OK, so we haven’t yet produced our full review for Sonic Boom: The Rise of Lyric for the Wii U yet, but having played the game I honestly have to say it’s one of the worst Sonic games, and maybe even one of the worst video games I have ever played. I was unimpressed when I saw it at E3 this year, and despite all the horrendous previews the game got at that convention, it has somehow gotten worse. Somehow, Sonic Boom manages to combine all the worst parts of every other bad Sonic game into one, and after Sega created an honest to goodness good Sonic game with Sonic Generations , there is just no excuse for something this stupid. Let’s go down the flaws in a list shall we?
Sonic Isn’t Fast!
For more than half the game, Sonic isn’t running. He is just walking around punching and kicking enemies! In these sections he moves too fast and unwieldy for brawlers controls but too slow for Sonic controls! When Sonic does run he feels stiff, and hard to control. Not to mention speed traps are everywhere and they just make you want to slow down all the time
They Did That Weird “Sonic Characters Look Human” Thing
Eggman looks awful. I mean he looks like he has been hitting the gym, but he’s not shaped like an egg anymore! Everyone has this tall and lanky and crappy feeling to them, which is very reminiscent of Sonic ’06 , one of the worst Sonic games ever.
Who The Heck Are These Guys?
Then there is the Sonic Boom universe which is just nothing we have ever heard of in Sonic lore before. I’m not particularly sure what was wrong with the whole Sonic world. Animals trying to save the world from a mad scientist was a semi decent mascot plot. Why the heck did they have to become post-apocalyptic treasure hunters too?! These characters are barely reminiscent of the Sonic characters we knew and loved.
Why Lyric ?
Bad Sonic games always have this habit of making Robotnik (Eggman) a bit player in the game. He always has some scheme that somehow resurrects a GREATER evil. But we don’t NEED a greater evil! Robotnik is a good enough villain on his own. Stop making us fight snake man demon things or whatever. That’s not Sonic’s jam!
A Beat Em Up?
Sonic doesn’t punch things! Unless he is in Smash , in which he punches things once and only once, Sonic doesn’t button mash his way through enemies. Sonic is not a martial artist. Sonic is a speedster. That seems like such an easy concept and Sega keeps getting it wrong. It didn’t work in Sonic Unleashed , and it doesn’t work here.
Sonic Doesn’t Need To Be Edgier
The reason why Sonic games like this keep failing is because they constantly try to saddle Sonic with some sort of gimmick. Sonic has been a werewolf, a knight, a protector of Arabian Nights, and none of this has made us love him more. We ALWAYS wanted Sonic to be the same old Blue Blur we loved before.
It Feels Incomplete
The game just starts out of nowhere, cutscenes are littered throughout it, levels end abruptly, and glitches are everywhere. If ANYTHING feels like a cash-in it’s this game.
A Perfect Storm of Suck
Think of everything that has made Sonic games suck in the past. Over serious plot-lines? Sonic Boom has it. Slow gameplay? Sonic Boom has it. Stiff controls? Sonic Boom has it. Annoying original characters? Sonic Boom has it. Poor level layout? Sonic Boom has it. Shallow gimmicks? Sonic Boom has it. It has all the problems of Sonic ’06 and Sonic Unleashed . Heck, there are even auto running portions like in Sonic and the Secret Rings . If anything, at least there aren’t motion controls.
No Review Copies Were Sent Out
Not a single person got Sonic Boom: The Rise of Lyric to play before the release day. As we continue to hear reviewer after reviewer trash this game, many have theorized that this was a calculated move, in order to get more people to purchase the game on name alone.
But my point is this Sonic Boom has screwed up basically everything that a Sonic game can screw up. I don’t really know what Sega was thinking, but this isn’t what we want out of Sonic. This is the furthest thing from what we want out of Sonic. At least Sonic ’06 was halfway playable. Sonic Boom is just bad all around, and for myself, I feel that this is honest evidence that Sonic Team just isn’t trying anymore.