Sonic the Hedgehog is a series that means a lot to me; I grew up playing games like Sonic Heroes and watching TV shows like Sonic X. I always loved this series even when it felt like it was going through some rocky times. Thankfully, nowadays, Sonic seems to be on way steadier ground thanks to releases like the movies and some great new games. With the 35th anniversary in full swing, it was the perfect time to learn what came next, and I was a bit surprised by how different his next game would be.
When I first saw the reveal for Sonic Pico Park, a puzzle mini-game collection developed by TECOPARK, the same developers behind the Pico Park games. I was surprised to see Sonic take part in such a different kind of spin-off. While Sonic has had unique spin-offs and crossovers in the past, this felt stranger than anything I’ve ever seen. After playing it with some friends, I’m happy to say it’s a great game, though I wish it were a bit longer.
Entering the Pico Park
Sonic Pico Park at first glance is a bit odd to those who haven’t played much of the Pico Park series which was the case for me and my two other friends. As it’s a bit more blocky and focused on bite-sized puzzles, at first I didn’t think this game would fit in with the rest of Sonic’s spinoffs, but it somehow pulls it off. With every character having mini quirks that make them feel just like they do in the games. Shadow gets a bit annoyed if you stand around too long, and Tails gets tired really quickly when carrying others. It was minor, but it helped make this feel like these were Sonic and his friends and not just reskins of other characters.
Each world is cut up into four mini levels, each focusing on some new element of gameplay, with the first few getting players adjusted to the game. For example, in one world, all three of us playing were tied up to one another. With puzzles focusing on us learning how to use that to our advantage. Such as dangling one of us off the edge to grab a key to advance the stage. There are also a few that worked in the Sonic staples pretty nicely, such as using rings to survive a hit, or using springs and boost pads to avoid death pits.
Others were using the character-specific abilities to our advantage, like Tails being able to fly or bigger characters like Vector using their strength to clear areas. I really liked these sections as it made us branch out and not just stick to the same characters we chose at the start to breeze through everything. At the same time however, I wish they would’ve included abilities for every character in the same as only a few have them. Especially for the big characters, as they’re pretty much only usable in a handful of levels, which is a shame, as I love Vector and would’ve used him the whole time if I had the chance.
Blasting Off
One minor complaint we had was how short the game is. Just as we were having fun with the game, we felt it was over. We did waste a couple of minutes trying out the battle mode and the endless scroller, and we had fun with those. They felt a bit underwhelming compared to how well-made the main levels were, especially the endless scroller, which I wish was more fleshed out.
Another minor issue was how awkward the controls were to get used to as I played this game on PC with two of my friends. We would keep on accidentally bumping into each other using the spin dash. It would cause us to have to restart a few levels, as one of us would accidentally press it instead of the jump.
Radical Adventure
I had a lot of fun with Sonic Pico Park; the gameplay was solid, and its fun, bite-sized levels were perfect for a bit of chaos with my friends. Each world got us more excited to see what came next. Whether it was some dumb death that made us all laugh or a puzzle that had us all arguing about who had the right idea for solving it. There was never a time when we felt the game was boring us. I only wished it was a bit longer, as its other game modes, like endless scroller, were lackluster, while its battle mode got boring pretty quickly.
It’s nice to see Sonic being able to branch out and try new things, while this isn’t Sonic’s next big adventure. It’s a nice little puzzle game that is definitely worth picking up even if you’re not a Sonic fan; however, if you are, you’ll definitely have a much better time.
Disclaimer: Sega provided a PC (Steam) copy of Sonic Pico Park for review purposes.
