Yes I know Christmas was a month ago but SantaCorps 4 perfectly captures Sega Dreamcast era Sonic so play it anyway

Sega have gotten just a little bit too good at making Sonic games. Not good as in 10/10 masterpieces, good as in competent, as in mostly jank free, and where there is jank it’s the annoying, not very funny kind. I like it when the blue hedgehog is impossible to control in Sonic Adventure 2 actually! But look, when I go on to tell you about a game that captures that same unruly spirit of Sega’s early 3D games, please ignore that Christmas was a month ago because SantaCorps 4 is a 3D platformer that really does have the messy, gloopy sauce.

First order of business: no, to my knowledge there are not three other SantaCorps games you’ve never heard of, though there is another one called SantaCorps: Snow Patrol that’s very much a Bombermanish, arcadey type situation that may also be worth checking out. SantaCorps 4 sees you playing as a member of the titular SantaCorps, all because Kris Kringle himself ain’t doing so hot, and it’s up to you/them to save Christmas. Standard!

Essentially what you’re trying to do from level to level is rack up a whole bunch of points. To do this, you can dash about the place at ridiculous speeds, zipping through stars to collect points a la Sonic doing a ring dash, climbing down chimneys to deliver presents, lighting up Christmas trees, all while trying to maintain your ridiculously fast pace to keep your combo going. It’s maybe even too fast! And you can’t control the camera! But it’s also just a lighthearted bit of fun, there’s nothing pressuring you to do good, just an encouraging hand pushing you towards mach five.

It is also cheap as chips, or at least as much as a bougie coffee, so if you’re in the mood for some silly, speedy fun, even if it is seasonally inappropriate, you can pick it up on Steam here. Oh, and there’s co-op too! What more could you want?