Jump to content
Awoo.

Sonic Lost World Reviews


Tails spin

Recommended Posts

some detailed impressions

I like these kinds of impressions because it usually helps me find a balance between good/not good.

And later on in that page a guy said he loved the game, and at least one person said he would give it an 8. So reception is looking mixed so far, as i thought it would be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't trust NeoGAF, wait for some proper reviews.

 

What do you mean by this?

 

Gaf is made up of people just like you and me as well as industry professionals, if anything it's a better place to go for opinions on a game other than 'proper reviews'

 

And what the hell does this phrase 'proper reviews' even mean? When I posted my preview of the game someone said "Pay no attention to this and wait for the real reveiws!"

 

What? Because they're not paid or have their review posted on a review site it doesn't count now? Or is it that they're not mindlessly praising the game. Their comments certainly do count, and like I've been saying for months, this game is not as good as some people on here seem to think it was going to be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And as far as I've seen, it definitely isn't a train wreck. Not a 9 but an even 7 or so.

I can live with that. I'm still getting it.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, Famitsu is the only professional body to have released a review so far? I'm kind of surprised that there aren't any Western ones at all when the release date is tomorrow. Hopefully they'll pop up then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, Famitsu is the only professional body to have released a review so far? I'm kind of surprised that there aren't any Western ones at all when the release date is tomorrow. Hopefully they'll pop up then.

Embargo date is tomorrow morning, 8 AM EDT.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Embargo date is tomorrow morning, 8 AM EDT.

 

This I did not know. Looking forward to it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, does this thread allow reviews from users here who have played the game? tongue.png (Pardon me if it sounds like an obvious question).

 

Sure why not. They probably won't get added to the OP but it's nice to get something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A random German Nintendo fansite called Wii U News has posted a long review of the Wii U version.

 

Their score?

7/10

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http://wiiunews.at/wii-u-spiele-reviews/adventure/14455-sonic-lost-world-test/&act=url

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finished Sonic Lost World’s story.  Here’s my thoughts.  Tried to keep spoilers to a minimum but of course there’ll be raw, unfiltered impressions here, and expect minor-to-medium content spoilers.

 

It is a good game.  But it was a disappointment.  I’ll get it out of the way - I was fully ready to embrace the new gameplay style.  I did, it’s fun!  But I way way prefer Unleashed-era gameplay.  So that’s that said.



Generally speaking the biggest disappointment is just how clunky it all is.  After Colours and Generations it really felt like Sonic Team had done it, whether you liked the gameplay choices or not, you can’t deny it was mostly glitch free, and it all worked.  As much as I liked Unleashed, I will admit it was unpolished and was not truly refined until Generations.  Unfortunately, we’ve been sent right back to Unleashed.  This is a Sonic game with a bold new direction and brand new ideas, and they do not always work well, either due to not being fun, not feeling suitably “Sonic”, or literally not working properly.

Sonic frequently tries to hop up onto small platforms you don’t want him too.  There’s a ton of segments, especially in 2D, where the parkour actions get in the way of simple platforming.  There was one section where I died because in trying to jump over a small step before a gap, straight to the platform on the other side of the gap, Sonic decided to “connect” to that little step, do a little “hop up n’ over” and sail straight into the pit.  There’s tons of this all over the place.  Also his new double jump animation is horrifically confusing and has caused me crazy amounts of deaths where his backflip animation caused me to try to unnecessarily correct myself straight to my doom.

Even after finishing, I still don’t know how to wall-run.  The opportunities to practice it safely were easily missed.  Luckily it’s never mandatory, but I was annoyed that I had to choose the easy “just use a Wisp to fly over it” solution to several wall-running areas, waving tearfully to the Red Star Rings I missed as a result.

Speaking of Wisps what the hell are they even doing here.  They are even more “we interrupt your scheduled Sonic platforming for a quick minigame” than they were in Sonic Colours.  As a bonus point for those who care about Sonic lore, they aren’t even acknowledged by the characters, in or out of gameplay.  They’re just powerups.

The game has a high difficulty.  It’s probably the hardest 3D Sonic to date, no question.  Harder than Unleashed.  You guys made fun of Eggmanland for throwing a life at you after every checkpoint - you’re gonna wish they did it in this game.  It’s the first Sonic game I’ve ever played where, towards the end, I would replay a secret level to grind for lives before tackling the next level.

To add insult to injury, when you die a certain number of times, or when you’re on your last life, a capsule appears that warps you to the next checkpoint.  Good idea for younger players, bad idea to stick it directly in your way 50% of the time.  There’s no penalty for using them, but I would like to actually play the levels thanks.

Final thing I can think of is that the flair and cinematicness of the Unleashed trilogy is gone.  Completely.  One level (which is very Unleashed-ish in gameplay) has really cool atmosphere and scenery, but that’s about it.  I think this is probably the hardest thing for me to take.  Automated or not, freaking amazingly cool set-pieces being visual payoffs for gameplay is a part of 3D Sonic for me.  This game contains nothing even vaguely comparable to Speed Highway’s skyscraper descent, City Escape’s truck chase, Rooftop Run’s Clock Tower, or Starlight Carnival’s ship-emerging-out-of-a-black-hole.  Everything is just blocky surreal levels.  Gorgeously detailed and pretty blocky surreal levels, but nothing that’ll make you really sit back and go “whoa”.

I am being overly negative, it’s easier to recall the negative stuff.  Here’s some stuff I really enjoyed:

The more Unleashed-esque levels are pretty damn cool.  The Grinding-focused level in the third zone is my personal favourite.  The game also gets points generally for the fact that every act is unique.  I can adore Unleashed’s scenery all I like, but it was most certainly lacking in unique GAMEPLAY gimmicks.  This is not.

The cut-scenes and story were generally on top form, though I found the finale/ending very disappointing and the resolutions to problems were not that much less cheap than they were in Colours.  The characters are rarely in peril for very long.  The comedy is leagues above Colours and Generations though.  There’s a little bit of “trying too hard” and “for the kids” humour, but there’s a lot of genuinely witty, snappy humour and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it telling character reactions that I loved.  Eggman in particular gets so very much screentime.  On the downside, all the dramas that do happen are usually out of nowhere and melodramatic, and quickly resolved so as to not interrupt the fact that after every cut-scene Sonic needs to be running through a level again.

Also, the music is amazing and a very fresh new take for Sonic, though I hope not a permanent style, as I was disappointed at a complete lack of vocal tracks.  Also while some of the slower tracks really really work, some of them do feel jarringly un-Sonicy for gameplay.  Having said that I can’t help but express a little bit of personal disappointment, as the music is probably the most “video gamey” soundtrack to date, while I’ve always preferred the hipper and modern Sonic soundtracks, like Secret Rings.  Still, getting over that personal preference of mine, the music is a freakin’ awesome “video gamey” soundtrack.

I’ve yet to play the 3DS one, nor mess around with much beyond the end credits (never tried the 2 player modes or used the item things or anything), so maybe my opinions might change after I’ve attempted 100%ing and got over the steep learning curve for the controls.

So, in short I consider Sonic Lost World to be EXTREMELY flawed.  A good effort, but ultimately disappointing despite the good stuff being great.  If you’re a big fan of Sonic Unleashed style gameplay and aesthetic like myself, keep an open mind, but approach with caution.

Edited by JezMM
  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eh, 6.5/10 I guess.  Bare in mind that I consider 5 average, so that's still good.  But just "good".

Edited by JezMM
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yea, I can definitely see this game having mostly the same reception as the last couple of games; just 7's & 8's for the most part. Good, but not bad, but not really great either.

 

 

Granted, numbers never really mattered to me.

 

 

seriously, using numbers to judge your personal opinion is stupid to me :\

Edited by Dark Yakuzu
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yea, I can definitely see this game having mostly the same reception as the last couple of games; just 7's & 8's for the most part. Good, but not bad, but not really great either.

 

Good enough is fine for me too, i never expect modern Sonic games to be masterpieces anyhow. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good enough is fine for me too, i never expect modern Sonic games to be masterpieces anyhow. 

 

After 15 years of games ranging from mediocre to just good, I kinda think that's setting the bar a little too low.

 

Or hell, maybe I just have too high expectations with wanting the series to be more than just "good".

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, same here. Though at least we haven't gotten a trainwreck in a while yet, otherwise i'd probably lose half of my faith with Sonic Team right now. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After 15 years of games ranging from mediocre to just good, I kinda think that's setting the bar a little too low.

 

Or hell, maybe I just have too high expectations with wanting the series to be more than just "good".

Well, I don't believe you have too high expectations for wanting it to be more than that. I feel quite guilty for always just being content with almost all the Sonic games I have played, but now in this time it's probably time I start raising my expectations more. Honestly, we probably all should be raising our expectations for the games because we really need to have SEGA/SonicTeam/Iizuka know that us fans want them to continue working harder and reaching newer heights than what they're currently hitting. 

 

Well, that's just how I feel...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Still holding out for some more positive vibes, hopefully. I'm worried about the gameplay a little, as I've always been, now a little more than before... I'd love to get my hands on it and try for myself, but NO DEMO DAMNIT

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

You must read and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy to continue using this website. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.