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[adamsapple]

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The development heritage is there, but does Sonic Superstars have what it takes to stand proudly alongside side-scrolling classics like Sonic Mania? In an extended Digital Foundry tech review, John Linneman dissects the game, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses and stacks up the game's showing across all major current console platforms... and PC too!

00:00 - Introduction
01:17 - What Makes a Sonic Game?
04:13 - Sonic Physics in Action
07:04 - The Problem With Superstars
09:03 - What About the Graphics?1
2:03 - Platform Comparisons
14:36 - Switch Visual Comparison
16:29 - Frame-Rate Analysis
19:24 - Loading Time Tests
21:55 - Let's Talk About the Music - Good and Bad
24:36 - PC Modding - Improve the Music!
29:25 - Let's Wrap This Up!

 

[adamsapple]

- Developed on Unity.
- 3D game but viewed from a 2D perspective (side-scrolling)

- All versions except Switch share similar visual settings.
- PS5/Series X/S share all visual features.
- PS5/SX: 2160p/60 FPS
- Series S: 1080p/60 FPS

- Switch: Portable: Some stages run at 720p, some stages drop resolution. No DRS
- Docked also runs at native 720p.
- Texture resolution is quarter resolution or worse comparatively to other platforms.
- Texture filtering also worse.
- Depth of Field, lighting quality also much worse.
- Sonic has no shadows. Water falls are opaque. Certain elements have notably lower poly counts
- Cut-backs done to reach 60 FPS, "the price to reach 60"

- PS5/Xbox Series X|S are practically locked 60 FPS with PS5/SX dropping a few drames at the end of level full-screen alpha effects.
- Series S is the most stable without the drops mentioned above.
- Switch can have regular drops to low 50s when multiple characters are on-screen.
- One specific boss battle shown has FPS drop to low 40s on Switch

- Online MP mode runs 'like garbage' on Switch.
- Load times are also slower
- PS5/SX/SS load chapters in 4~ seconds versus 11 on Switch

- However, Switch is the most responsive with the best controller response.
- PS5 is slightly worse and Series S|X has slightly more worse comparatively, Sonic feels heavier to control.
- PC has the best input response time

 

[Codes 208]

For $60 im not impressed

 

[Fake]

This game is so bad jez... and the Sonic 4 OST omg.

 

[Horseganador]

Now let's make a Sonic Mania 2.

 

[Lysandros]

Thanks for the summary OP. As a note John says that "Sonic feels alot heavier" and character movement feels "extremely laggy" on series consoles while PS5 version is "very responsive" but slightly less so compared to Switch version. Maybe your phrasing needs a little update to reflect this. Series version need to be improved in this regard, responsiveness is quite important in a Sonic game.

 

[MAtgS]

It's bewildering how much of a visual downgrade it is on Switch. Yeah yeah, I know I know, it's a less powerful system and all that jazz. But Sonic always sells more on Nintendo platforms, so you'd think whenever Sega makes a new Sonic, they'd be targeting whatever would look good on said platform. Switch us basically a portable PS3/360, so give us Generations type games.

Like OK sure, with Frontiers they wanted to try something different and more ambitious but how in the fuck do they justify SS looking worse than Goddamn Forces?!

 

[Unknown?]

Now let's make a Sonic Mania 2.

Only if they stop reusing old levels. Green Hill needs to just die.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Glad I bought this on PC, Never thought about modding a Sonic game till today. Music Packs?

 

[YCoCg]

Developed on Unity.

This is insane to me, back in 2007 when the Hedgehog engine first arrived with Sonic Unleashed and then across Sonic Colors, Generations, etc, it looked great and performed great (outside of Unleashed, but hey first attempt) and fast forward over 15 years later and we have a game that barely looks better than Sonic Generations struggling to keep a locked 60fps on consoles because of Sonic Team's weird obsession with wanting to use UNITY.

 

[Krathoon]

The funny thing about Sonic is the whole chilidog thing.

 

[Krathoon]

I seems like Sonic Colors Ultimate works fine with some mods.

I notice it had some weird antialiasing.

 

[MasterDerico]

Awesome game! Waiting the sequel!

 

[squarealex]

- However, Switch is the most responsive with the best controller response.
- PS5 is slightly worse and Series S|X has slightly more worse comparatively, Sonic feels heavier to control.
- PC has the best input response time

What the hell is that?

 

[adamsapple]

What the hell is that?

How quickly sonic responds, input latency. Switch is the worst console version but has the fastest response.

 

[Astral Dog]

It's bewildering how much of a visual downgrade it is on Switch. Yeah yeah, I know I know, it's a less powerful system and all that jazz. But Sonic always sells more on Nintendo platforms, so you'd think whenever Sega makes a new Sonic, they'd be targeting whatever would look good on said platform. Switch us basically a portable PS3/360, so give us Generations type games.

Like OK sure, with Frontiers they wanted to try something different and more ambitious but how in the fuck do they justify SS looking worse than Goddamn Forces?!

Apparently this game is targeting 60fps on Switch, Sonic Generations was 30fps on PS3/360, Forces was 30fps on Switch

It kinda makes sense the visual downgrade im not saying its a good solution but at the very least they tried with the framerate.

The Switch had a good run but its time for new hardware (i think Sonic Superstars art direction is kinda ugly tbh)

 

[Dacvak]

Tried the game on Switch and PS5, and surprisingly I ended up playing it on Switch. A lot of stuff looks objectively better on PS5, but there’s just soooo much post-processing that it makes the game less readable than the more simplified Switch version tbh.

The game is a mixed bag. The physics and controls are spot on, and at least half of the stages have pretty solid level design. The music is definitely passable, too. But holy god, the bosses and special stages are unbelievably bad, and I hate these new “powers” that you get from the chaos emeralds—they completely break the game. Not that you’d even get those powers anyway, since the emerald special stage is the worst in Sonic history.

Still, this is the best 3D (well, 2.5D) Sonic ever made I’d say, even though that’s not the highest bar to clear. I’m having enough fun with it for sure. Kinda wish I would have played it before I played Mario Wonder, though.

 

[Krathoon]

I can't find a cheap key for this game. So, I will play Sonic Origins.

 

[Krathoon]

Is Sonic Origins buggy? I have seen videos, but I have not ran into any bugs.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

I hope they fix the latency issues. I plan on picking this up once it goes on sale around Black Friday.

 

[cireza]

the price to reach 60

The price to reach 60fps for a game that looks like that is the price of a Dreamcast, a 25 years old hardware.

 

[Unknown?]

Tried the game on Switch and PS5, and surprisingly I ended up playing it on Switch. A lot of stuff looks objectively better on PS5, but there’s just soooo much post-processing that it makes the game less readable than the more simplified Switch version tbh.

The game is a mixed bag. The physics and controls are spot on, and at least half of the stages have pretty solid level design. The music is definitely passable, too. But holy god, the bosses and special stages are unbelievably bad, and I hate these new “powers” that you get from the chaos emeralds—they completely break the game. Not that you’d even get those powers anyway, since the emerald special stage is the worst in Sonic history.

Still, this is the best 3D (well, 2.5D) Sonic ever made I’d say, even though that’s not the highest bar to clear. I’m having enough fun with it for sure. Kinda wish I would have played it before I played Mario Wonder, though.

I'll have fun with it too, lots probably, just when it's half price.

 

[TaroYamada]

Plays great on Deck, that's where I beat it. For anybody curious.

 

[Physiognomonics]

Input latency in such a platform game is the most important thing ever. Developers have got their priorities in a very bad order. this is messed up.