When I heard about Berserk Boy initially a few years ago, I instantly was curious. Strong art direction and gameplay channeling two franchises, Sonic and Mega Man, is such a strong concept. Building on X’s Dash ability and giving it that Sonic attitude, I couldn’t wait to play this. Being given the opportunity to review this was amazing and it lived up to my lofty expectations. Minor audio issues with the voice action do very little to stop this storm. Strong core gameplay, impressive level design, striking 16-bit art direction, and an amazing score all come together to create one of 2024’s best games. I can’t wait to see how Berserk Boy Games builds on this strong foundation for their next classic in the making.
Going into this charming indie game, I was excited by the strong visual identity and musical score. But I came away feeling flat. The strong presentation, great audio design, and unique mechanics do not make up for unfair challenges and needlessly punishing players for playing on lesser difficulties. If you are willing to give Popslinger a chance and fight back against the foam, you might enjoy the otherwise sweet soda beneath.
Sonic Frontiers takes lessons from games across the industry and puts its own spin on them. For the first time in many, many years Sonic Team united varied elements into a cohesive package. Breathtaking soundtrack, bold steps forward on a core formula, and spectacular boss fights dash past pop-in and difficulty issues to create the best Sonic game in many years.