Recent reviews by B-7

One of the times where I wish there was a third, middle option, because to say that the game is bad is objectively wrong and unfair, but I also can't in good faith to say that it's for everyone. So please consider the downvote less of a criticism and more of a, "why this game could not be for you," because it sure has proven that it's not for me.

If you are looking for pure gameplay, mechanically the game is impeccable, each level has unique flow and finding it is pretty fun and feels rewarding. On the other hand, if you are new to Sonic, you may find needing to replay levels to find that flow frustrating. I also would say that the game is a bit harder than the classic games, which makes sense since it was made for and by Sonic veterans who might be finding the classics too easy due to playing them for decades. On top of that, it has lives. A 2017 game that has lives and "game over" screen. If you struggle with a certain boss, the game might end up demanding you to replay two acts of a perfected zone just to proceed, and it genuinely can get tedious, especially if you are just trying to beat the game for the first time.

When it comes to style, the game purposely reprises a lot of classic zones, while including some entirely original ones. And in my opinion, the original ones are the highlight of the game. The classic zones largely consist of references to the past and use the familiar enemies and gimmicks, and if you haven't played classics for a while, it might hit the spot. But if you do so regularly, you might find it a bit annoying or boring. In addition, the game pretty seriously fails when it comes to environmental storytelling, while giving tons of flashy visuals that are barely related to the story.

That segues into talking about the story, and this is where my biggest disappointment lies. Before Sonic I wouldn't ever expect to get into platformers, but Sonic as a series captivated me with extensive cast of interesting characters and interesting stories, Mania does have a premise and it's linked to the main canon, but it's quite underwhelming, on the same level that, say, StH2 story... Well, I guess a bit better, with an extra cast of baddies. Still, a lot of reference to the past don't make any sense in the context of the story. Do they need to? Depends on what you're looking for in the game. I definitely prefer at least some degree of consistency.

There are thousands of reviews that will tell you that everything in the Mania is perfect for everyone. I'm writing one to show you things to be aware of. Hope it helps the reader to manage the expectations, and have less of the disappointment that I rather unexpectedly experienced.

You know those moments when you visit some place you haven't visited since you were a kid? You arrive there, and suddenly the wide main street turns out to be a small drive, a giant tree you climbed is barely an overgrown orchard fruit tree, and places walking to felt like a journey are suddenly a leisurely stroll?

This is exactly what people find "bad" about this game. Mania is made out of childhood memories those who grew up with the base games, Superstars is a direct, almost mathematical continuation of S3K formula. So yes, you kinda have to downscale your expectations to the level they were back in... 1995, or whenever you played the game.

The game isn't bad at all. In fact, I had some of the moments of my Sonic life with it. The story is without voice acting but cute, the environmental storytelling is amazing, sometimes you can see other characters' stories unveil on the background, and the characterization of each character is right on point. The controls and physics are... I can't think of any other word than "impeccable," every character controls predictably. Those who think that they are "slow," are misremembering the old games, because the speed is nearly 1 to 1. Bot the gameplay and cutscenes visual styles are amazing, and the new characer, Trip, is cute and tough at the same time. And the music is great, because, you know, a Sonic game.

The bosses are, indeed, long, and will require some skill grind, but honestly, it took me way longer to beat the final bosses gauntlet in Unleashed than the Egg Fortress Zone Boss. They don't require frame- and pixel-perfect precision, but are interesting to figure out the most optimal way to beat them, like solving a puzzle or playing through a full stage.

Overall, I can't recommend this game enough. Just don't expect Mania 2.

Controversies be screwed, this is the definitive way to play the classics. My experience was silky smooth throughout, without a single hiccup, the games are fun without forcing you into the early gaming playtime padding like limited lives. For extra authenticity you may install the OG S3K OST (The Definitive Sonic 3 OST on GameBanana) but it's not required either and more of a matter of preference.

I would call this a lovechild of TrackMania and Team Sonic Racing. The game isn't even trying to be realistic, but has an impressive sense of speed, the cars and tracks are very fun and varied. The story is kinda nonsensical, but doesn't try to be anything significant. Can definitely recommend to anyone interested in racing games.

The game has a somewhat unusual premise: it's essentially a truck simulator on rails. In the current form you're provided by the company with most of the motive power, while you pay for its maintenance and get most of the profit from the deliveries. The premise itself turned me a bit away initially, but I couldn't be more wrong. You can own some special locomotives, which you're solely responsible for.

The deliveries are done across a relatively small but stunningly beautiful region (the titular Derail Valley), inspired by Eastern Europe. It's full of generalized destinations between which there's a working supply chain: oil fields produce crude which sent to refineries which feed cities and send oil products for export, factories produce goods and tooling and need raw materials, and so on. Each significant industry has a train station with multiple yards and parked rolling stock, mostly signifying orders. The stations are sensibly organized, and usually are pretty easy to navigate, although building or parking is still quite a puzzle.

There are three types of jobs: self evident freight hauls, switching/shunting, and logistical hauls (moving empty rolling stock). Initially you can haul only freight, short trains, single order of safe goods at a time. Progression is realized by buying licenses, which allow you to do more more lucrative jobs but also increase your risks by raising your insurance deductible (copay). Insurance can pay for anything, and initially the copay is very low, but as you progress, it's increasing, making mistakes more painful. And you _will_ be paying for your mistakes: unlike most train simulators, the consequences of your actions are properly simulated, and you might end up paying not just for the destroyed cargo and rolling stock, but also for environmental damage you've caused. On the lower difficulty settings you can just load the game, but it's much less forgiving at the higher ones.

As for the motive power, it covers all the basics of non-electrified track operations: different types of diesel and steam locomotives. Locomotives systems are somewhat simplified, or rather downscaled, compared to real life, but definitely not as dumb as some competition. Each locomotive has its quirks and difficulties, and will take getting used to, and steam locomotives are very involved to both maintain and operate, but also very rewarding. As a bonus, there's a basic customization systems available for any locomotive (not just the ones you own), allowing you to add cab equipment and cosmetic features.

Overall physics simulation is very competent, with properly simulated adhesion, forces acting on the vehicles, and is responsive to weather and vehicles condition.

Currently, there's no driving scoring, signalling, or safety systems (except optional vigilance system). If things are delivered as loaded, you get paid, no question asked. If you push it too far and break things, you pay for it. Nothing is arbitrary, everything is very material and very visceral. Signalling and AI traffic are planned in the future updates, but I would say the current form of the game has its weird wild west charm.

As a closing word, a bit on the current state of development. The team definitely has their priorities straight, bugs are few and far between, the game is shockingly polished for Early Access. Things confirmed to come are: electrification and electric motive power, double track sections and loops, busier map (2025), AI traffic and signalling (2026+), passenger traffic and schedules (2027+).

I would recommend this game to any railfan. It's whatever you make of it, and if you want to go all crazy, you can, but you also can practice to do things as responsibly and safe as possible. The game encourages experimenting, and the game world's your oyster.

Good but absurdly short. Makes the deluxe edition worth more, but doesn't worth separate buy.

Short and sweet campaign from the Federation side, with (sort of) similar plot to the main. Just as a good DLC is, more of what you already liked in the original.

You get less planes available, but being a federation air force pilot and not a mercenary, you get the new ones for free for completing missions. The famed tunnel run mission is famed for every right reason, and MOST DEFINITELY TAKE A TWO-SEATER on it. You won't regret it.

My only gripe is the same that I have with the core game: no checkpoint system means sometimes you'll end up repeating up to 5 minutes of gameplay over a small mistake or for toughness of a mission boss, and it can get tedious. Checkpoints are not cheats, they are means to make progression more streamlined and less tedious.

Overall, more than worth the price and will make for a nice evening.

The game is an amazing product of love to the Ace Combat series, and I would argue that it even does some things better. Obviously, judging a flight model in a game of that kind is a weird idea, but it feels slightly more realistic than AC7 - coming from a pilot and an avgeek. The planes aren't licensed, but look amazing and have clear inspiration in real world models. The story is a pure insanity, and the writing and the dialogues are just exactly the right kind of crazy to set the right tone. And it's literally made by three people, which can't be more impressive.

I think my only big annoyance with the game is the lack checkpoint system. Repeating 3 to 5 to 10 minutes of perfectly grinded gameplay because the level boss turned out to be too tough is just wrong. Hope it's gonna be something that the possible sequel implements (I understand that the engine right now might not support it).

They've achieved almost unbelievable.

The Sonic part is virtually unchanged in terms of the content. Re-written and re-voiced dialogues and cutscenes don't change the meaning at all, but make everything more sensible. The graphics is mostly the same, but the engine was updated to support modern resolutions and there are some very minor, subtle improvements with things like LOD. All the cutscenes, the most age-showing part of the original Generations, were re-rendered (or maybe run in the engine, I can't really tell), so they look as sharp and smooth as the rest of the game, even at 2560x1440@60FPS.

The Shadow part is just a masterpiece, making use of the best parts of Frontiers and Generations and re-imagining classic level design into something entirely new. It's a bit more demanding in terms of hardware obviously, but because if that it looks absolutely stunning and runs at perfect 120FPS on my hardware (Laptop with a 12th gen i9 and RTX 3080 Ti). And the story is very carefully weaved into the original Generations and covers a lot of plot holes.

Thank you, Sonic Team. You've done everything right.

In a sense, DTG fixed ALL the issues that were with TSW yearly releases.

1) all content is compatible, and even mods are working
2) the core improvements were long asked for and they delivered exactly what was asked
3) base version is free of charge

Can't even add anything, except, thank you Dovetail!