While Sonic's 35th anniversary year has seen some exciting crossover content for games like Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, fans were largely left wanting by other announcements during this year's Summer Game Fest Showcase. However, one title that may have been overlooked, Sonic Pico Park, deserves attention from players looking for a chaotic multiplayer experience. This game adapts the successful 2021 puzzle/action/platformer formula with Sonic aesthetics and mechanics.
Sonic Pico Park supports two to eight players, tasking teams of Sonic characters with overcoming side-scrolling puzzles that demand close cooperation. During a four-player session, the game proved to be a blast, offering a mix of straightforward platforming and head-scratching puzzles that led to repeated failures and fits of laughter. The low-stakes nature of the levels means that even failed attempts are quickly reset, allowing for immediate retries. "In certain scenarios, we were yelling in laughter at each other, as we either failed at following the group's plan or, in some cases, I intentionally sabotaged the attempt (oops)," noted one player. "Thankfully, these levels are low-stakes, and even if you throw your teammate into a pit, you respawn before the chuckles subside."
Gameplay often begins as simple co-op experiments, where communication is vital since a single character's demise results in a level failure. Players must ensure no one is left behind. One puzzle required forming a "human" staircase out of characters to reach a higher platform. Another had players stacking on top of each other to create a wall for a teammate to spindash up to activate a switch. A different challenge tethered all players together, requiring them to dangle some characters over a pit to retrieve a key needed to progress.
Currently, only Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy are playable characters from the Sonic universe. Should players opt for an eight-player session, the remaining slots would be filled by generic characters. Sega representatives were tight-lipped about potential additional character additions closer to launch. Sonic and Amy feature a basic moveset of running, jumping, and spindashing. Knuckles can glide, and Tails possesses the ability to fly, even carrying teammates, a skill essential for navigating certain puzzles.
The creativity of developer Tecopark is evident even in these early levels. The low-stakes, co-op puzzle-platforming design, combined with simple controls, makes Sonic Pico Park ideal for both dedicated pairs of friends and larger gatherings with players of varying skill levels. The release date and platforms for Sonic Pico Park remain unannounced, but the promising and fun indie spin-off offers a compelling cooperative experience.