Highlights
- Sonic Superstars offered special cel-shaded character skins for Sonic and his friends, but they disappeared from the Steam version shortly after the game's launch.
- The reason for their removal is unclear, with theories ranging from technical glitches to issues specific to the PC port of the game.
- While the comic-based skins are no longer available, players can still access the LEGO Sonic skin for free, while other skins require a purchase.
In a strange turn of events, some interesting Sonic Superstars character skin DLC vanished from Steam after being available for 20 minutes. Sega recently capped off an eventful year for its hyperfast platforming mascot with Sonic Superstars, a colorful 2D side-scroller that sees Sonic and his friends race their way through a handful of new locations to stop the nefarious Dr. Eggman and his minions Fang the Hunter and Trip. Sonic Superstars also allows players to roll around at the speed of sound with their friends in four-player co-op or compete against each other in PvP minigames.
Getting to play a new 2D Sonic game so soon after the recent Sonic Frontiers: The Final Horizon DLC is already a treat for fans of the Blue Blur, and Sonic Superstars offered plenty of pre-order bonuses for fans who purchased the game ahead of its launch earlier this week. This includes special LEGO character skins for Eggman and Sonic’s friends and an alternate Sonic rabbit skin based on one of Sega’s early concepts for the famed platforming hero. Now it’s being reported that the Steam version of Sonic Superstars is offering cel-shaded versions of Sonic and his allies, or at least it did.
Sega Producer Comments on Sonic Superstars Launching the Same Week as Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Sega producer Takashi Iizuka shares his thoughts about Sonic Superstars and Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. Wonder releasing within the same week.
Not too long after Sonic Superstars was finally made available, a Twitter user named Axanery shared a brief clip of a cel-shaded Sonic running through the Speed Jungle Zone, apparently inspired by his appearance in IDW’s Sonic the Hedgehog comics. This post was followed by screenshots of similar looks for Tails, Knuckles, and Amy, which many players felt looked better than the standard character models. However, these special skins seemingly disappeared from Steam roughly 20 minutes after the game went live, though fans are reporting that the page for them is still accessible on the Steam storefront.
Naturally, theories have spread about why these special Sonic Superstars character skins are no longer available to download. Some players who were lucky enough to grab the skins before they were pulled claim to have experienced technical glitches like their character suddenly turning black during a specific action, meaning that Sega might be fixing them. Others note that the console versions of Sonic Superstars have a Comic Book Skin Pack listed on Amazon, so the issue must only pertain to the game’s PC port.
Whatever the reason, players are no longer able to download the special comic-based character skins in Sonic Superstars’ PC version, much to the disappointment of those looking to spice up their run using Sonic’s cel-shaded look. However, the previously mentioned LEGO Sonic skin is free for all users, while the Rabbit Sonic, Mecha Sonic, and Modern Amy will cost interested gamers some cash.
Sonic Superstars is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: TheGamer