I've been following this game since 2020, and it's amazing to see this game improving so much every year. Sonic Encore already had vast, immersive level design back in 2020, but we have more, overhauled levels, more characters, and better optimization now. I'm honestly very impressed. Although I still like the Boost formula very much, I can comfortably say this game and Sonic GT are my two favorite Sonic games. I get my Steam Deck this week, and I can't wait to try this game out on it.
Some of my feedback:
Graphics:
- Sorry I'm starting with negative feedback, but Sonic looks very weird because of his texture. Whenever I play as Sonic, everything looks vibrant and nice except Sonic. Perhaps he should be bluer. Other characters like Tails and Knuckles look fine, though.
- Speaking of colors, Some levels might need more saturation. Emerald Hill and Ice Cap look good currently, but I can't help but wonder how better they'd look with more vibrant colors, especially after playing colorful stages like Mystic Ruin and Oil Ocean.
- As I mentioned, Mystic Ruin and Oil Ocean look absolutely fantastic. I love crystals in Mystic Ruin and Oil in Oil Ocean. Reflections in these stages look cool too.
Sounds:
- SFX volumes are all over the place. Some SFX has good volume (like Spin Dash), some SFX are too loud (like enemy popping sound), some SFX are very quiet (like collecting ring), and some SFX are impossible to hear (like footsteps). This is the biggest problem of this game imop.
- Character SFX are so quiet compared to enemy/environmental SFX. I thought footstep sounds are not in the game until I reached Mystic Ruins. Other SFX like jump, bounce, stomp are also too quiet. Adjusting their volume will improve the game feel a lot.
- My earbuds hurt so much whenever I enter water :(
Controls:
- Sonic having Drop Dash and Additive Homing Attack (AKA Homing Attack+) is a perfect decision. 10/10
- Shadow's new turn animation and Blaze's new sprint animation look very smooth. Nice work!
- Characters' ground acceleration needs to be much higher. This causes both control issues and animation issues.
- It's nice to have both bounce and stomp, but bounce should restore homing attack since some of the platforming sections could've been very smooth if we could homing attack, bounce, and then homing attack.
- What happened to Homing Attack? Homing Attack sometimes changes its trajectory multiple times in midair. It's not problematic or anything, but I'm curious since this didn't happen in previous builds.
Levels:
- Easily the best level design I've seen in any 3D platformer. Sonic, whether 2D or 3D, needs expansive-level design, and this game certainly delivers.
- All levels are great, but I think my favorite ones are Ice Cap. Some Frozen Plant placements are rage-inducing and penguin badniks often completely ignore Spin Attack, but I enjoyed the overall level design so much.
- I like how bosses are implemented in the game. Especially how some Act 2 bosses include Act 1 bosses as minions.
- Mystic Ruins Act 2 and Aqua Lake Act 1 bosses are currently broken :O
etc:
- UI is not quite bug-free, but it has improved a lot since 2020 and 2021 build. Awesome!
Again, Sonic Encore is already a very fantastic game. I thought so back in 2020 and 2021. I'm just very happy this game is still being updated, and I think the dev should be very proud of their work.