Sonic Boom Shattered Crystal (DEMO) Thoughts

Earlier this week a demo version of Sonic Boom Shattered Crystal was released on the Nintendo 3DS e-shop so players can finally get their hands on it to see what changes are in store for the blue blur this time around.

After having played it several times myself I wanted to share what I thought of the demo and the direction they're taking Sonic in this new universe.

To address the first question on everyone's minds: Does it play like a traditional Sonic the Hedgehog game? Well kind of sort of, but it's a good thing. That is if you're open to change. The element of speed is there though capped and not momentum based. Keeping your speed up is reflective of your reaction time to the enemies and stage obstacles. Thankfully the controls are really responsive and I was able to adapt to the physics quickly. A few minutes in and I was able to flow through the stage at a constant speed, dispatching enemies and swinging over pits with ease.

You have access to all four characters at the same time with the ability to switch to each on the fly. For the most part everyone moves and plays the same with the exception of Sonic being slightly faster. In addition each character has their own special abilities for attacking and gaining access to different paths. Sonic has an air dash that breaks certain kinds of walls, Tails can fly, Knuckles can burrow, and Sticks has a boomerang that can be manually guided to hit switches that are out of reach.

The playable stages in the demo are massive with a multitude of branching paths and secret areas accessible by using each character's special abilities. The goal of each stage isn't so much about finding the exit but exploring to find all the hidden items and areas. It's almost like Sonic meets Metroidvania. The map on the bottom screen that you fill in as you progress further drives that feeling of exploration.

The second playable stage is reminiscent of Sonic Rivals in that you race against one of the other characters through a more traditional speed based stage. This seems to be more of a bonus activity unrelated to story progression and will probably serve as a multiplayer mode.

The third stage is a speed stage but also a sort of boss fight. It actually plays like an endless runner mobile game, think Sonic Dash. Your movement is limited to switching lanes and jumping to latch onto railways with the enerbeam. This may have been my least favorite part of the demo because it was just so easy. On the first try I was able to complete it flawlessly, grabbing every ring in the stage in the process. It's a neat addition but I hope this isn't how all of the boss fights function.

The visuals are nice and the 3D effects add nice depth to the stages. I don't think the screenshots and videos online really do the game justice. In all honesty I wasn't expecting much from the DS title but after playing it I think I'll probably pick up a copy.

The game is a new direction for the Sonic series with a lot of great ideas. At its core it's a fast and fun 2D platformer and I feel like the only reason someone might not enjoy it is if they can't let go of the traditional Sonic formula enough to try something new. Change is good folks!

Thanks for reading!