Recent reviews by Ado

Note: I have played through the game several times (and to 100% completion) previously on another platform.

Good Aspects
+++ Action stages (Sonic/Shadow). These are focused on reaching the end of the level as fast as possible. It can feel pretty satisfying learning the different routes to get through them faster on repeat plays.
+++ A powerful, varied soundtrack that is bound to get you pumped up.
++ Hunting stages (Knuckles/Rouge). These are focused on hunting down emerald pieces/keys scattered throughout the level with a radar to help guide you along. There are also hint monitors/computers throughout the level if you need more assistance (but they'll dock you points for stage ranks). These can be fun since the levels feel a bit different from each other (such as having a different gimmick or being more vertical-based than horizontal).
++ Mech stages (Tails/Eggman). These are focused on reaching the end of the level while blowing up stuff in your path (with some light puzzles thrown in a few times). While this is the "weakest" of the three main gameplay modes (in my opinion), the stages can still be pretty fun. It's also pretty neat to play as Eggman/Robotnik.
+ Chao raising. This involves nurturing these pet-esque creatures called Chao. You raise their statistics, such as swimming and running, by giving them chaos drives/animals found in the stages. You can then have them compete in events like races. You can also have them learn how to do various tasks (playing an instrument, drawing, etc). This mode basically feels like a game all on its own that you can easily sink a lot of time into.

Mixed Aspects
~ The side content (aside from the Chao stuff) is kind of lacking. The 2-player mode can be fun but doesn't feel very balanced. The kart-racing levels, both the story mode version and the mini-game mode version, are just kind of there.
~ The story/voice acting is a bit "cheesy." I personally think it is fine but it might bother some people.
~ The boss fights are a pretty mixed bag. A chunk of them are just a variant of the first boss from the Hero story (and are too easy).
~ For people that played the first Adventure game: the hub world is gone; the game just goes directly from stage to stage with cutscenes in-between. This doesn't really bother me but I think it's worth mentioning.

Bad Aspects
- Character battles. These are fights where two of the playable characters will fight against each other (such as Sonic and Shadow) while you control one of them. Most - if not all - of them are pretty bad; one in particular stands out as being extremely unnecessary.


Score: 8/10

Note: I have played through the game several times previously on another platform.

Good Aspects
+++ Sonic's gameplay feels pretty well-designed for the most part. The levels are catered to his abilities and they can be fun to speed through.
+ Has a pretty decently-varied soundtrack that usually fits the setting.
+ There are some side stages (such as Sky Chase) that help break up the gameplay a bit. The hub worlds also do this while providing a means of interacting with the world around you through talking to NPCs.

Mixed Aspects
~ Knuckles' gameplay. While the core of his gameplay is decent enough (a treasure hunt with a built-in radar system), the levels are mostly more open variants of levels you've already seen in the other characters' story modes. The hint system also completely defeats the point of hunting for the emerald pieces if you use it.
~ E-102 Gamma's gameplay. The plot is arguably the best among the cast and the core of run-and-gun style of gameplay is decent. However, it has the following issues: controlling E-102 feels off/clunky, the boss fights are laughably easy (aside from the last one), and the high-pitched noise of the lock-on laser gets annoying pretty quickly.
~ Amy's gameplay. It's a slower, more puzzle-focused mode where you're constantly running away from a pursuer. It's definitely not a bad idea but doesn't really go anywhere interesting.
~ Tails' gameplay is just a worse version of Sonic's unfortunately. It's very easy to just fly to bypass most of the repeated-from-Sonic's-story levels. I feel like the developers could've done something else with his flying abilities here.
~ Raising Chao feels a bit rough in this game. One of the strangest things is that you can cheer for your opponents' Chao during the races.

Bad Aspects
--- Big's gameplay. Fishing really doesn't have any business being in the Sonic franchise as a required gameplay mechanic. Something like this really should've just been heavily expanded on/improved and made into its own separate game. The story-required missions aren't the worst thing I've experienced in a game. The optional ones for emblems, on the other hand, are a daunting test of patience (if you plan on going for 100%).
-- The character battles (where Sonic fights Knuckles for example) are laughably bad.
- The boss fights are a pretty mixed bag but lean into the negative side. Some are completely unnecessary/pointless (such as Big's) while others are repeated too much across multiple stories (such as Chaos 4 needing to be fought with Sonic, Tails, AND Knuckles).
- The cutscenes, along with a good chunk of the voice acting, is in "so bad it's good" territory.

I'm a bit surprised at how my organization of this review turned out while thinking about the inner workings of the game; it's a lot more mixed/negative than I thought it would be.

Is this a bad game? No.
Did I have fun with it? To some extent.

The main issue is that I don't think the fun I got out of it is enough to cancel out all of its problems. I just don't feel comfortable recommending a game unless I can say that I truly enjoyed it. If there was a "mixed" option then I would be categorizing it under that.

Score: 6/10

Good Aspects
++ The combat is turn-based with Action Commands. If you have not played a game with those before, it basically means that you have to do some kind of button combination/movement to successfully do the attack. You also need to do this to defend against enemy attacks. This style of combat requires you to constantly pay attention to what you're doing to succeed since it's much more skill-based. I personally strongly prefer this system over selecting an option in the menu and watching it play out automatically.
++ The medal system adds another layer of complexity to combat. Medals can do various things from adding defense to protecting from poison (for example). Many different strategies open up depending on which ones you use and who you use them on (within your max medal point limit).
++ A cute, fitting soundtrack that grew on me pretty quickly. It easily ended up among my favorite game soundtracks.
+ Puzzles in dungeons/outside areas are enjoyable and make good use of the field abilities.
+ The main cast of characters is very likable. There is also a wide variety of types of bugs/NPCs you can interact with.
+ There are plenty of side quests to do and secrets to find.
+ You can discover all kinds of lore that explains more about bug species' backstories and why they can/cannot do certain things (I always appreciate stuff like this).
+ Has a high amount of replay value with the different medal combinations, difficulties, ways you can invest your rank ups (level ups), and so on. There is another big contributing factor to this that I will not spoil here.


Mixed Aspects
~ Some of the field abilities don't always behave as expected. While one of them was vastly improved from a patch (as of this review), I feel like the others could use some mild tweaking to get to the level of polish I was expecting. Overall it did not ever truly bother me but I thought it was worth mentioning.
~ One of the characters (not saying who) did not feel like they got as much development in comparison to the others. I still liked their arc but definitely feel like there could've been more to it.


Bad Aspects
- None. Complaints I have are ones I feel more mixed about or are too minor to be worth mentioning.


I'm really looking forward to whatever Moonsprout Games makes next. Thank you for such an amazing and heartwarming game!

Score: 10/10

Note: I have spent a good chunk of time playing this game on another platform prior to playing it on PC. I also compare this game to previous ones in the series a bit.

Good Aspects
+++ One of the best (possibly the best) combat systems I've experienced in an Action-RPG. If you get hit it feels like your own fault. If you land a hit it feels like you outsmarted your opponent. When you defeat a boss it feels overwhelmingly satisfying.
++ A ridiculously huge variety in terms of weapons, weapon movesets, armor, spells, etc. You can make all kinds of different builds for your character.
++ A hauntingly beautiful soundtrack that inspires you to not back down.
+ Playing online - both for co-operative play and PvP - has seen huge improvements in comparison to previous titles in the series. Faith-based healing builds feel much more viable now and chain backstabbing from the first Dark Souls isn't an issue anymore, for example.
+ Parrying/Riposting feels the most satisfying it has ever felt in the Souls series.

Mixed Aspects
~ Weapon Arts: while these give weapons more of a sense of unique identity they aren't as balanced as they could be (some are just flat out better than others). A bit more variety with the weapon arts themselves would've also been nice but this isn't nearly as noticeable of an issue as the first.
~ Estus Shards/Undead Bone Shards: while I personally prefer this system in comparison to the first Dark Souls an argument could be made that you still get too much of it. This feels okay to me due to the balancing nature between normal estus and ashen estus flasks (to restore FP for weapon arts and magic) but it's worth mentioning.
~ The world design is fairly linear with how you proceed through the various areas. Previous games in the series had varying levels of "Metroidvania" elements to them that are mostly lacking here. You can still do certain things in a different order but it's not nearly as common an occurrence.

Bad Aspects
- Power Stance from Dark Souls 2 is gone. This is somewhat made up for with the dual wielding weapons but it doesn't have the same versatility.
- The game relies a little too much on previous games in regard to weapons, armor, and lore to stand completely on its own. This is a fairly minor issue and could be seen as a pretty controversial statement so I will not elaborate on it further, however.


Score: 10/10