Sonic Reloaded

Although playing a retro Sonic game nowadays may seem like a good idea, the fast-paced nature of the series may be a bit too much for the gamers who enjoyed it back in the day. The 2D perspective may be somewhat simpler to figure out, but the intricate level design can cause some headaches if you’ve grown used to the rather simple 3D environments featured in most modern video games.

Sonic Reloaded is not exactly an official game, nor does it feature everything the original series did. However, the developers tried pretty hard to make it feel and look like something that came out two decades ago. The 8-bit graphics and simple music are not enough, though, since the gameplay was the biggest attraction at the Sonic series and it’s what kept the fans asking for more.

In essence, the main idea is pretty much the same, because all you have to do is get from one end of the level to the other, while avoiding the traps, picking up gold rings, and going as fast as you can. The game does not move as smooth as it should, on the other hand, so even simple things like jumping around can be annoying and frustrating, due to a delayed response from Sonic.

While the difficulty level is not exactly something to fear at a first glance, it’s the unrefined controls and the sketchy gameplay that make the experience rather hard to swallow from time to time. However, you can get used to it, after you spend enough time trying to figure out exactly how to approach certain situations in order to get the best out of them.

Visually, the retro 8-bit style works wonders if you can relate to it, but it might also seem a tad too old nowadays. While it does look pretty nice in a small window, the illusion is dissipated once you switch to full screen, or enlarge the window past a certain size. The sound is not exactly what you would expect, even if the soundtrack makes efforts to appear natural.

In the end, Sonic Reloaded has some good ideas working for it, even if not many of them are original. However, with enough work and dedication, this can still be a pretty decent game, as long as the controls are fixed and the gameplay is adjusted to be more responsive.