Parent's Guide: Sonic Lost World - Age rating, mature content and difficulty

A 3D platform adventure, Sonic Lost World sees the fastest, bluest hedgehog in the world slowing down his famously breakneck speed for a somewhat calmer, yet still equally challenging instalment. As you'd likely expect, the nefarious Dr Eggman has a dastardly plan up his sleeve once again, having enlisted the help of a mysterious group of baddies known as the Deadly Six - and it's up to Sonic to put a stop to them, by making his way through a mixture of cylindrical and 2D levels, collecting rings, bashing into robots, and freeing the animals Eggman's trapped inside as he goes.

Mainly designed to be played through in single player, there's plenty to keep players busy here. Whether you're grinding your way along a rail, switching from track to track to avoid obstacles, skydiving your way from one platform to another, or simply making your way through a traditional, Mario/Sonic style side-on level, there's a lot of variety here - and plenty of tricky boss fights too.

That said, while it may not rely on split second reactions as much as the earlier games, Sonic Lost World is no less challenging, with a timer placed on each level to keep you on your toes. Providing an extra incentive to keep moving through the levels rather than exploring every nook and cranny on your first run through, the game somewhat oddly then hides the timer when Sonic's doing anything other than standing perfectly still, meaning for the majority of the game, the only way to know how long you've got left is to stop moving, or to look at the GamePad - which is easier said than done! While this likely won't be a problem for older players, it's something younger ones will want to be made aware of, especially if they're confused why they keep getting a "game over".

As it's aimed at a somewhat older audience, younger children may also find the lack of certain tutorials something of a hindrance, as figuring out what to do in some of the levels isn't all that obvious if you've never played a platform game before. Older children, and veterans of similar platform games, whether it's Sonic's last outing in Sonic Colours, or New Super Mario Bros shouldn't have too much trouble getting used to this - but it can be a tough game for younger ones to get into. As the game's tutorials are entirely displayed in text with no voice over, a reading ability is also required.

As a platform game starring Sonic, there's very little for parents to worry about here. Although you'll be attacking enemies throughout the game, there's nothing in the way of any sort of realistic violence - the enemies are almost entirely robots, and to defeat them, Sonic curls up into a ball and flings himself at them, which makes them explode, and releases the little animal that was trapped inside.

Age Ratings

Format Reviewed: Nintendo Wii U