Not Exactly Sonic The Hedgehog, But That's Not A Bad Thing...

Review by ethgamma on Sunday, April 13th 2014

Wassup readers and gamers (that's now my tagline), ethgamma here. Most of you probably know me by now, the guy with the IMPOSSIBRU games that get featured. Today however, I am reviewing a game by a not-so-popular-but-gradually-getting-known user called demonxz95, who has created quite a simplistic yet fun platformer based on the Sonic 3 and Knuckles level Sky Sanctuary. I am a hardcore Sonic fan, have been since I knew how to walk pretty much, so I was pretty excited for what this game had to offer.

Gameplay

Sky Sanctuary is what I'd consider an action game, running around the vast map, going in a semi-straight forward path to the the finish. What's different though is the goal isn't to find the escape pod or to find the crystals like a typical one-level featured plat. You have to follow the default mission, kill all the enemies. This turns it into an almost battle game, which I personally enjoyed. The gameplay is fast paced, like the original Sky Sanctuary from the early 90's (yes, that's when Sonic the Hedgehog began if you didn't know), enemies lunging at you left and right, all neede to be killed to complete the game. It is a challenging and difficult game, but that's what makes it fun. It can get a bit tedious when you're moving back and forth, activating switched to break the burst-tiles, but other than that, Sky Sanctuary had a nice feel to it.

I was actually playing the original level music for the game in another tab, just because haha.

Enemies and Hazards

Seeing as the mission was to destroy all 23 of the enemies scattered across the level, enemies did play a pretty big role in Sky Sanctuary. In the original level, the enemies were mainly robotic minions with laser beams and three mini bosses as you went further and further into the level. Demonxz95 here included not only these but many other of the enemies available for usage, such as the thugs and mutants and the latest enemy, skelly the skeleton. If you got to the shield power-up at the beginning with below half of your health left (flippin' mutants), then chances of making to the end were pretty slim. Pretty much every "room" consisted of either a bad guy or two or hazards like lava and crushers, which are kind of overused in some areas. I liked the whole battle aspect, but maybe a few more health packs? Pleeeease?

(I asked nicely haha)

Aesthetics

From the past reviews you have read of mine (you have read them, right?) you can probably tell I like a game that has a great design aspect in it, and I can say Sky Sanctuary includes that. The cloud graphics were what I really liked in the level, something new and original for platformers, using the graphics feature really well. What I found somewhat disappointing was the fact that the default tiles were used, but I guess it kind of works for the level. It gives the level an almost robotic feel because its so gray/grey, and at some points makes me think the level is a lot like Flying Battery Zone, another sky level in Sonic 3 and Knuckles. Anyway, back to the remake-ish game,

occasionally there were too many background types in one area or in some cases things that just didn't work right, like the massive trails of gears going through the level. I know you can add graphics to those, so maybe a gear graphic or something that suited the level would fit better there. Other than this, the thumbnail was also attractive, and pretty cool imo. It kind of drew me into the game almost.

Puzzles

I can kind of say Sky Sanctuary included a puzzle factor, but it wasn't really a major part of the game. Most of the puzzles I saw consisted of activating switches to break the burst-tiles, but the was the occasional puzzle of speed, bounding over and through the gradually disappearing green rings to get to the other side. I wasn't too disappointed with the lack of puzzles however, seeing as this was an action based game. A major puzzle may or may not have fitted with the theme, but there is really nothing else for me to say. Puzzles in Sky Sanctuary weren't great, but the weren't absolutely rubbish either. As I said, the original level was fast paced so I'm guessing that's what demonxz95 was trying to do for this.

Fun/Addictiveness

Sky Sanctuary was, admittedly, an addictive game, in my opinion. I enjoyed bounding and speeding through the level like Sonic once had in 1994. Every time that darned Thor later into the level (or earlier, I honestly haven't got a clue) swung his hammer and killed me when I was on 0.00001 health remaining, I kept clicking the Replay Game button. The furthest I got was actually the first encounter with the Thor, so hopefully that's over half way into the game (probably isn't but...). It was fun exploring the level as you got further and further into the game, the new flashing rooms and baddies lunging from beyond the screen as you attempted to make your way through the level. Overall I found Sky Sanctuary addictive and I recommended it for any people skilled at playing platformer games.

Pros/Cons

Here's the sum up of what I just typed for all the guys that don't like reading xD

Pros

Fast paced, action game that works

Remake of a classic sonic level (that's for me personally guise)

Different and Unique

Clouds...me gusta

Fun to play.

Cons

Too many enemies at the beginning; not enough health

Default tiling, not really major though

Gears kinda ruined the feel of the game, also not a big problem

Back and forth switch activation

Rating Time

The trusty computer calculator returns once again to help me finalize the results for Sky Sanctuary. Drumroll pls....

GRAND TOTAL

(lights dim momentarily)

3.9/5!

Final Notes

Sky Sanctuary was an incredibly fun game to play and I hope you will enjoy it when you play it too (if you haven't already). Congratz on your first feature demonxz95, you totally deserved it. I'm expecting another remake sometime soon. Thanks for reading. ADIOS PEEPS.

~Ethy