Sonic Dream Team is getting a significant free update on Wednesday, April 17, that will add more levels and a ranking system. The update for the Apple Arcade exclusive comes on the heels of layoffs at developer Sega Hardlight, which was impacted by a recent restructure at Sega.
Sonic Dream Team launched as part of Apple’s iOS game subscription service in December. Though it’s only garnered a handful of critical reviews since then, including a positive one from Digital Trends, the platformer has received positive praise from Sonic fans (it currently has an 8.8 user rating on Metacritic). This week’s update is Sega Hardlight’s biggest content drop for the title.
The biggest addition is an entirely new world: Sweet Dreams Zone. Like other Dream Team levels, this brings a set of new objectives for players to clear. The zone itself is built around new “catch-and-release” devices, like pulleys that spin and swing Sonic and his buds around. It’s a familiar location otherwise, bathed in cool colors and soft surfaces.
The bigger change is that Sonic Dream Team is getting a new ranking system with the update. Players can now earn a rank on every single level depending on their performance. Sega Hardlight says that there are over 100 ranks to chase with the current content suite. That will give die-hard players a reason to go back and perfect their scores to gain a coveted S-rank.
The update will bring new collectibles as well, but those looking for new playable characters will have to wait a bit longer. The update won’t add any additional heroes, a developer from Sega Hardlight told press in a meeting last week. When asked if Sega Hardlight had any plans to add Shadow the Hedgehog to align with Sega’s current Year of Shadow marketing campaign, the team says that it would love to do something with that idea, but can’t confirm if it will or won’t.
The update comes at a tough moment for Sega Hardlight. Just this month, the studio was impacted by a wide restructure at Sega that resulted in layoffs hitting the Hardlight team. While the developers on hand couldn’t comment on the scope of those layoffs, they seemed confident that the move would not affect the studio’s future plans to update the game.
Sonic Dream Team is available on iOS devices via Apple Arcade, and its first free update launches on Wednesday, April 17. A second update is currently planned.
