Sonic Superstars: A New 2D Sonic Game (Fall 2023)

That concept art looks like they threw Carnival Night, Stardust Speedway, and Robotropolis from the OVA into a blender. Act 2 is set to be more spooky.

They seem to be content with mashing zone themes together to make something new. Not unlike Sonic 4, but this game has much more interesting level concepts than that game does.

 

This is the most awesome carnival-themed level I've ever seen in years.

 

Yeah, really like the CD vibes.

 

The emptyness from the previews so far could just be that the background work isn't completed. That or they cut back on stuff for the Switch version.

I swear, Switch Dos can't come fast enough.

 

I've worked with the Switch's hardware, it should be able to handle these (kinds of) visuals just fine. Superstars doesn't seem like it should be pushing the hardware particularly hard either so I have no idea why it looks so shoddy on Switch compared to other platforms.

 

I think people aren't really giving enough credit to the levels in this game. I see some people say the themes are unoriginal and uninspired, and we're retreading ground. And I just can't agree with that. Are we looking at the same game?

Some of the themes may be repeats, but I think that's inevitable given that there are only so many level things you can think of. Superstars seems to be doing something different with almost all of the traditional level tropes, and even has some entirely unique level tropes. An overgrown jungle with mechanical ruins and glowing butterflies lighting the way. A floating sky island with windmills, a Breakout-style minigame and a storm setpiece at the end. A sky-high carnival with fireworks and spooky ghosts, a waterpark-like level with giant fruit and fruit-themed enemies, a golden castle with cannons, bumpers, and lava overlooking the mountains, and even a bonifed cyberspace themed level! The last time we got that was Advance 3.

Even the Green Hill Zone expy has some tricks of its own. It has a very distinct blend of S3K and CD's level design DNA, and the primarily blue palette makes it stand out against the other Not-Green Hills. The rainbows in the background are a nice touch. Add some unique gimmicks like the wall running and flingy bulb things, and it's a pretty original level.

I guess I'm just not seeing the complaints about unoriginal levels. This seems like the most original Sonic game we've gotten in quite some time, and it's really refreshing. (I would say Frontiers, but that game has the giant skid mark that is Cyber Space.)

 

Switch can definitely push this stuff. Xenoblade 3 shows that it can punch above its weight class. But when it comes to multiplatform releases, the best attention isn't always given to the Switch version. Unnecessary cutbacks occur or just straight up letting the game run like dog shit (hello DBD). This mainly happens with Unreal Engine games though from my experience, which I think is what Azrest used?
Capcom seems to do a killer job with their own internal engines.

 

I got the impression that Arzest built upon the 2.5D engine that Taxman demoed for Sega.

 

The aesthetic for this level goes hard.

 

Unreal Engine for a 2.5D platformer, big oof. If that is the case that's slightly more understandable, considering how demanding it can be and how hard it can be to optimize, but why in Christ's name not use Unity instead?

 

Can someone please post the image of the zone that everyone is fawning over? I only see the concept art and then that sort of baron image of the slot machine. I want in on the fun too!

 

That's all there is. Just the concept art and one gameplay clip that doesn't look like much.

 

I didn't get that impression that Taxman did any work for Superstars. Especially since they parted ways to focus on Penny. Maybe consulted on the character handling, but definitely not engine work. You don't just leave something like that behind for a third party to come in and take over.

That's what I'm assuming since Balan Wonderworld was made using Unreal 4.

 

It seems more likely it *does* use Unity. There's a screenshot of some "trial version" text on the Superstars title screen that is characteristic of Unity demos, and apparently the debug level select shown on accident uses the default Unity background color.

Could go either way, but the signs point to it being Unity.

 

Unity's Switch export is very well optimized though. It'd be weird they'd have to downgrade it so hard for Switch if that were the case.

 

Unity could still be on the table. Azrest has collaborated on Unity projects before, but mostly mobile only titles.

 

Taxman did some minor work on Origins so it’s possible he spoke with Ohshima’s team about genesis physics during that time… but Iziuka has made it clear that Arzest programed Superstars themselves:

The following is an excerpt from a Game Informer Article https://www.gameinformer.com/2023/07/26/why-didnt-sonic-mania-2-happen

Iizuka says the programming is completely unique to Sonic Superstars, created from the ground-up by Arzest. "The team referenced not only Mania, but we referenced Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Mania when we were creating Sonic Superstars," Iizuka says. "The game was created from zero – from absolutely nothing – but we were still looking at all those four Classic games and creating physics that are going to match and feel like what the Classic series needs to be, from scratch. When we're talking about the Classic series and how we're referencing the physics, those are the four titles we were looking at."

 

Also, changing an engine is, like, one of the fastest ways to derail a project maybe...ever? The history of the games industry is littered with failed games that failed in no small part due to the team being inexperienced with a new engine.

 

Whatever they use, the Switch version will be the definitive Ohshima experience if your desire is to relive the poor performance of Sonic CD. A new Sonic game by a father of Sonic, as we truly imagined.