Excellent dual soundtracks
Mentioned in ~1 in 3 positive reviews
“Both the US & Japanese soundtracks are magnificent, this game has the best music of any classic sonic game in the entire franchise”
Steam review · 140.6 h played ↗
Sonic CD
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Very Positive · 90%Very Positive · 90%Blit Software2012Platformer · Action · Adventure
The verdict
A beloved but divisive classic with gorgeous art, two great soundtracks and a time-travel exploration twist. Skip it if you want Sonic 1–3 style flow or have a high-refresh monitor.
Great for
Classic Sonic fans who enjoy exploration, time-travel gimmicks and a standout soundtrack
Main risk
Confusing, obstacle-heavy levels clash with the speed-based time travel; game speed tied to refresh rate
What players love
Time travel and exploration add depth
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews
“Unlike other Sonic games, Sonic CD actually encourages you to explore the maps and find cool secrets.”
Steam review · 10.4 h played ↗
Stunning art, animation and intro/ending
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 positive reviews
“This game is gorgeous.”
Steam review · 8.9 h played ↗
Best, definitive version of Sonic CD
Mentioned in ~1 in 12 positive reviews
“An improvement on the original Sega CD version of the game in pretty much every possible way.”
Steam review · 20.2 h played ↗
High replayability and completion
Mentioned in ~1 in 17 positive reviews
“i can beat this game in 30 mins and have put 60+ hours into it.”
Steam review · 61.8 h played ↗
What players complain about
Confusing, obstacle-filled level design
Mentioned in ~2 in 5 negative reviews
“Terrible, absolutely TERRIBLE level design. Impossible to tell what is going on because of the insanely bright busy colors and backgrounds.”
Steam review · 1.3 h played ↗
Delisted and replaced by Sonic Origins
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews
“Typical SEGA to delist games years later that are cheap just so they can re-release it in another collection and charge a full price for it.”
Steam review · 0.5 h played ↗
Time travel is hard to use and clunky
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews
“The core mechanic asks you to go fast to time travel—but the levels are filled with obstacles that kill your speed instantly.”
Steam review · 0.2 h played ↗
Game speed tied to monitor refresh rate
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 negative reviews
“The frame rate is tied to your monitor refresh rate.”
Steam review · 0.5 h played ↗
Annoying special stages
Mentioned in ~1 in 9 negative reviews
“how hard the special stages are with the sort of rubber-band AI the UFOs have”
Steam review · 3.5 h played ↗
No in-game control rebinding
Mentioned in ~1 in 30 negative reviews
“The lack of an option to modify the controls in game, outside of editing config files, is idiotic at this day and age.”
Steam review · 0.9 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: PlayableController support50 MB
Minimum
OSWindows® XP or higher
Graphics32MB or greater graphics card
Storage50MB free disc space
Recommended
OSWindows® XP or higher
Storage50MB free disc space
OSWindows® XP or higher
Graphics32MB or greater graphics card
Storage50MB free disc space
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