And Shadow needs all the help he can get.Īnyway, the most important thing about Solar Ash is how the level design focuses on maintaining and challenging your flow of movement. Or Shadow the Hedgehog for that matter, given he and Rei share an affinity for rollerblading. That mechanic could work just as well with Sonic. That makes her easy to control, and you know when to hit the gas and when to break. A lot of that is thanks to mapping her acceleration to a shoulder trigger, similar to a racing title. Rei, the game’s speedster protagonist, controls like a dream. This is an experience all about the flow of movement. Now, I’m not opposed to playing a great 3D Sonic game. These games also tend to be janky overall. Losing momentum sucks because of how troublesome it is to get back on track.

When you do get your hands back on Sonic, he often feels slippery and imprecise.

It’s less about flow and more about watching things go really fast until you can play again. You’re usually just sitting there watching Sonic sprint through a zillion loops and rings. I’ve always found the behind-the-back roller coaster approach takes away too much control. Sonic Colors plays the best of the batch, but even that has plenty of problems (and has a far superior 2D counterpart on DS that more people should play). Yes, even the Adventure series, which I respect but still maintain are bad games. The 3D installments have never gotten Sonic right. Sonic 2 is my favorite in the series and Sonic Mania, the 2017 throwback developed by a team of fans rather than Sonic Team proper, is the best entry in years. My love of Sonic, like many other 30-somethings, began on the Sega Genesis, so I firmly believe the character is at his best in 2D. I’ll admit that I’m a Sonic traditionalist. More specifically, the 3D entries, which are the oft-maligned titles responsible for decades of headaches for the Blue Blur.

However, only one series came to mind as I skated across its teal clouds: Sonic the Hedgehog. Solar Ash is a great game that cherry-picks ideas from Jet Set Radio, Shadow of the Colossus, and Super Mario Galaxy.

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