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  • Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 races its way to the Play Store

This past June, Sega announced Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020, a mobile game that appears to be similar in style to the Mario & Sonic series, and so it will offer 15 separate Olympic Games events and a plethora of playable Sonic characters. Until today, there hasn't been much mentioned about the upcoming title, but luckily Sega has just revealed that Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 will land on Android on May 7th and that it's officially available for pre-registration starting today.

The above trailer for Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 was published today, and it would appear that Doctor Eggman is up to his old tricks, and so Sonic has challenged Ivo for the right to remain in Tokyo City. This means it will be up to Sonic and his friends to compete in 15 separate Olympic-themed events against the Doctor and his goons.

  • Compete in Olympic events - everyone can enjoy!Tap and flick your way to victory!Tons of events to choose from, including the newest additions to Tokyo 2020!Choose between Olympic events or special ""Extra (EX)"" Events with new and exciting gameplay; Gotta go fast! Gotta go for Gold!
  • Challenge yourself and the world!Challenge friends and players around the world! Prove you have got what it takes - can you reach the top of the leaderboard and claim the gold medal?
  • 15 Olympic Games events to enjoy!100m, 400m Hurdles, Javelin Throw, Archery, Karate, Diving, Shooting, Sport Climbing, Fencing, Trampoline, Hammer Throw, Table Tennis, Long Jump, BMX and Badminton.

As you can see in the quoted text above, Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 will offer simple tap controls, a global leaderboard, and a plethora of events to explore, such as Tennis, Fencing, and Archery. Oh, and it you're a Olympic fanatic, you'll be happy to learn that Karate and Climbing are both in the game, two sports that will make their first appearance in the Olympic Games this summer. So that's kind of cool.

Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 will most likely arrive as a free-to-play release, and we already know the title will contain in-app purchases, but of course, Sega hasn't offered any details about the game's monetization, so it's still unknown how bad things will get. What we do know is that the game will arrive on Android on May 7th and that there are a few rewards to earn if you choose to pre-register.

  • 100,000 pre-registrations will unlock the “Ocean View” music track from Team Sonic Racing
  • 300,000 pre-registrations will unlock Training Points that can be used to unlock events and special skills
  • 500,000 pre-registrations will unlock the badge featuring Miraitowa, the Tokyo 2020 mascot
  • If the number of pre-registrations passes 500K, additional rewards will be offered – stay tuned!

So there you have it. Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 will arrive on the Play Store on May 7th, and if you're eager to get your hands on the title, you can pre-register today so that you'll receive a notification upon release, as well as earn a few pre-reg rewards. So if this sounds good to you, then just click on the Play Store widget at the bottom of the page.

PRESS RELEASE

Source: Olympic Video Games

UPDATE: 2020/05/07 8:46am PDT BY MATTHEW SHOLTZ

Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 races its way to the Play Store

As promised, Sega has delivered Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020, and so you can grab the release from the Play Store right now. Earlier this morning, the servers for the title still weren't up despite the game being available on the Play Store, though it looks like the servers just went live in the US. Sadly one of the first screens I was treated to details that the game offers some sort of play pass, but of course, the cost of this pass is hidden from the player until they complete eleven levels. This is a tactic commonly used by mobile devs to get players hooked on the gameplay before monetization is introduced. This is why I went ahead and played through those eleven levels, in order to find out that you can unlock the entirety of the title for $4.99, which is 50% off the regular price (you'd think Sega could have mentioned this on the Play Store). So while we do know the game is free-to-play, and that it contains in-app purchases that range up to $9.99, the cost to unlock the title right now is actually pretty fair.

For the most part, Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 is stage-based, and so you'll work your way from one Olympic event to the next, which are mainly made up of minigames, like rapidly tapping on the screen to go faster, or holding down on the screen to jump. Honestly, the controls aren't great, and so a game built around timing is often frustrating. This is not helped by the constant assault of new minigames thrown at the player. Despite the controls being explained for each, you won't really understand how to play each game until you actually get a proper feel, which speaks to SEGA's lackluster game design.

Honestly, Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 feels unpolished. There are loading screens everywhere, and while they are often quick to load, they don't make for a pleasant design. Then you have all of the pop-up boxes that fill the majority of the screen, which are annoying and look horrible. Clearly, the art department failed here. Overall, Sonic at the Olympic Games feels like it belongs on the web ten years ago as a flash game, and it's clear the title is poorly designed, but the icing on the cake is the forced portrait view, which cuts off the majority of the stage-selection map. I suppose the only saving grace is the social elements shoved into the title, where players can compete for high scores, as well as earn the right to display their country's flag on top of the events on the stage selection map.

At the very least, if you'd like to try Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 out for yourself to make up your own mind, you can grab the install from the Play Store widget at the bottom of the page.