Sonic Colors: Ultimate

Sonic Colors Ultimate delivers on everything you could want from a Sonic game.

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Sonic Colors: Ultimate is a remastered version of the 2010 platformer game, Sonic Colors. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog as he explores an extraterrestrial amusement park to free an alien race known as Wisps from the clutches of Dr. Eggman. The game features high-speed action, various abilities gained from the Wisps, and improved graphics for an enhanced gaming experience.

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Reviews

64%

Audience ScoreBased on 508 reviews

music26 positive mentions

stability53 negative mentions

Sonic Colors Ultimate retains the charm and fun gameplay of the original, making it enjoyable for both new players and fans of the series.
The addition of new features like the Perfect Homing Attack and Jade Wisp adds depth to the gameplay, enhancing exploration and combat.
The vibrant visuals and remixed soundtrack provide a fresh experience, appealing to both nostalgic players and newcomers.

The remaster suffers from numerous technical issues, including stuttering, bugs, and poor audio mixing, detracting from the overall experience.
The game's level design is heavily criticized for being overly reliant on 2D sections, which can feel slow and tedious compared to the original's pacing.
Many players feel that the changes made in the remaster, such as the removal of the lives system and the addition of Tails Saves, were unnecessary and negatively impacted the gameplay.

music
92 mentions
28 % positive mentions
60 % neutral mentions
12 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising the original soundtrack as one of the best in the series, while the remixed tracks have been described as hit or miss, with some players finding them inferior to the originals. Fortunately, players have the option to switch to the original soundtrack, which many prefer. Overall, while the remixes may not resonate with everyone, the inclusion of the classic tracks is a welcomed feature that enhances the experience.
- “The soundtrack is still one of the best in the series, and the colorful graphics and scenery make this one of the most beautiful Sonic games I've played.”
- “Not to mention creative stage themes, really nice visuals, and one of, if not my favorite, soundtracks in the franchise.”
- “The music is exceptional, as is the norm with Sonic.”
- “The remixed music sounds terrible, but you can play the original.”
- “The remixed music is a point of contention among fans, with mixed reactions.”
- “The new music remixes, while not nearly as bad as I feared they would be, still don't compare to the original 2010 soundtrack.”
gameplay
74 mentions
30 % positive mentions
61 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Sonic Colors: Ultimate retains the fast-paced, platforming-focused mechanics of the original Wii version, with the addition of new wisps that offer unique abilities to enhance exploration and level navigation. While many players find the gameplay enjoyable and engaging, particularly in speedrunning contexts, there are mixed opinions regarding the balance of 2D and 3D segments, with some criticizing the over-reliance on 2D gameplay and technical issues like freezing and glitches. Overall, the gameplay is seen as fun and creative, though it may not appeal to all fans of the franchise.
- “The gameplay is still fast-paced and entertaining, with plenty of variety thanks to the wisps that offer unique abilities.”
- “Overall, the gameplay is very fun, and I enjoyed it; it keeps the pace going and the worlds are very fun to explore.”
- “Sonic Colors is an interesting game that simultaneously focuses on refining the boost-style gameplay introduced in Sonic Unleashed while also getting experimental with the wisps as power-ups that switch up the gameplay mid-level.”
- “This game was the worst boost Sonic experience I've had all my time with the franchise; the restrictive gameplay and 2D-centered game design killed this game. I'd say the storybook series were a better Wii game than Colors. If you enjoy the 'regular' boost gameplay from Unleashed and Generations, you will probably not enjoy this game.”
- “The gameplay itself and how the movement of Sonic feels is fine for the most part, but all the wisps somehow don't play right anymore.”
- “I hate the wisps; annoying distractions that slow the gameplay down.”
graphics
73 mentions
19 % positive mentions
63 % neutral mentions
18 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the colorful visuals and improved textures compared to the original Wii version, while others criticize the over-reliance on bloom effects and the lack of graphical options. Many users noted significant technical issues, including glitches, stuttering, and dated cutscenes, which detract from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, some players found the remastered visuals enjoyable, especially with the help of fan-made mods to enhance the graphics further.
- “The soundtrack is still one of the best in the series, and the colorful graphics and scenery still make this one of the most beautiful Sonic games I've played.”
- “Not to mention creative stage themes, really nice visuals, and one of, if not my favorite, soundtracks in the franchise.”
- “The visuals look a lot cleaner; the cutscenes are re-animated and look a lot better than the weird AI-upscaled cutscenes of the base version.”
- “The graphics for the base game are okay but leave much to be desired, being overly reliant on bloom that makes the colors appear more washed out.”
- “The production value gets compared to a mobile game often, but even Speed Battle has better graphic design.”
- “The gross lighting, forced Tails save, graphics constantly flickering, stuttering, and the general lack of polish makes this hard to recommend.”
stability
57 mentions
5 % positive mentions
2 % neutral mentions
93 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has received mixed feedback, with many players reporting a range of glitches and bugs, including graphical issues, input lag, and audio problems. While some users found the game playable and enjoyable despite these issues, others highlighted that the remaster suffers from significant stability problems compared to the original version. Overall, while many glitches have been patched, players should still expect occasional bugs and performance hiccups.
- “It's still just as fun as the Wii version and really isn't as buggy (from my experience) as people make it out to be.”
- “It even runs great on the Steam Deck.”
- “The game runs fine on my machine (no lags, no freezes, no crashes).”
- “However, this is a pretty bad port of the game due to a new amount of glitches/bugs that weren't in the original.”
- “The art style is ruined, the gameplay suffers from multiple new glitches, there's frequent stuttering and pauses during levels, the audio mix is a mess, there's massive loading times and all the cutscenes are AI-upscaled videos instead of re-rendered.”
- “Even after 18 months in epic purgatory, the game is still incredibly buggy and unoptimized, with constant stutters and visual/audio glitches.”
story
49 mentions
12 % positive mentions
73 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The story of Sonic Colors is generally viewed as simplistic and aimed at a younger audience, featuring a basic plot where Sonic and Tails must thwart Dr. Eggman's plans in a colorful amusement park. While some appreciate its charm and light-heartedness, many criticize the dialogue as cringy and the overall narrative as lacking depth, often feeling like a mere backdrop to the gameplay. Overall, the story is seen as a weak point in the game, with mixed opinions on its engagement and execution.
- “The story for Sonic Colors starts off with Sonic and Tails visiting an amusement park that Dr. Eggman has created.”
- “A Sonic game with a very basic yet cute story that doesn't try to be anything special, a kind of story that can be written in a game booklet and deemed sufficient.”
- “With the game's backdrop being a colorful amusement park, the story takes on a light-hearted theme with multiple instances of jokes and quips.”
- “The way the story works is also terrible, with horrible plot elements and little to no backstory.”
- “The plot deliberately does not even try to be more than an excuse plot and is just the barebone sonic-beats-eggman story with remarkably unwitty and cringy dialogue.”
- “I can personally agree on the story/dialogues part as this game does probably have the cringiest writing in the entire series.”
optimization
43 mentions
7 % positive mentions
49 % neutral mentions
44 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant issues such as constant stuttering, lag spikes, and long loading times, which detract from the overall experience. While some users have experienced stable performance without major glitches, others have noted that the game remains poorly optimized, particularly on certain platforms, leading to frustration and a lack of polish. Overall, the game's performance varies widely among players, with many recommending caution before purchasing due to these ongoing issues.
- “Great remaster of the Wii game, the customization options are a great addition. The remixes of the original soundtrack are, in my opinion, certified bangers. No performance issues from what I've seen; really fun game to try and 100% complete.”
- “In terms of performance, I haven't experienced any issues as the game runs at a solid 60 fps and looks incredibly smooth.”
- “Performance is good; it runs 4K at 60 fps fine on a middling GPU (RTX 2080).”
- “The art style is ruined, the gameplay suffers from multiple new glitches, there's frequent stuttering and pauses during levels, the audio mix is a mess, there's massive loading times, and all the cutscenes are AI upscaled videos instead of re-rendered.”
- “Even after 18 months in epic purgatory, the game is still incredibly buggy and unoptimized, with constant stutters and visual/audio glitches.”
- “It's a shadow-dropped Steam port of a butchered, badly-optimized, epic-exclusive PC port of a mediocre remake; with numerous problems that make me scoff at its former platform exclusivity, problems which have never been fixed and most certainly will *not* be fixed.”
humor
9 mentions
89 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
11 % negative mentions
The humor in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding the glitches and character interactions amusing, while others criticize the writing as subpar and lacking cleverness. Although there are moments of humor, particularly in Eggman's commentary, many feel that the overall comedic quality falls short, likening it to low-tier Saturday morning cartoons.
- “The glitches were funny and the game is really fun.”
- “Characters: 9.3/10 (quite funny if you ask me).”
- “The setting is so pretty and detailed, made even better by the funny commentary Eggman gives to parkgoers in every level.”
- “In conclusion, Sonic Colors: Ultimate is a joke and a very unfunny one at that.”
replayability
8 mentions
25 % positive mentions
38 % neutral mentions
38 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is enhanced by the introduction of collectibles and new level designs, appealing to fans of the original. However, some players feel that the additional content is minimal and somewhat superficial, limiting the overall replay value. Customization options and gameplay adjustments, like turning off motion blur, provide some incentive for replaying, but the impact varies across levels.
- “Lots of new customization options, even if they're very surface level, do offer more replayability and are a nice option.”
- “The extra content is quite minimal and tacked on, which is a shame when you consider how replayable Sonic games usually are.”
- “The jade ghost wisp is also less shoehorned in than I expected and adds new sections of level design, both to increase replay value and skip over some parts of slower-paced levels.”
- “Fans of the original will enjoy the added collectibles like park tokens and the red rings, which increase the game's replayability.”
monetization
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization of the game has been widely criticized, with many users labeling it a "cash grab" that feels inferior to the original. Despite some appreciation for the gameplay, the overall sentiment suggests that the release was poorly executed and primarily focused on profit rather than quality.
- “A poorly executed cash grab port that shouldn't have even been released in the state it was in; it looks inferior to the original.”
- “Colors itself is a fine game, but Ultimate just reeks of cash grab.”
- “Very cash grabby.”
grinding
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect frustrating due to random "time-outs" that disrupt gameplay and make farming points feel punishing rather than enjoyable. While there are enjoyable fast-paced and puzzle elements, certain sections are criticized for being overly slow and tedious, detracting from the overall experience.
- “So you'll randomly get a 'time-out' at the edge of your screen. This is very frustrating because you don't even have fun farming points; you need to do it, and if you do, you still get punished. Argh.”
- “While there is a nice mix of fast-paced running and slow-paced puzzle sections, some parts of the levels can be way too slow and tedious, like buttons you have to stand on for 5 seconds just to cross and autoscrollers that move really slowly.”
- “Rail grinding and some set pieces are just broken.”