Review: Sonic Pico Park Pays Tribute to Sonic the Hedgehog Gameplay

It is astonishing how well Sonic the Hedgehog pairs with Pico Park. Yet here we are, with Sonic Pico Park working so well that I found myself wishing there we got more levels in many of the game’s worlds. Aside from feeling like some individuals are a little more useful than others (like why would you choose someone who can’t fly when you can), this is a fantastic spin-off that captures things that are special about both series. And, while you definitely would enjoy it most with a full group of eight, it’s even fun to go through the standard levels with only two people. 

Sonic Pico Park isn’t all that different from typical Pico Park games. There is a competitive Battle mode, but the heart of the game is the cooperative 15 worlds, each with four levels, that exemplify the puzzles and platforming that common to Pico Park with Sonic the Hedgehog elements infused throughout. And, while there are some worlds that feel more geared toward the Sonic mindset (which tend to be named things like Go! and Go! Go!), many of them feature a blend of mechanics from both to make things feel really special.

First, things start with picking a playable character in Sonic Pico Park. All characters, regardless of extra ability, feature the same jump height. Charmy, Cream, Rogue, and Tails all possess the ability to fly. When they do, they can carry one other person easily and two very briefly. Knuckles can glide and also push certain blocks. It honestly feels like the move is to go for balance, with four folks as the flying characters and the other four as folks like Sonic, Shadow, Blaze, Knuckles, Espio, and Silver, to ensure there’s always one person present who can carry another. If you do only have like 2-4 people around, the balance is such that picking someone who can’t fly honestly puts you at a bit of a disadvantage. However, in the event you don’t have a needed character for a stage for a certain mechanic, a door will appear that will allow one person to swap to that individual so you can proceed without going to the character select menu. 

The stage-based format of Pico Park remains intact in Sonic Pico Park, though nearly every level in each world is touched by elements of Sega’s series. Every player must touch the Goal Plate to clear an area. Ramps to allow characters to go up walls show up, and in some cases a gap may require other players to stand in place to act as a “wall” so someone can reach the top. Springs are common. Loops show up, often in stages focused on speed in the Go! worlds. Spin-dashes are needed to build up velocity, bust through cracked walls, and deal with enemies. Rings are used to allow someone to take damage once, perhaps from a spike or other hazard, and might even need to be held to get past a gate. Item Box Monitors and Chao come up as mechanics. It’s all infused very well and in a common sense manner. 

There’s also a good division of types of levels. Some really feel more focused on the puzzle element of things, such as the Rules world. Others do get more into speed, like any of the Go! worlds’ stages. Yet another subsection feels designed to blend elements of most. But what I didn’t expect were a few worlds that felt designed to specifically showcase certain sorts of Sonic the Hedgehog series cameos, like the Big and Minigames world. I expected mechanics to show up. I didn’t expect certain types of characters and features tied to certain gameplay sequences or other Sonic titles to appear. The diversity is great.

So is the scaling. I played primarily with one other person, though up to eight people can take part in Sonic Pico Park at once. It worked with two! It could be unintentionally funny still with only us playing, due to small errors in judgment or working out certain situations. But I could see at times how certain stages and levels would adapt to larger groups and think an ideal situation would be four folks working together. And if you had all eight, well, it’d be absolute chaos and likely even more fun. 

But the thing about it all is that I do wish more of it appeared. I would have loved double or triple the number of stages present in Sonic Pico Park. Especially since we might see a mechanic come up once or twice in a world, then never revisited again. There are so many things that strike me as being so clever. So much so that I wish I could have seen other puzzles involving them. But alas, it doesn’t happen.

Sonic Pico Park is an astonishingly strong Pico Park game and Sonic the Hedgehog spin-off. The mechanics of both titles come through well. The Sonic the Hedgehog series cameos and unique gameplay elements are a delight. Even if you can only get two people together to play, it’s a joy. I do think it’s a bit of a shame that some Sonic series characters feel more valuable and practical than others, as it can affect the balance, but it’s generally fine.

Sonic Pico Park will come to the PC via Steam on November 12, 2026.