Sonic Runners - Hints and tips to get you up to speed

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Sonic Runners just launched and it offers an addictive and endless iteration of classic 2D Sonic gameplay. You'll be running, spin jumping, dashing, and beating up Eggman just like in the old days.

But that also means it poses a fair challenge - especially if you're aiming at unlocking all characters, climbing the score boards, or rolling into Eggman's face.

Stop panicking. Stop it! We're here to help with all of that, and below you'll find all of the hints and tips that you need to get off to a good start. You can thank us later.

The basics



There is a pretty decent - and lengthy - tutorial that teaches you about the game mechanics, but it doesn't touch on best practices so we'll focus on those here.

It's tempting to constantly spin jump. Don't. The courses are randomly designed but if you look there are a few different paths to follow at any given time.

So decide whether you're going to take the high road or the low road, and follow that path. Only jump if you need to collect items, kill enemies, or leap over a round-ending crevice.



Don't jump immediately after bouncing off an enemy's head either. You'll automatically spin jump, usually right into the path of even more collectables.

The low road is generally the easier of the two paths but it tends to contain less pick-ups. The higher path has more collectables but less enemies. Choose the path depending on what your focus is - or how brave you're feeling.

Sooner or later, Eggman is going to show up with a bunch of stolen rings. Help him ease his burden by spin jumping into his face. He'll drop barriers to try and stop you so keep an eye out for these.

If he drops a jumping barrier and you're already mid-jump, you can clear it with a double jump and drop on his head when you land.

Power-ups



These offer a temporary power to Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles, and can be collected while running or brought into battle with you.

You can improve their duration by leveling up your main character. This is achieved by completing levels or using rings.

You can also bring a buddy with you. They can offer a serious boost to just one power-up. If you have a favourite boost, and just can't live without it, it's worth taking the buddy that's going to buff it up the most.

You can bring up to three power-ups with you when you enter a level, and can purchase them with rings. Tapping the power-up button in the bottom left will use them in the order that you equip them.

Boss battles



Once you've reached a high enough score, you'll face a boss in a special boss battle level. Successfully defeat them and you'll gain a massive exp boost and move onto the next mission, as well as gain a few rings.

Just like in other Sonic games, these bosses follow patterns, and you'll need to learn them if you want to walk away as the victor.

Generally you'll be dodging their attacks, then spin jumping into the yellow ball they fire at you to send it crashing back into them. Do this three times and they're defeated.

Alternatively, you can use a power-up you bring into battle with you to defeat them easily, albeit at a higher cost. This is only really worth doing if you're completely stuck.

Unlocking buddies and characters




To unlock new buddies you have to pay to spin the roulette wheel. You'll either unlock a new buddy, or earn one you already own. If this happens, they're automatically merged and create a leveled-up buddy.

You don't have to pay though. You collect eggs while playing and ten of these offer a free chance at spinning the roulette wheel. It's a bit time-consuming but your wallet will thank you for it.

Unlocking new characters is as easy as completing a certain number of missions. Tails unlocks after completing Map 10 and Knuckles after Map 15.

You can assign one as a main character and another as a sub character. These join you during the levels and you can switch between them at will. They'll also carry on in your place should you die.