For my troubles in retrieving the first Emerald, I receive Avatar. When you retrieve a Chaos Emerald, you’re granted a new Emerald Power, abilities that give Sonic and his pals never-before-seen powers. If you can successfully complete the chase without falling or running out of time, you’re rewarded with the precious gem.

As Sonic falls, he locks on to the bubbles and can swing from them to catapult himself in the direction of the Chaos Emerald. The Special Stages drop you into a 3D space with bubbles around you and a Chaos Emerald in the distance. Speeding through Bridge Island’s two Acts feels familiar and intuitive, and not just because the zone feels like a combination of Green Hill and Emerald Hill from Sonic 1 and 2 respectively.īranching paths give you several ways through each stage, and discoveries like giant rings that let you take part in a 3D swinging minigame to retrieve a Chaos Emerald encourage you to explore each part of every Act. Sonic Superstars veers closer to the Mania end of the spectrum, giving off a feel of picking up momentum that is loyal to the classic 2D entries in the series. Whether you’re talking Sonic 4’s broken physics and momentum mechanics or the floaty and imprecise nature of the 2D sequences in 3D games like Sonic Forces, the 2D gameplay has left much to be desired in most games in the modern version of the franchise. Save for Sonic Mania, each successive 2D Sonic console experience has felt off. To try to get the most accurate read on the gameplay, I choose Sonic.

Sonic retains his drop dash introduced in Sonic Mania, while Tails can fly, Knuckles can climb and glide, and Amy can use her hammer to attack enemies and double jump. After selecting Bridge Island, I am given the choice to play as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, or Amy. Going into the demo, I have the choice of playing through Bridge Island Zone or Speed Jungle Zone.

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