Recently, at an Apple event, Sonic Dream Team, set to release on Apple Arcade on December 5, 2024, was showcased to the press. While only two publications have shared their initial impressions of the game so far, the consensus is that Sonic Dream Team has the potential to be one of the best games in the series.
One of the reporters, Giovanni Colantonio from Digital Trends, describes the game as having multiple objectives for each stage, akin to Super Mario 64. One of the developers at the event mentioned that the game drew inspiration from titles like Super Mario Sunshine and Tony Hawk’s Pro-Skater. By completing each mission, such as reaching the goal, racing through checkpoints, and collecting keys, players are awarded an orb used to unlock more levels.
Giovanni goes on to say that the movement is snappy, and characters are magnetized to objects like grind rails, preventing overshooting. Levels offer multiple paths that can be taken advantage of with different character abilities. For instance, Sonic and Amy can boost, Knuckles and Rouge can glide and climb walls, and Tails and Cream can fly. Each stage contains five Red Star Rings and a “handful” of hidden blue coins to collect.
Giovanni also praises the game’s art style, describing the aesthetics as having an inviting and playful appearance:
Levels look almost like bouncy castles, which gives it all an inviting, playful appearance. Despite being built for mobile devices, it might be the best-looking 3D Sonic game yet — at least in terms of its cohesive art direction.
He then concludes his impressions on a very positive note, stating:
As someone who has found recent Sonic games hit and (sometimes very) miss, Sonic Dream Team has my attention. The levels I played were breezy fun that took me back to my time with games like Sonic Adventure 2 Battle on GameCube. That formula has been smoothed out by a development team that’s very familiar with how to make snappy mobile games. If later, more challenging levels can still retain this level of fluidity and not give way to fiddly frustration, Sonic fans may have a very good reason to sign up for Apple Arcade soon.
The next reporter, Michael McWhertor from Polygon, also shared equally positive impressions. He describes the stages as being inspired by skate parks and being “brightly colored distillations of Dr. Eggman’s dreams, filtered through Sonic’s friend Cream the Rabbit.” Each level is designed to be replayable, keeping the player in a flow state of bouncing from enemies to slides and boosts of speed to navigate them smoothly. He also mentions two stage names, Scrambled Shores and Dream Factory. An interesting feature is the ability to freely switch characters while motionless.
The overarching story is conveyed through voiced in-game cutscenes, introducing the new character Ariem, an anthropomorphic sheep designed by Yuji Uekawa. Ariem serves as the guardian of the Reverie and aids Sonic and friends in understanding its powers.
The game seems to be off to a great start, and we can’t wait to see more of it. What are YOUR thoughts on Sonic Dream Team so far? Let us know below, and stay tuned to Sonic City for more Sonic Dream Team News and Updates!
Source: Digital Trends, Polygon
