Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric Reviews

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric is ranked in the 1st percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Nov 23, 2014

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric is too slow-paced, too easy, and too childish for teen or adult Sonic fans, and its control and design issues make it difficult to recommend even for its target audience.

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5 / 10.0
Nov 19, 2014

When I first saw the announcement for Sonic Boom, barring the weird Knuckles redesign, I was excited by the prospect of change. The Sonic series hasn't taken many risks in recent years, particularly when it comes to the 3D aspect of the franchise, and Big Red Button had a lot riding on its inaugural effort. Unfortunately, the game could have used a few more months in the hopper and taken many more risks. Better luck next time.

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5 / 10.0
Nov 10, 2014

Hopefully the next Sonic title can be as great as Sonic Colors or Sonic Generations, or even as decent as Sonic Lost Worlds, but coming from former Naughty Dog members, this was definitely a letdown.

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2.5 / 5.0
Nov 13, 2014

It's admirable that Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric tries so many new things, but every path it follows is a dead end. While the environments look decent and collectibles help give the short story some legs, the lack of difficulty, variation, and personality ruins any chance it had of making Sonic relevant again.

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IGN
Top Critic
4.3 / 10.0
Nov 13, 2014

Generic and unpolished, Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric falls well below our already-low expectations.

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4 / 10.0
Nov 13, 2014

When it's not being a buggy, unpolished mess, the moment-to-moment action and exploration bounces between tedious and boring

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4 / 10
Nov 23, 2014

Big Red Button spoke enthusiastically about the development process throughout the promotion of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, which makes us think that the disappointing final product is a victim of being rushed out the door to accommodate the cartoon's release. As a result, Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric is recommended only for those starved for a new adventure platformer and patient enough to sit through the poor technical performance.

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Nov 13, 2014

In a year that the Wii U gifted us with Mario Kart 8 and Bayonetta 2, games that displayed what the system could do graphically, Rise of Lyric's graphics are simply unacceptable in 2014.

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4 / 10.0
Nov 30, 2014

The budding scientist in all of us might confuse the title of the newest Sonic game with the booming sound associated with the shock waves. Much like when Sonic blasts out of his famous Spin Boost, a sonic boom is created by an object traveling faster than the speed of sound. Unfortunately, the only thing booming has been the resounding and collective "MEH" that was heard as Sonic fans both young and old checked out this game.

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3.8 / 10.0
Dec 4, 2014

Overall, even if the engine ran smoothly and the bugs were squashed, Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric wouldn't be that great of a game. As-is, it's an unfinished mess, astounding only in how rapidly you can count its flaws.

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3 / 10.0
Nov 21, 2014

Just when you thought there was nothing else that could be done to ruin the Sonic franchise, all it took was a Big Red Button.

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Ken McKown
Top Critic
2.5 / 10.0
Dec 9, 2014

Sonic Boom is a bad game. There is no other way to say it. I won't get excited for another return of the hedgehog…OK that is probably a lie, but either way, don't buy this game. Pick up the infinitely more enjoyable Lost World, or one of the other fantastic Wii U exclusives this holiday season. Just stay far, far away from this toxic hedgehog.

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2 / 10
Nov 23, 2014

This lack of direction is an especially ironic failing for a character who was once defined by his single-minded forward momentum. The time is clearly long overdue for Sonic to take a well-earned rest, get his breath back and only return once Sega has worked out where he's supposed to be going. It pains me to say it, but Sonic Boom needs to be the last noise we hear from the blue hedgehog for a very long time.

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GameSpot
Top Critic
2 / 10
Nov 13, 2014

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric is another plummet in the sad decline of the Sonic franchise.

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2 / 10.0
Nov 19, 2014

It's all for nothing. It's all so very pointless. Sonic Boom exists because we're all going to die one day, and we don't matter.

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2 / 10
Dec 20, 2014

It's baffling how Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric draws inspiration from such good sources but fails at delivering almost everything it promises. Burdened by technical problems, a lackluster plot, confusing exploration mechanics and empty settings, Rise of Lyric needed a complete overhaul before being released.

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2 / 10.0
Nov 28, 2014

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric is simply a disaster. To my knowledge, it is the worst retail game I have played in a long time. The game is boring, chock full of problems and glitches, and doesn't know when to be quiet for even a moment.

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1.7 / 10.0
Nov 17, 2014

I refuse to believe that Big Red Button looked at this and said it was done. In all likelihood their efforts were kneecapped by time and money constraints. Shame on Sega for publishing this broken, obviously incomplete mess. The glimpses of a good game that occasionally break through only serve to make this failure sting more.

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1 / 10
Nov 24, 2014

Possibly the worst Sonic the Hedgehog game ever made, which considering some of his previous lows is one of the harshest insults in gaming.

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Cubed3
Top Critic
1 / 10
Nov 24, 2014

There have been many effortless cash grabs, but none as blatant as this, which is a $60 commercial. Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 is no longer the worst Sonic game, and it is tragic to see the fandom of Sonic be danced upon by such a cynical cash grab that was quickly slapped together by focus testing and lacks any soul at all. 'Buggy' and 'glitchy' are truly the best words to describe this debacle. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric is the mark of the vulgar and should not be touched.

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