Sonic Lost World (PC)

Sonic Lost World first came out in October 2013 as an exclusive title for the Wii U and 3DS. On November 2, little over a week ago, they came out with a PC version. So, should PC gamers be ready to welcome this game after two years? Keep reading to find out.

                                     

Strange Bedfellows

The story in Sonic World follows 2010’s Sonic Colors, in which Dr. Eggman (aka Dr. Robotnik) opened an amusement park out in space, kidnapping tiny alien beings known as Wisps. But this really only serves as the backdrop for the new storyline, which begins with Sonic and his best friend Tails in pursuit of the culprit, but their airplane is damaged and they’re forced to land on a world known as the “Lost Hex”. There, Eggman and his team of henchmen, the Deadly Six, try to get rid of Sonic and Tails. However, in the course of events, this team of six ends up turning on their erstwhile master, and Sonic and Dr. Eggman are forced to band together to fight this new threat.

A Whole New World

The Lost Hex is divided into seven different sub-worlds, each composed of four zones, which Sonic will have to blitz his way through. You move Sonic from hex zone to hex zone, matching the planet’s overall theme. If you depart from the direct path, even in smaller regions, you might come across additional items that you can use in whatever zone you want.

When you enter a zone, you’ll be given one or two options, depending on whether you’re already completed it or not. If you have, in addition to normal mode, there’s one that allows you to try to beat your previous time. Not only that, when you select a zone you can also view the rankings to see how you measure up worldwide or among your friends, which gives some extra motivation to those especially ambitious gamers out there. Within the zones themselves, the perspective changes back and forth between 2D and 3D. 3D sections are the kind of high-octane speedfests the series is known for, whereas the pace in the 2D sections is a bit slower, losing some of that old-fashioned Sonic charm.

Zones are tubular (like, literally cylindrical) and extremely linear for the most part; sometimes they give you an option to do one way or another, but not that often. The end bosses, the Deadly Six, are pretty easy to defeat once you get the hang of their fairly repetitive attack patterns. The Wisps from Sonic Colors are back, bringing a bit of variety in the form of temporary special abilities for Sonic to use. For example, “Asteroid” allows you to discover new areas, and “Yellow Drill” gives Sonic the ability to cut a path through solid ground.

I should also add that Sonic Lost World is only available as a digital download on Steam, and the PC version already includes the “Nightmare” DLC pack. This add-on is available from the beginning, but all it is really is just a single extra zone that pops up every now and then once you reach a certain number of points, and all you get for completing it is one additional bonus item. But it’s not like it’s anything you’ll need – you find items like this often enough in the normal course of the game anyway, and you can only hold onto five of them at a time, which makes you wonder what the point of the DLC is.

Control(ler) Issues

Before you even start the game, they inform you that the game is best played using an Xbox 360 controller. And when you see the difference between the keyboard controls and the controller, you’ll understand that this little bit of advice is not without reason. While it is possible to play with the keyboard, the controls are really awkward and imprecise.

If you have a controller on the other hand, they’re a whole lot easier, and variable speed controls make it so that even beginners should have no trouble getting the hang of things. The right analog stick makes it possible to adjust Sonic’s speed from a walking pace to a brisk jog, to a full-on sprint at super Sonic speeds. Using the keyboard, even moving diagonally is a challenge. Another issue as far as the controls are concerned is the new parkour system, which can require a lot of practice and fair amount of intuitive finger memory to get it right. Even then, it can still be really frustrating when you try to run up a wall for the tenth time and fail.

 

Sonic Colors, Sonic Sounds

Sonic Lost World’s origin as a Wii U/3DS game is only noticeable in a few places, thankfully. They didn’t really revamp the graphics, and this is especially apparent in the start menu. Circular icons and objects have visible angular edges, and when your Steam profile pic shows up it’s pretty pixelated. But in the cut scenes and the actual game itself, you hardly notice these kinds of things at all, except for the occasional unsightly angle. On the other hand, the animations for Sonic are extremely well done, and the transitions between different movement types are really smooth.

The individual zones are extremely diverse and colorful in their design. You might be racing through a desert world only to find yourself in a bizarre, abstract stage made of candy or even in the middle of a honeycomb. Each zone is unique and nice to look at. It’s a lot of fun to dash through them at breakneck speed, or take your time and enjoy the sights, even if you rarely get the opportunity to do so. Background music changes to reflect the visual design of the zones, creating the right atmosphere wherever you are. And even if you spend a lot of time in a single zone, the music is always relatively discreet, and never annoying.


Summary

Sonic Lost World is not without its problems. The alternation between 3D and 2D is really cool in theory, but in this case it comes at the expense of the game’s otherwise fast pace and fluid transitions. Sometimes it just seems like an interruption. Next to the rather scant storyline, the biggest issue is the controls, which can be really hard to get used to. It’s just really frustrating when, due to poor game mechanics or lack of experience, you simply cannot get up a wall like you’re supposed to, or even worse, fall to your death. This is a real shame, since the new parkour elements in particular open up all kinds of new possibilities.

Still, I really liked the game. Aside from a few minor graphics flaws, it looks good on the PC, and the diverse, colorful, and sometimes insane levels combined with a soundtrack that fits them are really appealing. Interacting with the Wisps is also a lot of fun, spicing up with gameplay with even more variety.

All in all, Sonic Lost World is a really well made game and a solid PC port. Like similar games, such as New Super Mario Bros. U, it doesn’t really focus on an exciting new story, but rather on level design, both in terms of depth and diversity. After you get used to the controls, you shouldn’t have too many problems in the rest of the game, except for a few tricky parts. So if you’re a fan of adventure platformers or even Sonic himself, you’re going to have a lot of fun with this one. (Jessica Rinnus; translation by Chase Faucheux)


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