Sonic Pico Park may seem exceedingly simple, but it packs a lot of novel level design and colorful charm behind its basic exterior. Sonic fans will, naturally, find even more to love in the package, but anyone who likes short, clever puzzles will have a stellar time. It’s a bit of a shame there’s no way to play the game alone, but playing with others is so fun that it doesn’t really matter.
Back at SGF earlier this year, I had a blast playing Sonic Pico Park with some other journalists at the Sega booth. It was an early and limited demo, but I was still pretty impressed by what I got to try. The full version has plenty more Sonic the Hedgehog characters and quirky puzzles to try, as long as you’ve got a pal who’s down to clown with Sonic and pals.
Sonic Pico Park features a surprising number of playable heroes, from multicolored Sonic variants to beloved characters like Espio, Cream, and Silver. Some, like Knuckles and Rouge, have unique abilities that add extra spice to the platforming and extra tension to friend groups, thanks in part to how easy (and fun) it is to mess with each other. Most stages don’t punish dying with any backtracking, so you’re free to bonk your friends into pits or generally troll one another without much fear of messing up the game’s flow.
The puzzles themselves are fantastic, typically taking only a few minutes to beat as long as you’ve got a moderately cooperative partner. Though they start off extremely straightforward, they become surprisingly varied as their mechanics grow more robust. Some will have you getting a set number of players on a switch, while others may revolve around you and your partner juggling rings between each other whilst taking damage. I especially liked the Knuckles Chaotix-esque bungee cord mechanic that anchored an early set of stages, as it felt like a silly homage to one of the lesser-played Sonic titles.
Sonic Pico Park has numerous “worlds,” each containing four stages that revolve around a specific mechanic. The worlds offer plenty of variety, and the number of stages keeps the mechanics from getting old. This is a tightly paced puzzle game that knows its strengths and avoids stretching anything out, instead relying on chaotic multiplayer shenanigans to take up extra time.
Sonic Pico Park is all about playing with pals.
Playing with people is mandatory in Sonic Pico Park, be it online or through couch co-op. While I wish there were a way to play on your own, I understand that multiplayer is the core of this package. It would be a lot less enjoyable to stumble around these stages without a friend to help/mess with, and this is especially true of the “Battle” modes. These have you take on your friends in a number of competitions, like collecting the most rings or playing a top-down 2D version of the iconic Blue Sphere minigame from Sonic 3 & Knuckles. They’re a small but welcome addition that I would have spent a lot of time playing with neighborhood pals as a kid.
I dig the visual style of Sonic Pico Park, which combines minimalistic pixel art with the recognizable Sonic character designs. The whole crew looks fantastic and pops against the simplistic levels, and the Pico Park-specific characters mesh well with them despite their different looks.
Good
The Final Word
Sonic Pico Park is a delightful little puzzle game that blends quick, addictive multiplayer puzzles with a simple, charming aesthetic. I wish it had some single-player content, but playing with others is so fun that it makes the game worthwhile on its own.
