People gave Splatoon 2 grief for not shaking up the fundamental formula, but a lot still felt very new about that game. It's not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but like Super Mario Galaxy 2 before it, I feel like it's missing a lot of the magic of its predecessor. It feels too similar in most ways, and the ways in which it differs tends to make it less appealing to me (a less intriguing formula for recovering memories main story quests involve more busywork zonai devices and the needed zonaite resources to build up your battery turn this into more of a resource harvesting sim than an action/adventure game etc.). Tears of the Kingdom was a step down for me in comparison to BotW. well, a "breath" of fresh air in many ways lol It's too much bloat, and I've gone back to BotW recently and it's. I just got to the point where I wanted it to end. I have like 150 hours in BotW, but only 60ish in TotK. I like the Sky Islands, but the Depths was a step too far for me, and the color palette and atmosphere just doesn't motivate me, personally. The Depths in particular made me wanna curl into the fetal position any time I received a quest for it. If BotW was "too big," hoooo baby, this thing is just gross. Felt more like a builder/resource game with Ultrahand and the Zonai devices. The game was super grindy: shrines and seeds and compendium from BotW, but now add the battery upgrade. The game was overall too formulaic: dungeons all had a lobby area with keys needed to release the boss, the wells quest, the stable missions, the companion lead-ins to each dungeon, etc. They started out easy, but grew satisfyingly challenging, and completing them all perfectly took quite a bit of time and practice.-The fusing of the weapons was more annoying than straight-up durability in BotW. These stages don’t unlock emeralds, but do unlock bonus features once you’ve completed a set number of them, like a sound test, a debug mode, and even hidden sub-games. Also returning are bonus stages from Sonic 3, which you’ll find at the checkpoints scattered across the zones. Making matters worse, colliding with a bomb can start a chain reaction that sends you careening uncontrollably into other sets of obstacles, which can make otherwise good runs turn bad very quickly. It’s a fun concept, but it can be tough to see barriers that block your way on the ground, and collision detection on some objects seems off. In special levels, you chase a UFO through a 3D landscape by collecting speed-enhancing blue spheres and rings. And there is incentive to replay these stages, as there are numerous hidden special levels you’ll need to conquer to collect the Chaos Emeralds and see Sonic Mania’s ‘true’ ending. I replayed many of these stages over and over, finding little nuances and secrets that eluded me the first, second, and even fifth time around. Sonic Mania has all the the crucial elements that go into making a great Sonic adventure: big, elaborate stages, responsive controls and movement physics, interesting and engaging tricks and traps, lots of hidden nooks and crannies to discover, and hazards that challenge you to stay alert and act fast. One route might have you thrust into the guts of a popcorn machine after being beamed around like a satellite signal, while another will send you speeding through the city’s underground subway passages. Take, for example, the glittering neon lights and electronic contraptions of Studiopolis, an area themed after a television studio in a big city. These new zones are particularly impressive: the theming and level design in each is colorful and creative, and I was eager to run around and explore, finding all sorts of challenges (and easter eggs) within. You’ll see classic zones from Genesis-era Sonic games, like Chemical Plant, Stardust Speedway, and Lava Reef, alongside all-new areas like Studiopolis and Mirage Saloon. Sonic Mania is proof that no matter how much time passes, great gameplay is always in style.Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are back to fight Eggman’s forces the best way they know how: running, jumping, spindashing, flying, and gliding their way to victory across twelve zones. With Sonic Mania, Sega brings Sonic back to his classic 2D sidescrolling roots, taking direct inspiration from the 16-bit games that originally propelled Sonic and friends to superstardom. He’s had his fair share of ups, downs, and loop-de-loops, but Sonic has proven to be one of gaming’s most beloved and enduring icons.
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