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Sonic Lost World Review Thread [Embargo Ends: Oct. 18th, 4:00 AM EDT]

Haha, it does feel like they're out to get you at times. One of the final levels is a 2D vertical scroller and it "locks" the camera every time you move it up, meaning if you fall down you die even if there were platforms just below the screen.

Yeah, that sounds bad.

A general rule should be: Small mistakes should be punished by falling to a lower path and or ring loss, doing something really reckless and or making the same mistake should result in life loss.
 
What should I do as a non-Sonic fan that was expecting something on the quality level of Mario, send it back or give it a shot? I can't cancel anymore, my copy is probably already sitting in my mailbox...

Send it back and either wait fro a demo or rent it, trust me this is nowhere near as good as sonic colors, and even that game had it's fair share of problems.
sadly like me and like every other wii u owner, we will just have to wait for mario.
with this game turning out so bad, nintendo delaying donkey kong til 2014 seems even worse than it already was.

Do not assume that this is the same thing that happened to w101 and zombi u, both of those games are great and sadly got punished unfairly in the reviews, this one however deserves it.
 

MilkBeard

Member
The hilarious thing is that the footage on GameTrailers review makes the game look really good, ha ha. It's like, hard for me to see that and believe that the game sucks. Maybe I'm just in denial. I'm gonna have to try this one out myself. Sounds like there may be a silver lining to the difficulty.

Honestly, I'm glad I went ahead and bought ZombiU, which received reviews all over the map. One thing about that game, though, is that the positive reviews were much higher so it was at least telling about some good elements to the game.

Damn, Sonic Team. Was hoping this one was going to be a hit. I'll have to see for myself though.

EDIT: Wow, I just noticed that there were as many positive reviews as negative now. This is so confusing. Definitely gonna try for myself now.
 

Birathen

Member
Reviews all over the place. Low score from IGN is a good sign.
My copy arrives in a week. I have to hurry up and finish WWHD and W101!
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Alright, I think I've got all the reviews posted so far in the OP. Probably won't translate some of the non-English ones tonight since... I'm kinda tired and it's like almost 6 AM for me, but we'll see about that.

Either way, I kind of gathered that this game was going to be rather polarizing as we saw more and more footage for it.
 

greg400

Banned
Are they really though? Apart from Famitsu, all the 3DS reviews I've seen are 6/10 or lower and there seems to be far more Wii U reviews ~5/10 than 8 or 9.
Half of the Wii U reviews are above or at a 7 and the other half are below, so yeah, they are diverse.
 

MAZYORA

Member
I'm sure Mario 3d World will get all 9s and 10s, but the game feels identical to Mario 3d Land. Sonic Lost World at least tries something new, where as Mario 3d World is just a re imagining of its handheld cousin with no gameplay innovation like a true Mario sequel.
 

NotLiquid

Member
Are they really though? Apart from Famitsu, all the 3DS reviews I've seen are 6/10 or lower and there seems to be far more Wii U reviews ~5/10 than 8 or 9.

While there aren't many 8/9s, I count 10 Wii U reviews in the OP that are on the scale of 5 and below, while I can count 13 that are on a scale from 7 and above. So yes, it's divisive.
 
I'm sure Mario 3d World will get all 9s and 10s, but the game feels identical to Mario 3d Land. Sonic Lost World at least tries something new, where as Mario 3d World is just a re imagining of its handheld cousin with no gameplay innovation like a true Mario sequel.

Trying a bunch of new stuff in one game doesn't guarantee quality. Most of the time it's the opposite. Mario is successful because the designers know what works. They know what to keep and what to innovate.
 

MEsoJD

Banned
Knew this game was going to mediocre ever since they showed sonics gimmicky new powers. It's a shame because Sega was seeming to go in the right direction with generations. I would really love an hd 2d sonic with stylish sprites, but that will probably never happen.... Oh why did Wii U owners have to hype this game... Well the new Mario Kart seems interesting. I wonder how much money Nintendo forked over for this exclusive?
 

Xav

Member
I'm sure Mario 3d World will get all 9s and 10s, but the game feels identical to Mario 3d Land. Sonic Lost World at least tries something new, where as Mario 3d World is just a re imagining of its handheld cousin with no gameplay innovation like a true Mario sequel.

Can I borrow your time machine? I want to play 3D World too.
 

Celine

Member
I'm sure Mario 3d World will get all 9s and 10s, but the game feels identical to Mario 3d Land. Sonic Lost World at least tries something new, where as Mario 3d World is just a re imagining of its handheld cousin with no gameplay innovation like a true Mario sequel.
Uh, Mario 3D World is a true Mario sequel, at least wait to play it to say what gameplay mechanics were added...
Enjoy your Sonic Lost World though ;-)
 
Yeah, from what I've played i would give it a pretty low score too. It was like they copied the looks and ideas from galaxy without understanding what made it so good.

Never had faith in a sonic game, so I'm not surprised even though i wanted to like it.
 

NotLiquid

Member
Knew this game was going to mediocre ever since they showed sonics gimmicky new powers. It's a shame because Sega was seeming to go in the right direction with generations. I would really love an hd 2d sonic with stylish sprites, but that will probably never happen.... Oh why did Wii U owners have to hype this game... Well the new Mario Kart seems interesting. I wonder how much money Nintendo forked over for this exclusive?

I would have hyped this game even if it weren't on Wii U. The game looked legitimately exciting and infinitely more filled with depth than the lackluster boost trilogy.

Unfortunately it really looks like it's not all what it could have been which is incredibly disappointing, but that just makes me convinced they should recoup and try again. Unlike Generations I'm not getting the sense that what Lost World is offering is the maximum extent of what that kind of game play can provide.
 

Oblivion

Fetishing muscular manly men in skintight hosery
Wow, the reviews are all over the place. Some people say it's great, others say it sucks.


...what do we do now, gaf?
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
Jim Sterling's review is up - 7.5/10

Sonic Lost World can wildly swing from brilliant to horrific at the drop of a hat, but when one steps back and takes a look at the whole production, one sees far more to love than hate. Certainly, the nastier elements prevent it from being the truly great installment it could have been, but the experience is good enough to where I would desperately entreat Sonic Team to keep doing what's been started here. Please, no more desperate shifts in tone and level design, no more dramatic new overhauls. On a fundamental level, Lost World absolutely nails it, and does what Sonic should have been doing a long, long time ago.

All it needs is time to refine, and Lost World could become the start of something beautiful.
 

NotLiquid

Member
Sonic Lost World can wildly swing from brilliant to horrific at the drop of a hat, but when one steps back and takes a look at the whole production, one sees far more to love than hate. Certainly, the nastier elements prevent it from being the truly great installment it could have been, but the experience is good enough to where I would desperately entreat Sonic Team to keep doing what's been started here. Please, no more desperate shifts in tone and level design, no more dramatic new overhauls. On a fundamental level, Lost World absolutely nails it, and does what Sonic should have been doing a long, long time ago.

All it needs is time to refine, and Lost World could become the start of something beautiful.

This is really all I needed to know and all I wanted from a Sonic game. Hearing it from Jim makes me all the more excited.

Can't wait to pick the game up on the way back from class.
 

MIlky1985

Banned
That's a pretty decent score from him lol

Don't forget destructiod are one of the few sites that use the full 10 point scale as well (you know, like they all sodding well should), so a 7.5 is actually pretty damn good, not average like the other sites claim. Essentially a 7.5 from them is higher than a 7.5 from other sites and now my head hurts form even being in a situation where that statement has to be made :(

Stupid games industry and there history of inflating review score!

(in case anyone misreads this, as its the internet and people will. I'm saying that jims score is actually better than you probably think!)
 
D

Deleted member 125677

Unconfirmed Member
Edit: shit, I was wrong sorry. The email that I got which I thought said a demo was coming was actually saying the full game was on the eshop. Not a demo.

Sorry, please dont shoot me too many times.

Repeat: no demo on Aus eshop.

Cyberheater is gonna be mad again, better hide! :p
 

Ushojax

Should probably not trust the 7-11 security cameras quite so much
I'm sure Mario 3d World will get all 9s and 10s, but the game feels identical to Mario 3d Land. Sonic Lost World at least tries something new, where as Mario 3d World is just a re imagining of its handheld cousin with no gameplay innovation like a true Mario sequel.

Yes, I'm sure we all remember the 4 player mode from 3D Land.
 

fred

Member
Wow, the reviews are all over the place. Some people say it's great, others say it sucks.


...what do we do now, gaf?

I guess that this is one of these games that you have to do 2 very important things with:

1) Play it yourself

2) Be aware that you need to 'get' the controls to appreciate it

It seems to me that the bad reviews are down to reviewers struggling with the controls and the good reviews have been down to reviewers putting in some effort for once and learning the controls.

Unfortunately the vast majority of reviewers are shite at playing games and are unable to get their heads around anything that isn't generic in terms of control schemes. You would have thought that they should pass some sort of tests before getting their jobs tbh.
 
Unfortunately the vast majority of reviewers are shite at playing games and are unable to get their heads around anything that isn't generic in terms of control schemes. You would have thought that they should pass some sort of tests before getting their jobs tbh.

That could go against the large # of causal game players at large, maybe particularly the big percentage that doesn't consistently finish games.
 
Sterling's review makes me feel a lot better about the game. I appreciate that he was up front about the acclimation period and didn't let it permanently sour the game for him.
 
If what Verd said was true and Sony skipped out on this for the other Sega exclusives is true then I guess they made the smart decision.
 

Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
Thanks for all the replies. Yeah, expecting Mario quality was really stupid on my part lol. I should have said good platformer with Mario Galaxy influences and more speed, at least that's what the game looked like and what drew me to it. I do like challenging games but I don't know, the control complaints sound bad, a platformer needs tight and intuitive controls...

This is describing quite well what Sonic Lost World is. Regarding the controls: They are not perfect, but good nevertheless (I'm very picky in controls), not all aspects are really intuitive though. It takes some time to learn and to fully appreciate it you need to play the levels more than once.
 
Still gonna get it. It just looks too fun and colorful, with a lot of throwbacks to the classic Sonic games to me. And I really like the presentation. Clean and slick.

Day one for me. I've played enough 3D Sonic games to be "disappointed" from. And really, outside a few things (Werehog, treasure hunting, wisp powers, etc), I tend to overlook those negative gimmicks and still have fun with the game. Generations is a step in the right direction, but it was too short and i guess in the end, those extra gimmicks found in other games really are just filler content to extend the game. But Sonic games were always made to be short and replayable. So I guess Sega is still confused on what to do with Sonic. Make it a short and sweet experience, or bog it down with a bunch of extra stuff that just really isn't needed...
 

MilkBeard

Member
Still gonna get it. It just looks too fun and colorful, with a lot of throwbacks to the classic Sonic games to me. And I really like the presentation. Clean and slick.

Day one for me. I've played enough 3D Sonic games to be "disappointed" from. And really, outside a few things (Werehog, treasure hunting, wisp powers, etc), I tend to overlook those negative gimmicks and still have fun with the game. Generations is a step in the right direction, but it was too short and i guess in the end, those extra gimmicks found in other games really are just filler content to extend the game. But Sonic games were always made to be short and replayable. So I guess Sega is still confused on what to do with Sonic. Make it a short and sweet experience, or bog it down with a bunch of extra stuff that just really isn't needed...

The more screens and videos I see the more I want it. The game just looks beautiful, and I'm interested in the "slower pace, but speed as a reward" feel that Jim Sterling described.

You see, this is why I was waiting for his review. He often shines some light on these kind of divisive games. He was spot on with ZombiU I think, so I'm going to be a little more optimistic while playing this game as well. I'm definitely going to try it out.

...according to his review, the game is actually $50 and not $60. If so, that's a plus.
 

Glass Joe

Member
I guess that this is one of these games that you have to do 2 very important things with:

1) Play it yourself

2) Be aware that you need to 'get' the controls to appreciate it

It seems to me that the bad reviews are down to reviewers struggling with the controls and the good reviews have been down to reviewers putting in some effort for once and learning the controls.

Unfortunately the vast majority of reviewers are shite at playing games and are unable to get their heads around anything that isn't generic in terms of control schemes. You would have thought that they should pass some sort of tests before getting their jobs tbh.

I read the Jim Sterling review and him talking about replaying the levels before enjoying the game stuck out to me. I think reviewers are time crunched to try to beat a game as fast as possible so they can spit out a review on launch day. If there's something that doesn't fit the mold, has unique elements, or a learning curve, it won't be understood and will be written off as junk. But with that said, I'm not defending Sonic Lost World as I haven't actually played it myself.
 

Thoraxes

Member
I think it is a fair score. And the review sums up quite nicely why the reviews are all over the place.

Don't forget destructiod are one of the few sites that use the full 10 point scale as well (you know, like they all sodding well should), so a 7.5 is actually pretty damn good, not average like the other sites claim. Essentially a 7.5 from them is higher than a 7.5 from other sites and now my head hurts form even being in a situation where that statement has to be made :(

Stupid games industry and there history of inflating review score!

(in case anyone misreads this, as its the internet and people will. I'm saying that jims score is actually better than you probably think!)
Aye to you both.
Haha, yeah, was just going to say, given his past experiences with the series.

Anyway, I'm going to bed. I'll edit more reviews in later if they come in. Please play nice in the meantime.

Goodnight, and thanks for your work keeping things up to date!
 

TheOGB

Banned
I've realized that, even when I disagree, I actually value Destructoid reviews (which is more than I can say for any other outlet that's been listed already), especially Holmes' and Sterling's. 7.5 from Jim is good to hear.
 

NotLiquid

Member
Official Nintendo Magazine: 80%

While Lost World hits more than it misses, it remains plagued by the general lack of polish that defines many of Sonic's 3D games. That said, the hog himself is more well-rounded (especially during a spin dash) compared to his previous incarnations, a reliable presence that anchors the game on the right side of playable.

So it is we return to our medieval hedgehog: Lost World bears a similar bounty of juicy treats, as long as you're willing to risk the awkward spines that lie beneath.

The divisiveness continues
 
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