This article contains slight spoilers for Sonic Dream Team.
Summary
TheSonic the Hedgehogseries is no stranger to experimentation by any stretch. Over the 32 years that the blue blur has been around, the franchise has tried numerous different gaming styles in its spin-offs and even mainline titles. As a result, it may be difficult for fans to pin downwhat exactly makes a goodSonicgame, but currently one surprise contender seems to be getting a fair amount of praise from fans. With a unique open map for players to run and explore at their leisure, players seem to be rather fond of what’s brought to the table bySonic Dream Team.
AsSonic Dream Teamis a mobile game, it keeps itself relatively simple. However, despite that, the Apple Arcade exclusive is a complete experience of its own merits. It leans into oldSonicdesign conventions, using momentum as well as memorization to help players remember and overcome various obstacles with the knowledge of the game’s mechanics. This makesDream Teamrather fun to play, but there’s a catch behind the level design.
Sonic Dream Team Does So Much With Only So Little
Sonic Dream Team Only Has A Few Levels to Its Name
Sonic Dream Team’s announcementwas met with a small amount of push-back because many potential players didn’t like thatDream Teamwas Apple Arcade exclusive. For those who enjoy challenging, thoughtful, fast-paced platforming,Sonic Dream Teamis certainly a game they may want to find a way to try out somehow, as the game delivers the kind of action manySonicfans long for.
The new mobile title offers the same sort of open-ended platformingexploration asSonic Frontiersdoes, only with its own take on the concept with far more limits attached. Firstly, there are only four full “stages,” with twelve acts and four bosses to break up the game. Each of the acts has its own dedicated map, but only two of its missions allow players to explore the full area without functionally wasting their time.
Sonic Dream Teamwas originally announced to feature twelve stages, but these “stages” refer to the individual acts in a stage, rather than a stage of three acts as some fans might expect upon seeing the level select in-game for the first time.
With the way the six playable characters play rather similarly to one another,Sonic Adventurefans will most likely enjoy howDream Teamplays, but the game sadly runs rather short compared to the beloved titles of the Dreamcast days. With very little difficulty behind the stages, acts, and their many missions,Sonic Dream Teamcan easily be completed in a matter of hours. The size works for a proper game on mobile devices, but the great level design begs for more maps to run through.
The Levels in Sonic Dream Team Justify Its Future Post-Launch Content
Those who wishSonic Dream Teamwas longer may just get their wish sometime in the future, asDream Teamis already slated to get post-launch content in the future. While it is a bit strange for a subscription service to get anything close to DLC, Dream Team’s size and level design certainly deserves it in particular. Unlike otherSonicgames likeSonic Lost Worldwhere players felt that the levels didn’t deliver on its experimental promises,Sonic Dream Teamsticks to its concepts and encourages the player to learn all the mechanics as they go.
SonicDream Team’s platformingis incredibly solid as it is, and the levels include plenty of little fun twists and unexpected turns just at the right time and place, which may easily make players want more. While what’s there is already incredibly fun and well-designed, seeing such great level design may make fans question just where the game could be taken next, which leaves plenty of room for additional levels to show exactly where this game in particular can go from here, and it seems that withDream Team, there are no limits to its imagination.
