My Opinion on Sonic Lost World (WiiU)

[Supersonic196]

So Sonic Lost World launched in the US earlier this week, and- oh, these reviews don't look very good at all..

Despite the mixed reception (at this point it's much more negative than positive, as more reviewers begin to complete their write ups), I went and picked up the game on launch day, thinking there was no way it could be as bad as everyone said, and, well, it's not.

To get this out of the way, Sonic Lost World is a very good game, however it is a terrible Sonic game. What I mean by this is it feels more like a spin off than a mainstay Sonic title, an experimental game, if you will. That said I'm having a lot of fun with it.

So, I brought the game home, put it in my WiiU, and started it up, the launch screen provides only four options, New Game, Continue Game, and Multiplayer, along with some language settings. That's really about it. If you were hoping for more options, you won't find them here. I couldn't even turn off the subtitles for cutscenes, which were honestly pretty annoying, the text is too big and it obscures a lot of the cutscenes, which are actually pretty entertaining this time around. Not the groan worthy fanservice fest that Generations featured.

Upon hitting New Game, I was taken into the game's intro cutscene, which is beautifully rendered and choreographed, in typical SEGA fashion, then it literally drops you into the first level, without any real instruction. There are points in the level that let you tap the gamepad to open a little hint window as to how to control things, but the instructions are often vague, and don't really do a good job at conveying just how you're supposed to pull of certain things (I just learned how to do a successful walljump today, as a result of experimenting). That said, the basic controls are easy enough to get down. Sonic doesn't handle at all like you would expect him to, but this is really not a sonic game. It feels more like some surreal parkour game with a coat of Sonic themed paint on it.
Basically you're going to have to take some time to get used to it. Something I don't think the majority of the press has been doing.
So, level one is an absolute blast, lots of winding roads in the sky, with tons of alternate paths, and the game itself looks really, really nice.
Level two comes, and suddenly, the shine sort of fades from the game, this is a really awkward 2D level, that could have been done a LOT better. Maybe it's just me, but for the next two days, I was honestly sort of super disappointed with this game. I had traveled through the majority of the campaign, to get stuck on a very frustrating level with minibosses strewn throughout, and I sort of just gave up for the day to go play Pokemon X (which is literally perfection).
Today, I booted it up again, to attempt to finish the main story, and began to realize that I was playing it wrong the whole time. This game is not about speed. This game certainly has speed, but it's used as a reward for being able to navigate the environments smoothly, it's not a gameplay staple. This game is much more something that celebrates exploration, with levels designed around exploration, not around speed.
By now I'm used to the controls, and I can say that I'm thoroughly enjoying it now. The Miiverse feature is also a really nice addition. The game is very fluid once you essentially re-learn Sonic, and a lot of fun to play. Secrets are littered throughout the worlds, with hidden levels popping up from time to time, providing charming, well designed, bonus stages. I have the deadly six bonus edition (why it's called that I have no idea, as the DLC centers around NiGHTS), and the NiGHTS themed content is absolutely wonderful. As a long time fan of the Nights series, it just makes me really happy, and I don't know if it's just me, but this is my opinion, so y'know.

Anyways, Sonic Lost World is a very good game. You're not going to have a great time right off the bat, but stick around a little longer, and you'll see that this game has a lot to offer.

[Hakudamashi]

The big hurdle you just have to overcome is "re-learning" Sonic, and getting through your head that speed is a reward for being 1337, so the majority of the game is quite slow. That seems to be the general consensus, and I agree.