Sonic Lost World Review Summary

Last updated: 2026-02-03
  • Excellent and varied level design
  • Fun and engaging gameplay mechanics
  • Outstanding soundtrack and visuals
  • High replayability with enjoyable boss fights
  • Lack of tutorials and explanations
  • Performance issues and graphical bugs
Sonic Lost World header

Emotions

What players like:

Common complaints:

Gameplay feedback:

Performance notes:

Recommendations:

Other player notes:

Review evidence

Why players say this

What players like

Excellent level design: The level design is highlighted as one of the game's strong points. Levels are colorful, well-designed, and offer a variety of challenges. The unique challenges and memorable levels contribute to a positive gaming experience.

Fun and engaging gameplay: The game is widely praised for its enjoyable and engaging gameplay. Players appreciate the fun moments, intuitive controls, and the sense of speed. The gameplay is described as very fun, easy to learn, and reminiscent of classic Sonic games.

Outstanding soundtrack: The game's soundtrack is frequently mentioned as a standout feature. Players love the music, describing it as incredible, beautiful, and well-made. The soundtrack enhances the overall gaming experience.

Good controls and mechanics: The controls and mechanics are generally well-received. Players appreciate the precise platforming, extensive moveset, and the overall fluidity of the gameplay.

Visually appealing graphics: The game's visuals are praised for being bright, colorful, and visually spectacular. The artistic style and graphics contribute to the game's charm and overall appeal.

Common complaints

Similarity to Mario Galaxy: The game is frequently criticized for feeling too much like a knockoff of Super Mario Galaxy, lacking originality and feeling like a shallow clone.

Poor achievement system: Achievements are often described as boring, tedious, and poorly tied to lackluster missions. The system is criticized for being gimmicky and not well-integrated into the gameplay.

Lack of tutorials and explanations: The game is criticized for not adequately explaining mechanics, controls, and objectives, leading to confusion and frustration for players.

Uninspiring villains: The villains, particularly the Deadly Six, are criticized for being generic, boring, and uninteresting. They are often described as one-dimensional and forgettable.

Poor use of Wisps: Wisps are criticized for feeling forced, unnecessary, and poorly integrated into the gameplay. They are often seen as gimmicks that break the game's pace.

Gameplay and performance

Innovative parkour mechanics: The game introduces a new parkour system, allowing Sonic to perform advanced movements like wall running and fluid animations. This adds a fresh layer of gameplay, though some players find it inconsistent.

New and classic mechanics: The game combines new mechanics like parkour with classic Sonic moves such as the spin dash and homing attack. This blend aims to appeal to both new and old fans, though some mechanics feel underdeveloped.

Mario Galaxy influences: The game draws significant inspiration from Super Mario Galaxy, featuring spherical stages, dynamic gravity, and similar level design elements. This includes 3D planetoids and a variety of level themes.

Varied level design: Levels are designed with a mix of 2D and 3D sections, offering a variety of themes and challenges. Some levels are praised for their creativity, while others are criticized for being gimmicky or poorly designed.

Story and character elements: The story involves Sonic cooperating with and then facing off against Eggman and the Zeti. The narrative includes risk-taking storytelling and cinematic elements, though some players find the plot stretched thin.

Performance issues on low-end hardware: The game tends to run slowly or experience slow-motion effects on hardware that does not meet the minimum requirements or is not locked at 60 FPS. This includes issues like lag, low framerate, and general poor performance.

Optimization and performance: The game has mixed reviews regarding optimization. While some players report good performance and stability, others experience issues such as lack of anti-aliasing options, resolution scaling problems, and general performance issues.

Graphical and visual bugs: Players have reported various graphical issues such as low resolution, visual bugs, and flickering backgrounds. Some of these issues can be fixed with specific software like GE-Proton.

Game crashes and stability: The game has been reported to crash frequently, including during specific sequences like the credits. This affects the overall stability and playability of the game.

Limited video settings: The game offers very limited video settings, which restricts players from customizing their graphical experience. This includes limited resolution options and lack of certain graphical features.

Recommendations

Not recommended for all players: The game is frequently not recommended for purchase, especially at full price. Some reviews suggest that it may not be enjoyable for all Sonic fans and that other Sonic games might be better alternatives.

Recommendations for Sonic fans: The game is often recommended for Sonic fans, especially those who are curious or dedicated to the franchise. It is suggested to buy the game on sale or at a discounted price.

Buy on sale: A common recommendation is to buy the game only when it is on sale or available at a discounted price.

Consider other Sonic games: Reviews often suggest playing other Sonic games instead, especially for new players or those looking for a better experience.

Play with mods: Some players suggest that the game is more enjoyable when played with improvement mods, as the unmodded version can be miserable.

Platform notes

Steam Deck: The analysis of user feedback for the Steam Deck experience of the game reveals several key issues. The most prominent problems are related to controls and performance. Users frequently report that the controls are unintuitive and sometimes impede progress. Performance issues such as lag, low framerate, and crashes are also significant concerns. Additionally, there are criticisms regarding game design elements like level design and boss fights. While some users appreciate the graphics and visuals, others have requested more customization options. Overall, these issues indicate that the game may require additional optimization and improvements to enhance the user experience.

Other review notes

Promotes personal game: This cluster contains a review that is promoting the reviewer's own game rather than providing feedback on the game in question.