Ahead of the launch of Sonic Origins Plus later this month, Sega has officially lifted the lid on the Sonic Superstars multiplayer platformer. It transports Sonic and his friends to a brand new mystical location known as the North Star Islands.
While the gameplay mostly aims to keep a “classic” feel, the environments will consist of various “never seen before” zones. Speaking to IGN recently, Sonic series producer Takashi Iizuka elaborated on this, explaining how players won’t see iconic zones like Green Hill or the Chemical Plant in this upcoming side-scroller.
“In Sonic Mania, the Green Hill Zone changed a little bit. And even Sonic Origins, we had Green Hill as part of Sonic the Hedgehog. But what we wanted to do with Sonic Superstars was really create something new and go in there and create these brand new islands that you can explore as Sonic… We wanted to take Sonic to them [the] brand new North Star Islands and let Sonic run around in this new environment. So we wanted to create completely new places for Sonic in this new title.”
So basically don’t expect to see familiar zones or classic levels similar to what we saw in the cyberspace sections of Sonic Frontiers or the more recent 2D Sonic releases soundwise. Iizuka also noted that the team prioritized the feel of the “classic” game:
“The first thing the team did was replicate that classic gameplay very precisely. So when you play Sonic Superstars, you go through the basic loop of a classic Sonic game. You run, you jump, you stand in a ball, you defeat enemies and you move forward.”
This classic gameplay will include 3D-style action from time to time, and Iizuka will use the boss battle in a “type of 3D space” as an example of this. And there will be some additional abilities on offer, like Amy’s hammer.
