Metacritic Games

Sonic Shuffle (Dreamcast)

Sega
Puzzle
Players: 4
E (Everyone)
Developer: Sega
Released November 14, 2000

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

54 / 100

Critic Reviews

82 Antagonist
With a lot of creativity, Sonic Team has taken the boardgame to the digital age, and made a fun, sometimes frustrating board game that is a lot more than throwing some dice and moving around a rectangle.
80 GamePro
Can be tedious in one-player mode, but it's clearly intended for multiplayer fun. Although it's the only party game for Dreamcast, Sonic Shuffle deals a great hand for all to play.
70 Dreamcast HQ
If you intend on playing by yourself, don't expect to win anytime soon. The computer players are cheap, if not downright nasty.
67 Sega X
Hello. My name's John and I'm a disappointed gamer.
67 Game Revolution
There are so many rules, combos, mini-games and quests that it's easy to get more than a little confused. But the essence of the game is fun, and all of the variation leaves tons of room for competition.
64 Gaming Maxx
As much as I'd like to say yet another great Sonic title, this one just doesn't deliver past its looks and sound. So sorry to say this, but here's a Sonic game you probably should avoid.
60 Hot Games
Play it long enough and you may start to enjoy it, but the long load times and cheap AI mean you'll likely never get to that point.
60 Happy Puppy
If you're looking to feel bored and frustrated, pick up Sonic Shuffle.
60 DC Swirl
Drops the ball in pacing, rewarding gameplay, technical use of the system (read: LOADING) and even the storyline. It's still moderately fun, but the potential for a blockbuster new franchise is not evident.
55 Planet Dreamcast
Not only is the game lacking in innovation, but it's dragged way, way down by uneven and confusing mini games, far too many load-time interruptions and horrible, sophomoric music.
52 Da Gameboyz
With frustrating gameplay and painful load times, this game just not fun.
50 Gaming Age
Most players will feel disappointed by Sonic Shuffle, especially if they expect a game of the same quality as other Sonic ones. Overall, Sonic Shuffle isn't awful, but the Dreamcast's library offers plenty of better choices.
50 Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
It's the snail's pace of the action that is Sonic Shuffle's main undoing. Against the computer, even with the speed of the moves turned up, it's agonisingly drawn-out and often just plain boring.
47 IGN
Everything that can make a board game less enjoyable is done here... and I'm talking about load times up the wazoo, complex instructions, and too many options that will bewilder most players, especially during a multiplayer game.
46 AllDreamcast
With the exception of the graphics, Sonic Shuffle does everything wrong. Don't be fooled by the visuals. Even fans of Sonic (and I'm one of them) will be extremely disappointed.
45 GameSpot
Not only a poorly realized party game, it's also a boring one to boot.
45 GamerWeb Sega
For the love of gaming, avoid this title like the plague.
42 Game Fan
Almost everything that "Mario Party" did right, Sonic Shuffle does wrong, and to add insult to injury, it expects you to sit through repeated, lengthy load sessions to get to the next sequence of absolute un-fun.
40 CNET Gamecenter
A game that blends all the fun of a long tedious board game with the excitement of staring at a loading screen!
30 Spank!
If the design document for Sonic Shuffle contained anything more than the sentence "Make a clone of Mario Party but with Sonic characters" I'll be very much surprised. (But) Sega HQ left out the all-important instruction of: "Make sure you don't leave out all the good bits".
25 Core Magazine
Load times and boring mini-games will have this one appearing in the used game bin faster than you can say "ugh." It's my duty as a human being to warn all against even thinking about buying this game.

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