Sonic Colors: Ultimate

Sega aims to please Sonic fans during the Blue Blur's 30th anniversary, trying to learn from the mistakes of Sonic games that launched this past decade and improve on them. From the enhanced graphics and extra customization, to the addition of the Tails Save mechanic, Rival Rush, and a brand new and elusive Wisp, Sonic Colors: Ultimate has proven to be the most colorful remaster in Sonic's history.It may be a rehash of a decade-old game instead of an entirely new one, but Sonic Colors: Ultimate still manages to pass the test with flying colors.

Sonic Colours Ultimate, the beloved return colored and brightest than ever, with improvements and a new mode called 'Rival Rush' to test your skills against Metal Sonic. Did you think Sonic Colours radiated with so much power that it was already phenomenal? SEGA has taken one step further and delivered even more hours of fun with this remaster.

Overall, Sonic Colors Ultimate is a must-buy for anyone who loved the original release – or who missed it and always wanted to try it out. On the PS4 and PS5, it plays wonderfully and our time netted zero issues either visually or with crashes. Some have reported issues on the Switch version and it seems like it would be best to wait for that one to get fixed-up before buying. However, if you’re playing on PlayStation and Xbox hardware, you’re in great shape to enjoy one of Sonic’s finest adventures ever and his best 3D outing in history.

Great Sonic games are a rare breed. At least from a gameplay perspective, it's tough to nail that balance between blistering speed and precise controls. While Colors: Ultimate never reaches that platonic ideal, it gets pretty close! Really, it's hard to ask for much more than that. Plus, the writing is snappy, the graphics are vibrant, the soundtrack is amped up, and the difficulty scales up nicely.

In many ways, Sonic Colors: Ultimate represents the unhindered high points of the 3D Sonic games. It's Sonic as a single playable character, so there are no werehogs, gameplay changes, or an adorable pudgy younger version of himself. It's the "run incredibly fast through loops" gameplay boiled down to its essentials, and it works really well. Even a decade out from its initial release, it's still a darn fun game, and Colors Ultimate definitely captures the feel. It won't change your mind if you never liked the 3D style of gameplay, but if you did, Colors is arguably the best of the lot. It might not have the highs of Unleashed or Generations, but it also is a far more focused affair.

It might sound hyperbolic because Colors is one of the better ones to trot out, but I hope this ensures that Sega stops trying to hide its Sonic history.

Sonic Colors Ultimate takes one of the best 3D Sonic games from the past and brings it to platforms it has never reached before, all in a fairly-priced, nicely done Ultimate package. It’s easy to recommend to any fan of Sonic games, including those like myself that never got around to playing the original in the last decade.

Despite being a 2-year-old game, Sonic Colors feels fresh, fun, and dynamic. The levels are colorful, interesting to navigate and fun to repeat. Control is decent, something that's more than can be said for most 3D Sonic titles. The music is energetic, upbeat and in tune with the setting of the game. The art direction corresponds to the title: bright colors and different palettes for each world. The story is simple but entertaining and does not go to the extreme of being naive or pretentious. In addition, the power-ups that the wisps give add a lot of depth to the game. Although the cinematics are poorly scaled and it has very little new content and is not revolutionary, it is a charming title worth spending a couple of afternoons. No bugs found in the PS4 version of the game.

As a remake, Sonic Colors: Ultimate does not pay much attention to many of the details, there is not much difference from the original except for a better graphics. However, based on the excellent quality of the original game, Sonic Colors: Ultimate is still a work that allows players to fully appreciate the charm of the Sonic series.

Disappointing cutscenes aside, Sonic Colors Ultimate offers a solid package that finally gives modern console owners a chance to play one of the best entries in the Sonic catalog, and any hedgehog fans out there who haven’t tried it yet should track it down.

Let's face it: you have no excuses anymore for not playing this little gem.

Sonic Colors largely holds up well, and Ultimate is a great way to return or introduce yourself to what is arguably the best designed 3D Sonic game so far.

While it might be a hard sell for those that have already experienced the intergalactic highs of the original, Sonic Colours: Ultimate is packed with value and tweaks that make it well worth your time if you haven’t jumped into it before. It sports a simple yet entertaining narrative, great gameplay and a visual facelift that unleashes the potential of its namesake. All of this combines to further cement Sonic Colours as one of the best entries in modern Sonic.

Ultimate is a good remaster for one of Sonic’s best 3d adventures, that includes some nice additions like voices in new languages.

Despite the eleven years on his shoulders, Sonic Colors is confirmed to be among the most interesting adventures of the polygonal "second life" of the hyperkinetic hedgehog. Enjoying it fully is still possible today, certainly thanks to its intrinsic qualities - level design, in particular - but also the efforts made by Blind Squirrel in packaging Ultimate: a very good level of remastering work, albeit perfectible, and a product that we recommend without delay, especially to those who have not had the opportunity to get lost in the colors of the old edition.

Sonic Colors: Ultimate is a decent return to arguably one of the best 3D entries in the series. Though there are some solid visual upgrades, I was disappointed by the missed potential in having a version for the newest consoles. Besides that, refined controls, a revamped soundtrack, and some new features still make Sonic Colors: Ultimate a game that fans of the franchise will surely enjoy.

As a remaster, Sonic Colors: Ultimate throws in a decent amount of new stuff, but nothing beyond the frame rate and resolution bump really add up to anything that elevates the experience beyond what it was on the Wii. That said, it was already great in 2010, and still holds up as one of the best modern Sonic games to date thanks to its imaginative level designs, a laser focus on the things that make the series fun, and the addition of power granting Wisps that add a ton of variety to each level without compromising the speed that should define a Sonic game.

An impressive remaster of an already entertaining Sonic game, this should keep Sonic fans busy until we get something new (as long as you're happy replaying levels for S-Ranks, because otherwise it's pretty short).

In short, Sonic Colors Ultimate remains one of the better Sonic the Hedgehog games to appear over the last 11 years.

Sonic Colors: Ultimate is an exceptional port for modern day consoles. It’s one of the few great 3D Sonic games that gives hope that Sega will give the iconic Blue Blur a proper return to form.

Sonic Colors: Ultimate is exactly what I like to see in a Sonic game: it's fun, it's fast, and the level design is exceptional. Developer Blind Squirrel Games has also added some quality-of-life features that make it welcoming for younger fans as well. It would have been nice to see the game's cutscenes receive the same visual upgrade that the rest of the game got, but that's a minor gripe. For fans that missed out on Sonic Colors when it first released, or those looking to revisit the game, Sonic Colors: Ultimate offers one of the best experiences to ever feature the blue blur.

Sonic Colors Ultimate is a remastered version of one of the best 3D Sonic games released over the last fifteen years. Resolution, frame-rate and graphics are up to date and with several add-ons this game feels brilliant and very enjoyable, becoming a must have for every Sonic the Hedghehog fan.

Sonic Colours represents some of the blue hedgehog's finest 3D hours. As it was only released on the Wii, it deserved to be remastered for more powerful hardware. And now that it has, it's a pleasure to run through Eggman's theme park at 60 fps. Sonic Team was clearly inspired when it came up with Sonic Colours' level design and Wisp power ups. Everything still works in 2021. Sonic Colours Ultimate is the game that can be shown to those who say that Sonic and 3D don't mix.

A good remaster for one of the most appreciated 3D chapters of the franchise.

Sonic Colours: Ultimate improves on the fine game released many years ago on Wii, but after all this time it was fair to expect something more, especially for the hedgehog's 30th birthday.

Visually attractive remaster of the successful Sonic episode from the Wii era. Mechanically the platforming action is not as appealing as it was more than ten years ago.

Sometimes Sonic can end in products only suitable for its core followers, but Colours: Ultimate is a game easy to recommend to almost any platformer fan.

Dusting a bit of dust on Sonic Colors, Sonic Colors: Ultimate may not be the best of remasters, but it does the job well enough to spark interest in a perfectly acceptable episode.

Sonic Colors: Ultimate does a decent job of bringing back a good game for modern audiences. Although I have fond memories of the original, this remake made me realise that my memory can't always be trusted when it comes to how well certain games will hold up.

What was supposed to be a celebration of the 30 years this series has existed, turned into a bug infested glitch fest. Luckily, all of this is fixable if the team puts some effort into future updates. And it surely would be worth it, as the core game still holds as one of the most fun and imaginative 3D Sonic titles of all time.

Sonic Colors Ultimate is a worthy remaster of one of the blue hedgehog's best games in the last decade. It improves the impressive visual spectacle of the original, but adds little features that significantly enhance the experience. It was difficult to make a bad game out of Sonic Colors, but Sega has the merit of bringing this title to the newer generations in a competent manner, giving the fans of the series a good game starring the blue speedster - something very rare in the last few years, unfortunately.

It’s a mix of almost on-rails boost-based 3D sections with more classic-feeling 2D fare. The physics in the latter are still rough, with a particularly sticky-feeling jump. But Colors isn’t afraid to slow down for the occasional platform challenge. Each of the six stages in the five worlds is super-quick too, focussed on one core idea through each one. More often than not, Colors is a blast (though the meandering ending is awful). [Issue#6, p.88]

Sonic Colors Ultimate is the best way to enjoy the 2010 classic and remains one of the best modern Sonic games.

Sonic Colors: Ultimate is a rare Sonic game which is sure to appeal to existing fans and newcomers alike. Players who previously experienced it on the Wii won’t find much new here, but there’s still plenty of fun to be had in revisiting it. Sure, there’s a few flaws with the wider visual presentation and finnicky 2D sections, but Sonic Colors: Ultimate presents an entertaining package that still comes recommended.

Sonic Colours: Ultimate varies the traditional gameplay with new mechanics that will delight younger players. The new mechanics and a few moments make it an interesting but somewhat accessible Sonic for veterans.

Sonic Colors: Ultimate returns with a colorful remaster: but there are also many flaws as bad as Dr. Eggman.

Sonic Colors’ vibrant colors, inventive level design and fast gameplay made it a hit back in 2010. Sonic Colors: Ultimate recaptures the magic, making refinements and upgrades to the gameplay and visuals to bring them more in line with today’s standards.

When comparing it to other 3D Sonic titles, Sonic Colours is easily one of the better entries in the storied annals of the spiny speedster. It’s an audiovisual delight, and more often than not, calls upon the spirit of speed that made this a household name. Unfortunately, it still carries plenty of the baggage from older 3D Sonic games in terms of unnecessary difficulty spikes, and inconsistent switching between 3D and 2.5D.

Sonic Colors: Ultimate is a safe remaster of a cult classic which should please old players and newcomers alike, but isn’t going to redeem the iconic hedgehog’s troubled record.

Sonic Colors is still a great game, but Ultimate is lackluster at best. It’s glitchy, visually inconsistent, and has some abysmal mixing that makes it impossible to hear the excellent soundtrack, let alone the new remixes.

Sonic Colors Ultimate‘s gameplay loop is enjoyable and boasts high replayability. However, the Tails Save implementation, boss battles, and some Wisp power utilization slow this speedy adventure down to a crawl. It’s undeniably fun, but never trips up the moment you find your pace. Here’s to looking forward to new Sonic adventures in the future...Yes, that was a plea for a new Sonic Adventures.

For Sonic purists there’s undoubtedly a great time to be had with Sonic Colors: Ultimate. For those who are more fairweather Sonic fans or are looking for a new adventure to dive into, the game might be a little more of a challenge to enjoy.

A disappointing, lazy remaster of a very good platformer. The developers took the path of least resistance by stretching textures and trying to conceal their blurriness with aggressive lighting, which made things worse. The only advantages I see here are the quality of the original game and the fact that the Ultimate edition brought it to new platforms. [12/2021, p.59]

When Sonic Colors: Ultimate feels like a Sonic game, it’s tremendously satisfying. When it deviates from the familiar pattern, it all feels a bit too slow and forced, shoving in too many ideas to master any of them.

Sonic Colours Ultimate is a solid if unremarkable retread through perhaps the only 3D Sonic game worth remastering. The visuals are just shiny enough to warrant a remaster, with a pumping soundtrack and inventive mechanics through the Wisps. Newcomers will find far more exciting and original games elsewhere, so the term ‘for the fans’ has never rung quite so true.

Technically it’s still the best modern Sonic, if you don’t count Sonic Mania, but time has not been particularly kind and neither has this unambitious remaster.

Sonic Colors: Ultimate is undoubtedly better than the abysmal Sonic Forces, a game that I was strangely compelled to play through again recently. But still, it’s far from being a great Sonic game. There are some nice new additions here, and while the cutscenes are still low quality, the in-game visuals have cleaned up very nicely indeed. It’s just the shame the gameplay is so all over the place – one minute you’ll be having the time of your life, the next, pulling your hair out in frustration. It’s tough being a Sonic fan, and Sonic Colors: Ultimate does little to ease the pain.

Sonic Colors: Ultimate brings new visuals and some new bits and bobs from the original release, but it lacks the punch of some other entries to the series.

Sonic Colors: Ultimate is the best version of an okay game. It's certainly among the hedgehog's better outings since his Genesis heyday, but it suffers from typically frustrating controls and level design. The Wisps provide variety and replay value, and the remaster adds some fun new features in addition to the visual enhancements. This 11-year-old Sonic title is one worth experiencing, but just be aware of its rough edges before you spin dash into the action.

Sonic Colors: Ultimate is a good game by the low standards of 3D Sonic titles. The levels are pretty and offer optional routes. The gameplay is functional but not without flaws, yet somehow still enjoyable. Despite issues, I've enjoyed my time with the game, but I doubt I'll be playing it again soon.

While it's always exciting for the fans to see new version of their beloved games developed with modern standards, unfortunately this is not the case for every game, and when we look back we realize that some games just don't fit the profile. The Sonic series seems to be going down that path and unless the developers inject some really cool and exciting new ideas into the franchise, titles like Sonic Colors Ultimate will be nothing more than a good old memory.

Sonic Colors Ultimate is a faithful remake of the 2010 game that you’ll probably enjoy if you’re either a dedicated Sonic fan or a child that doesn’t mind the easy difficulty and childish dialogue. Otherwise, there’s not much to love here, with floaty gameplay and an unengaging story.