out there nowadays with a cartoon like look, but Balan feels unique all the same.

Balan Wonderworld is set to release March 26th, 2021 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch and PC.

Enjoy a beautiful world of coral and seashells amongst ancient ruins born from Fiona Demetria's heart, reflecting the beauty of the ocean as she sees it in #BalanWonderworld. pic.twitter.com/gMetxIkowm

— Balan Wonderworld (@balanwworld) November 21, 2020

Wander through a whimsical forest crawling with all kinds of bugs born from Yuri Brand's heart in #BalanWonderworld. pic.twitter.com/ih5LhPxwAP

— Balan Wonderworld (@balanwworld) November 23, 2020