Not as bad as its reputation
Mentioned in ~2 in 5 positive reviews
“its not a steaming sack of crap like a lot of people make it out to be.”
Steam review · 10.8 h played ↗
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - Episode I
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Mixed · 43%Mixed · 43%SEGA2012Platformer · Action · Adventure
$9.99
Open on Steam ↗US Steam price, checked 2 h ago
The verdict
A short, mobile-origin rehash of Sonic 1 and 2 with floaty physics and glossy, ugly visuals. Skip it if you want real classic Sonic; play Mania or Episode 2.
Great for
Sonic completionists and nostalgic mobile-era fans who can pick it up very cheaply
Main risk
Floaty physics, rehashed levels and ugly visuals make it a poor "Sonic 4"
What players love
Fun level gimmicks and decent level design
Mentioned in ~1 in 9 positive reviews
“The gimmicks in each level can be really fun.”
Steam review · 4.1 h played ↗
Nostalgia and a cheap, short fun romp
Mentioned in ~1 in 9 positive reviews
“it was a decent, short romp as the blue hedgehog in more or less classic style.”
Steam review · 1.9 h played ↗
Good music
Mentioned in ~1 in 11 positive reviews
“The levels are charming, the music is GREAT.”
Steam review · 3.1 h played ↗
Homing attack makes it accessible
Mentioned in ~1 in 12 positive reviews
“the addition of the homing attack is fantastic in my opinion”
Steam review · 1.4 h played ↗
What players complain about
Bad physics and sluggish momentum
Mentioned in ~2 in 5 negative reviews
“My man Sonic literally feels like he has butter on his feet, constantly losing momentum on slopes”
Steam review · 0.3 h played ↗
Ugly, glossy graphics and Sonic model
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews
“near enough every asset has this reflective glossy look that makes everything feel fake and plastic”
Steam review · 0.6 h played ↗
Awful special stages and frustrating bosses
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews
“dodging pillars that will insta-kill you by smashing you into walls/ceiling/each-other”
Steam review · 1.8 h played ↗
Rehashed levels and bosses, nothing new
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews
“Sonic 4 has zero original ideas.”
Steam review · 1.8 h played ↗
Java requirement and PC port problems
Mentioned in ~1 in 9 negative reviews
“the fact that you need install java just for the launcher to work, even though the game doesnt even use it, is crazy”
Steam review · 1 h played ↗
Bugged Enemy Hunter achievement and game not closing
Mentioned in ~1 in 15 negative reviews
“FUCK the 1000 enemy kills that you are supposed to get in one play session, which means if the game closes, you have to grind a full hour on average”
Steam review · 14.3 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: Unsupported500 MB
Minimum
OSWindows XP/Vista/Win7
ProcessorPentium 4 @ 3.2 GHz/Athlon 64 3000+ or Equivalent & above
Memory1 GB (2 GB on Vista) GB RAM
Graphics256 MB (NVIDIA GeForce 7600/AT Radeon X1300) & above
Storage500 MB HD space
Recommended
OSWindows XP/Vista/Win7
ProcessorIntel Core 2 DUO @ 2.4 GHz/Athlon 64 X2 4200+ & above
Memory2 GB+ GB RAM
Graphics512 MB (NVIDIA GeForce 8800/ATI Radeon HD 3800) & above
Storage500 MB HD space
OSWindows XP/Vista/Win7
ProcessorPentium 4 @ 3.2 GHz/Athlon 64 3000+ or Equivalent & above
Memory1 GB (2 GB on Vista) GB RAM
Graphics256 MB (NVIDIA GeForce 7600/AT Radeon X1300) & above
Storage500 MB HD space
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