Sonic Dream Team - Apple Arcade Review

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Genre: Platformer

Developer: Hardlight

Publisher: Sega

Release Date: December 5th 2023

Available On: iOS, macOS, tvOS

Reviewed On: iOS

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3D Sonic games are a point of contention for many people. Over the past 25 years, we have seen great games like Sonic Generations and Sonic Adventure, and then we have games that are considered some of the worst ever made, like Sonic '06 and Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. After Sonic Frontiers came out in 2022 to a mixed reception, the fandom has been anxious to learn if Sonic games will ever reach the same heights as the franchise's glory days. Seemingly out of nowhere, we have Sonic Dream Team, a 3D Sonic game exclusive to Apple Arcade. As bizarre as this sounds, Sonic Dream Team is one of the best Sonic games of the past decade. The game pays tribute to Sonic Adventure and the multiple playable characters of Sonic Heroes whilst using the boost formula of Sonic Unleashed. Aside from Sonic X Shadow Generations, this is the best Sonic game that utilises the boost formula. The levels are short but never outstay their welcome, the controls are smooth for the most part, and there is a great deal of replayability, much like the best games of the franchise.

Lucid Dreaming

Eggman is back to his no-good tricks. This time, he has infiltrated our heroes' dreams and stolen a device from Ariem, a guardian in a world called Reverie Haven—Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and co are tasked with stopping Eggman before it is too late. The story is simple and is absolutely nothing special. Sonic games have always focused on narrative more than other platforming mascots like Mario or Crash Bandicoot. Sometimes the story is great, and sometimes it is bland. Sonic Dream Team fits into the latter. The game's cutscenes consist of still images and present the story in a comic book aesthetic. From a design perspective, I like this idea, but the execution could have been better. Sonic Dream Team's narrative reminds me of Sonic Generations, which has so much potential to tell an intriguing story, but it never quite uses all the tools at its disposal. There are only a few cutscenes in the game, but they only serve as fodder to move on to the next world, boss or level. I am not too bothered about the story itself because I play Sonic games for platforming and level design, but Sonic Dream Team for Apple Arcade has a lacklustre story.

One thing I will give praise for is Roger Craig Smith's performance as Sonic. In recent entries like Sonic Lost World, Sonic Frontiers and Sonic X Shadow Generations, Smith's voice acting has been lacking for me. His portrayal of Sonic is different from that of other actors, which is not a bad thing, but his tone and delivery make Sonic much more unlikeable. Sonic Lost World is the worst offender of this. While it is not entirely Roger Craig Smith's fault, Sonic as a character is more focused on being a smartass and making horrible one-liners rather than being the confident and idolised character he once was. Sonic Dream Team on Apple Arcade is arguably Roger Craig Smith's best performance as Sonic. Despite my problems with Sonic Frontiers, I thought Smith did a great job playing Sonic, and he reached that same level in Sonic Dream Team. Sonic is confident, not too cocky, sympathetic towards his friends, but he still manages to dish out the occasional comedic one-liner towards Eggman. Despite the disappointing cutscenes, Roger Craig Smith and the rest of the cast did a fantastic job.

Inception

The main adventure mode of Sonic Dream Team on Apple Arcade consists of four worlds, each consisting of four acts and one boss battle. You start the game controlling either Sonic or Amy, characters with speed at the core of their gameplay. I played the game Sonic Dream Team on my iPhone without a Backbone or other controller; I only used the touch screen controls. The left side of the screen functions as an analog stick to control your character. On the right side of the screen are two buttons, one to jump and the other to boost. You can also control the camera by touching the right upper half of the screen. The core gameplay of Sonic Dream Team is simple, and the controls are very good. Sonic's speed is fast but not too fast, like Sonic Unleashed, and the touchscreen analog controls work surprisingly well. Most of the time, I was able to control Sonic effortlessly, and the jump button and boost buttons are very responsive and super fun to use. Sonic's jump is high, and pressing the button again whilst Sonic is in the air activates a dash; this move is a lifesaver on many levels with precise platforming. The boost mechanic is also fantastic and is my favourite iteration of the formula after Shadow Generations. The boost is not extremely fast, but it manages to reach the right speed to make platforming manageable and very fun to perfect. 

Despite the praise for the base controls, the camera in Sonic Dream Team is not as easy to manage, and it is frustrating at times. A lot of the time, the camera is automated and will correct itself based on the direction you are facing. However, it will sometimes not fix itself, so you have to take your finger off the boost button and reach the upper half of the screen to move the camera in the proper direction. It can kill the flow of the platforming because of the game's emphasis on speed. It does not happen enough for it to be a glaring issue, but it is noticeable in certain parts of the game. 

Sonic Dream Team on Apple Arcade not only features Sonic and Amy as playable characters, but the further you get into the campaign, other characters like Tails, Knuckles, Rouge and Cream will open up to you. Tails and Cream are the flight characters, and they are able to fly into the air until their gauge runs out. Knuckles and Rouge are able to glide across obstacles and climb up to otherwise unreachable areas. The great thing about the multiple playable characters is that they all feature the same core controls, and each character runs, jumps, and boosts. Tails and Cream fly by jumping and then holding down the jump button; this is the same as Knuckles and Rouge's glide. Different playable characters also add a huge amount of replay value to the game because the main levels feature areas that only a specific character can reach. Sonic Dream Team on Apple Arcade nails replayability with its multiple characters and layered-level design.

The main collectibles you will find in the game are Dream Orbs. There are 101 of these to collect throughout the game, and they are essential to grab in order to progress to the next world. Some Dream Orbs are collectible by finishing a standard platforming stage, but most of the Dream Orbs you collect will be through the different challenge stages. These challenge stages are similar to the ones in Sonic Generations, where you collect the keys. Some of these challenge stages are time trials, others are collectathon levels where you have to find different crystals hidden within a stage, and others are platforming affairs where you have to reach a number of checkpoints before the time runs out. Some of these styles are repeated quite a lot in the game, but they often take no more than two minutes to finish, and they encourage you to experiment with different characters and find the best routes in order to get the coveted S rank. The Dream Orbs are similar to the Sun and Moon medals in Sonic Unleashed, but they are nowhere near as frustrating to collect and do not drag the game's pace or length. Sonic Dream Team on Apple Arcade is a collectathon Sonic game at its very best, and the pace of the game is never affected.

If you reach the end of the world, you will fight a boss battle with a particular character. You can only fight certain bosses with a specific character, and I was genuinely surprised at how good the bosses were. They are by no means the best bosses in Sonic's long history, but they are a lot more memorable and fun than anything from Sonic Frontiers or Sonic Forces. The bosses themselves may be too easy, but they are creative and rely on your reaction time and platforming skills to beat them. The final boss against Eggman is easily the best boss of the game, and it felt very reminiscent of the final boss in Sonic Heroes. You play a short platforming stage as each character before handing the controls to Sonic and ultimately defeating Eggman. The final boss of Sonic Dream Team on Apple Arcade is fantastic, and the other three bosses are equally great.

The Odd Nightmare

Dream Orbs are not the only collectible in Sonic Dream Team for Apple Arcade. The red tokens from Sonic Generations are here; there are five in each level, and some of them can only be found by experimenting with different characters. In addition to the red tokens, there are also blue tokens to collect. The blue tokens are currency that you can use to buy power-ups for your playable characters. Without a doubt, the best power-up in the game is the one that allows you to switch to a different character freely during a stage. Switching between characters with the touch of a button was a genius move by Hard. It made collecting items much smoother, especially if you have already done multiple playthroughs of a stage. Another favourite power-up was the shield, which stops you from dropping your rings the first time you take damage. There are hundreds of rings on each level, and they are crucial to charging up your boost gauge, so having the shield equipped gave me a feeling of security. Rings are not the only means to fill up your boost gauge because you will also see lightning bolts throughout the stage, which you can grab to charge up your boost gauge much faster. Sonic Dream Team for Apple Arcade has a lot going for it, and the vast amount of collectibles to find encourages you to continue playing after you finish the adventure mode. Sonic Dream Team's story took me just over four hours to finish, but I am excited to jump back in to find the remaining collectibles I missed.

I have previously discussed the lacklustre story and the frustrating camera in Sonic Dream Team, but the other criticism I have is the game's performance. 80% of the time, the game ran smoothly at 60 fps on my iPhone 12. However, after playing for about 25 minutes, my phone would start to heat up, and the game's frame rate would drop significantly for about a minute. Sometimes, there was only the odd stutter, but other times, the game became unplayable, and the controls would become unresponsive. After a short minute, the game would then perform perfectly for the next hour or so. I do not know if this criticism is the fault of the game or my iPhone, but it did have an impact on my playthrough.

Sonic Dream Team Apple Arcade Review: Verdict

Sonic Dream Team is one of my new favourite 3D Sonic games. The gameplay is engaging, the level design is layered, and the controls are fluid and responsive for the most part. Top that off with beautiful visuals, decent bosses, and a great performance by Roger Craig Smith. Sonic Dream Team is a delightful mobile game that will likely please any Sonic fan. The game's story may not be anything special, and the camera and frame can be irritating, but this does not ruin my experience with the game. Ironically, 3D Sonic games have become a sore subject for many fans, especially with the most recent console releases. Yet, one of the best 3D Sonic games is Sonic Dream Team, a title exclusive to Apple Arcade.