Sonic Colors: Ultimate Review – A Decent Return For Our Blue Friend

If you asked what I recall of Sonic Colors before starting Ultimate, I’d be at a loss. I enjoyed it on Wii a decade ago but… that one joke about copyright infringement aside? My memory’s a blur. Released in 2010, Colors is widely considered one of Sonic’s best 3D outings, making it little surprise that Sega’s brought it back to celebrate Sonic’s 30^th anniversary. Bringing us a remastered package across PC and consoles, Ultimate’s the definitive version of Colors, though it’s not perfect.

Like any Sonic game, Colors sees us stopping Eggman’s latest scheme once more and this time, he’s opened “Dr. Eggman's Amazing Interstellar Amusement Park” in space. Allegedly built out of remorse for his previous crimes, we quickly discover to our shock that he’s capturing Wisps, an alien race who he plans to harness their energy from. Joined by a Wisp called Yacker, you’ll set out to free them and restore the galaxy. 

In many ways, Colors provides a much-needed return to the basics. There’s no highly padded cast of friends accompanying us or darker storytelling here, Colors is just Sonic and Tails taking down Eggman’s latest plot for world domination, inflicting defeat at every step of the way. Backed up by enjoyable (though often cheesy) humour, there’s a light-hearted adventure within, one that’ll make a great introduction to Sonic for younger audiences.  

Stopping Eggman involves travelling between six different planets, which feature 6 individual stages before taking on a boss fight. Offering a mix between 3D platforming and more traditional 2D segments, all the signature Sonic mechanics are present. Between collecting rings and racing to the level’s end, you’ll run, jump, slide under platforms and perform homing attacks against enemies, often so you can reach other areas. 

Like many Sonic games, Colors features its own gimmicks and that comes through Wisps, who provide new abilities once you’ve unlocked them. For example, White Wisps build up Sonic’s boost attack to charge through enemies, Cyan let you quickly bounce through areas with laser precision, while Yellow transforms you into a drill form. Some feel awkward to use, but most provide good variety into these levels. Crucially, Wisps compliment gameplay instead of dominating it (looking at you Werehog), so it never feels that out of place.

For clarity, I played the PS4 version (via PS5 backwards compatibility) and while Colors: Ultimate mostly runs well. At 60fps gameplay and 4K resolution, Colors’ worlds never looked more vibrant. However, cutscenes remain unchanged, so visual quality dips significantly. While Blind Squirrel couldn’t avoid that without fully remaking those, the visual presentation feels uneven as a result. There were some (very) brief framerate drops and an instance of soft locking, but nothing like the problems we’ve seen in the Switch edition.

You’ll find Ultimate’s almost identical if you’ve played Colors before, though Sonic now has unlimited lives and there’s a new Wisp type. There’s still a fun gameplay loop within and by sticking to Sonic’s core mechanics, Colors pays off without ever getting too ridiculous. It’s not perfect, mind. 2D platforming segments feel awkward thanks to fiddly inputs, while the initial three bosses are repeated later on, but that doesn’t tarnish the full experience.

Completing the core campaign only takes 5 hours, though Colors holds significant replay value. Each stage contains collectible red rings, but not all of those can be collected until you’ve unlocked certain, so there’s plenty of reason to come back later. Those unlock levels in Game Land, Dr. Eggman's artificial planet of arcade games and within, you’ll find 2D retro-styled stages. Finishing those worlds gives you a Chaos Emerald, though unlike other Sonic games, they’ve got no story relevance. All that does is unlock a Super Sonic costume.

There’s also significant focus on other customisation options, too. You can change Sonic’s shoes and gloves to different colours, alongside adding auras (for example, floral aura adds flower petals to Sonic's movement). These are bought with park tokens, which are found across levels and earned by getting an S or A rank for level completion, adding another replayability incentive.

Colors: Ultimate is the rare Sonic game which will prove appealing to existing fans and newcomers alike, taking us back to the basics. Players who previously experienced it on the Wii won’t find much new here, though there’s still plenty of fun to be had revisiting it. A few flaws with the wider presentation and finicky 2D sections hamper this, but Colors: Ultimate presents an entertaining package that still comes recommended.

7/10

Sonic Colors: Ultimate was reviewed on PS4, and a review code was provided by the publisher. It's also available on PC, Switch, and Xbox.

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