Sonic Dream Team brings together Inception and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater for iPhone

Sonic the Hedgehog is launching a new game next month that combines its fast-paced 3D platforming gameplay with replay value and the invention of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Sonic Dream TeamDeveloped by Sega Hardlight Studios, it also features a unique setting – the vivid dreams of Dr. Eggman – and a whole new character for the Sonic-verse.

Sonic Dream Team, which was played at a hands-on preview event earlier this week, draws from a variety of influences Its levels are inspired by skate parks, including grinding rails, half pipes, spinning walkways and Christopher Nolan’s impossible architecture. start. Levels Dr. A colored distillation of. Eggman’s dreams are filtered through Sonic’s friend Cream the Rabbit.

Skate park inspired levels Sonic Dream Team They are designed so that players play multiple times with multiple goals in mind. In some levels set in the dream world of Scrambled Shores and Dream Factory, I was tasked with finding keys to open new paths, complete a goal within a certain time, or find a hidden object. The level structure varies depending on the objective and players are encouraged to revisit the levels repeatedly. Levels are full of hidden collectibles including scattered blue coins and red stars.

Karim is solo and playable in 3D for the first time in a long time.

Image: Sega Hardlight/Sega

Some collectibles and areas can only be accessed by certain characters. Sonic the Hedgehog is playable, and his girlfriend Amy Rose is also playable along with Misty Blue. Tails, Knuckles, Rouge the Bat and Cream the Rabbit can also be unlocked and played. Knuckles and Rouge can slide and climb walls, allowing them to reach places other characters cannot. The same goes for Tails and Cream, who can fly through levels for short periods of time.

The good news is that players who want to collect everything in a level can switch between any unlocked character mid-game. The only limitation is that they must be motionless; For example, you can’t fly as high as a tail and then rouge mid-flight.

Sonic Dream Team The developers say that the game is not focused on combat. Instead, the enemies scattered throughout the levels are designed to help players keep up their momentum by bumping into them and using character-enhancing attacks. The developers want to put players in a state of flow where they can combine jumps, slides and speed boosts to move through levels seamlessly. The hope is that there will be “plenty of replayability”. dream teamShort session levels where players shoot for 100% completion and increasingly fast times.

Some Dr. Eggman’s dreams are darker than others

Image: Sega Hardlight/Sega

There is also an overarching story dream team, told through in-game audio scenes. Dr. Eggman, Sonic’s revered villain, discovers a dreamcatcher-like device called the Reverie, which Sega describes as “an ancient device with the ability to bring dreams into the real world”. Ariem – a reference to REM sleep – helps Sonic and his friends understand Reverie’s powers and introduces him to the Dream Team as its guardian. Arem, an anthropomorphic sheep, is an original creation Sonic Dream Team And it was created by Hardlight and Sonic Team artist Yuji Uekawa.

Sonic Dream Team Coming to Apple Arcade and can be played on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV. I played the game at a recent hands-on event on a Mac Mini with a PlayStation 5 DualSense controller and found the game to be fast and intuitive to control. Hardlight does a good job of making Sonic’s very fast-paced gameplay readable, especially thanks to the cooperative camera. I’ve never enjoyed gaming on a touchscreen iPhone, but I’ve never been a fan of a virtual gamepad on the screen.

Sonic’s new standalone adventure hits Apple Arcade on December 5th It is not clear if it will come to other platforms, but it will in the near future Sonic Dream Team Exclusive to Apple’s gaming subscription service.

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