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

I still can't even get onto the newsletter site because it's broken and doesn't show the means to sign up or get the code.

Had to incognito VPN that shit, guess it's responding to an adblocker or some other addon for whatever reason.

 

Earliest score ratings in:

• Famitsu (32/40)

 

Same score Famitsu gave Mania, for what it's worth. I know they're not considered particularly great for reviews among publications but I think an outlet that mostly gives high scores to story/cutscene-driven games liking Superstars is a good sign.

 

So you guys think this will do better than Mania and does it even have to in order to be considered a success?

 

I feel like dumping my anticipated score then, before the floodgates open. I was thinking I'll see it from a general view as a not-quite-8, with a personal score more like a 7. But also ready to be wrong about that personal impression in particular.

Modern appeal vs nostalgic purism I guess. I'd take a gamble that modern appeal typically gets more money... but Mania was pretty hype before release, and hugely praised after. This certainly doesn't have the Mania buzz, not by a long shot. Tough call.

I'd say I'm hoping it's Superstars for the sake of future releases. It would definitely be a promising to discover some article headlining that Superstars has out-profited Mania. Now that I'm saying that, I feel a bit more skeptical that it will happen.


To be considered a success is ultimately a money thing no? Otherwise it's just a wash of everyone's different personal gauge. Personally I'm looking for something where I don't feel "Ah, close, but it just misses." If it doesn't do that, it's a success for me.

 

I think it'll probably sell better than Mania given it's not a throwback, isn't digital-only, and will be able to ride on the positive word-of-mouth generated by the movies and Frontiers. It'll probably review a bit worse than Mania did, but better than Frontiers - I think reviews will by and large be positive. Everything seems to be lining up for this game to be a success, in my eyes.

 

What the fuck does it mean "24 hours to clear, 31 hours with side activities". That's the same length Sonic Team said Frontiers was (and in my playthrough, it was accurate). That has to be wrong.

 

Turns out we were all played for fools. Superstars actually had 24 New Zones the whole time. That or a MOBA Side Mode.

 

24 new zones on top of the ones we already know are in the game would still equate to less than half that playtime. This must be a mistake.

 

If they count playing through the game four times, once as Sonic, then again as Amy, Tails, and Knuckles, as being necessary to "clear" it. Then I could see them maybe getting to twenty four hours, though I still think that's a optimistically high playtime.

 

If there's some kind of final story unlocked after you finish with all characters, and which can only be unlocked in a single playthrough with four players, I can see the 24 hours being a thing. Then again, it's four critics in Famitsu's score. If they didn't play together, they're the ones missing out.

 

Sonic Superstars concept art featuring Sonic within the underground Frozen Base Zone.

 

Looks like we might get a playable version of the Launch Base cutscene? Wtf I love Sonic vehicle sections now. It just feels so much more appropriate when you're carjacking Eggman.

 

If it has above-ground sections too, then I think think we may have seen a little of this Zone already in the recent Multiplayer trailer - there was a snow stage which featured blue rocks, girders and conveyor belts, all of which can also be seen in this concept art.

Re: Famitsu's estimated playtime - I recall a lot of speculation that a fifth playable character (presumably Trip?) may be unlockable, based on the odd layout of characters on the title screen. If they're counting full playthroughs with each character as part of the total playtime, could the presence of an extra character go some way to explaining it? That'd work out at around 4-5 hours per character for the "main" content.

 

Why is he brown

 

I said it before when the game was first revealed, but one of the things I appreciate a lot about Superstars on a fundamental level is that as far as the mainstream is concerned. Superstars is the first 2D Sonic game from Sega that's being promoted as a big deal inof itself. It's not a handheld game that got maybe a tenth of the promotion of the console titles, which was the case for most of the 2D games throughout the 2000s. It's not a digital-only release like Sonic 4 and Mania (until the Plus re-release). And it's not a secondary playstyle or gameplay shift for what's otherwise a 3D title (most of the 3D games since Unleashed).

Regardless of how Superstars turns out, I always felt that putting more resources with the next 2D Sonic, and treating it as a big release in the same way the 3D games have historically been done, should had always been the goal following Mania's success. And while Superstars might not be on the level of quality of a certain plumber's upcoming 2D return, I think it is Sega finally trying to put 2D Sonic on the same level of importance again for a mass audience. The last time a 2D Sonic project was treated as a tentpole in its own right, I'd honestly say was Sonic 3&K all the way back in 1994.

So by means of that level of promotion alone, I think Superstars has a decent chance of selling better than Mania did. I also feel that much like with Frontiers, I think the success of the multimedia stuff going on with the franchise as of late (the live-action movies and the Netflix show) will attract Superstars more attention from general audiences than it normally would have garnered.

 

That's clearly Goo-Jit-Zu Gold Stretch Sonic, another costume DLC cross promo

 

I'd be baffled if it somehow sells less than Mania with the game coming right after Frontiers and the Sonic property being a hot button. Selling more than Mania I think is the bare minimum of success. I don't thin Sega expects it to outperform Frontiers, though if it does, they'd be over the moon.

Even if it sells exactly the same or even a little worse, it sells for 3x as much so it'll already be more successful on that alone, but generally companies want growth and not stagnation so they want an unabashed increase in sales.

 

Sonic Superstars has breached containment.

 

See you guys on the 17th.