Sonic Colours Ultimate - Review

Sonic’s adventures in the three-dimensional realm have had a tumultuous history, though 2010’s Sonic Colours for the Wii stands out as one of the better Sonic games in recent times. Eleven years later it has returned with a fresh coat of paint and some extra bells and whistles. Whilst by no means a masterpiece, it’s a solid outing for those that may have missed it the first time around.

Sonic Colours Ultimate sees the nefarious Dr Eggman up to his usual shenanigans. This time he’s created a theme park up in space under the guise of having turned over a good-hearted new leaf. The park, made up of planet-sized attractions, is merely a front for Eggman’s attempts to enslave an alien race called Wisps and utilise their energy for a mind-control weapon. It’s a humorous and light-hearted affair with some decent chuckles along the way that serves as a fun backdrop for the main attraction – going really fast.

Each world has six levels and a boss, and there’s a consistent pattern in how the levels play out. Earlier levels in each world tend to focus on blistering speed, loop-de-loops and drifting around corners, which are typically the most enjoyable aspects of 3D Sonic. It feels fantastic to blast through the gorgeous levels, with a truly palpable sense of speed that is incredibly satisfying. Later levels tend to slow things down, feature more puzzle elements or specific gimmicks, and have trickier precision platforming, often involving switching the camera around into a 2D perspective.

The varying pace of levels keeps things fresh as you progress, but unquestionably the least enjoyable levels are always found in these back halves of each world. Sonic’s controls simply aren’t built for precision platforming, and having both the double jump and the homing attack on the same button will often make getting to certain spots mildly infuriating. Some levels can have annoying quirks like unmarked gravity changes, unclear direction, or other tedious elements. Thankfully the good outweighs the bad, but there were a few levels where I was relieved to see the finish line. The bosses are also a bit of a throwaway, with uninspired encounters that are often repeated, but at least they’re usually over pretty quickly.

Unique to Sonic Colours is the alien Wisps strewn across the levels. Each different colour of these creatures provides Sonic with a unique ability to aid in his traversal and exploration. For example, one grants Sonic the power to turn into a laser and beam through the air or along specially place crystals. Others allow you to stick to walls, rocket through the sky, drill through the terrain, activate special blocks or even turn into a purple beast to eat everything your path. They’re a fun addition and provide an incentive to replay levels once you’ve unlocked them all as it opens many more avenues to progress through each stage.

You’ll also want to utilise them to help hunt down the collectible red rings hidden in each level, usually tucked away in tough to reach spots or off the beaten path. These can unlock new rival races with Metal Sonic which is essentially a glorified time trial mode with a ghost, but they act as some added incentive for completionists. Also scattered across levels are coins that can unlock items for a new customisation shop that has been added to this remaster. You can mix up Sonic’s gloves, shoes, aura and boost effects, which whilst not revolutionary, at least allows for some self-expression and extra replay value.

Other new additions to this remaster include a new ghost Wisp and remixes of the game’s music tracks that are interspersed with the originals. Not all the remixes are improvements on the original tracks, and the ability to choose which version was playing on each level would have been nice, but the inclusion is appreciated. The biggest change and selling point is of course the updated visuals. Textures, lighting, and details have been updated across the board, and it’s quite a stunning game. The different planets all have a unique aesthetic, but all look splendid, with vibrant colours, detailed vistas and plenty of neat touches and visual flourishes.

I played this on PlayStation 5, which mostly runs at 60fps but does suffer from the occasional stutter. It runs at 1440p on PS5, falling short of true 4K resolution found on Xbox Series X (and Xbox One X!), but still looks fantastic. Unfortunately, the game’s cutscenes haven’t received the same treatment, with only some slight upscaling smoothing off some of the rougher edges from the original presentation found on the Wii version.

Sonic Colours Ultimate successfully brings back one of the best entries in the hedgehog’s recent catalogue. There’s not a whole lot new here for those who have played it before, but updated visuals and a smooth framerate truly helps to provide the satisfying rhythm that comes with blasting through a tightly woven Sonic landscape. Some of the more gimmick-laden levels can be frustrating and bring the pace to a crawl, but they don’t ruin what is otherwise an enjoyable outing for the blue blur.

The Score

7.0

Review code provided by Sega

The Pros

+Stunning to look at

+Blistering early levels are a thrill

+Some great new music remixes…

The Cons

-…though not all the new songs are improvements

-Occasional tedious levels and gimmicks

-Not a lot of new content for returning players