Sonic Dash - Endless Running is one of the best auto-running games around, period. It's a masterful pairing of classic Sonic the Hedgehog ideas, like loops, rings, jumps, and obstacles with a fantastically polished running experience. If you enjoy games like Temple Run, you'll love Sonic Dash.

Sonic the Hedgehog is all about going fast. The little blue critter has made waves in gaming spheres for years with his high-octane, high-speed hijinks. In classic Sonic games, your goal is to run through the level as fast as you can, jumping over obstacles, spinning through enemies, and carefully collecting rings without losing your momentum.

Sonic Dash takes this formula to an entirely new place. An auto-runner in the style of Temple Run, Sonic Dash puts your 3d camera behind Sonic's shoulders as he runs endlessly down a classic Sonic-style racetrack. The game's visuals are an homage to the old games, with obstacles, doodads, art, and even levels coming from Sonic Dash's predecessors in the Sonic Franchise.

Unlike other auto runners, Sonic Dash has simple, intuitive controls. There's no running off the edge or wrestling with tilt controls on your device. Instead, you simply swipe to change lanes, jump, or curl up into a ball. Jumping gets you over obstacles while turning into a ball lets you slide under obstacles or helps bring Sonic back to the ground, fast. Lanes are more important than in some similar games, but this comes with the big upside of never needing to worry about running off of the stage. Sonic will do the bulk of the steering for you, allowing you to concentrate on minute adjustments to switch lanes to avoid obstacles or pick up rings.

Sonic Dash also seems a lot faster than games like Temple Run. Despite the lack of twitchy turns, Sonic's art style and basic design give you a wonderful sense of speed. It feels like you're absolutely blasting through levels at breakneck pace, even more so than the competition.

Just like in both Temple Run and classic Sonic games, one of your goals is to collect rings while you run. If you die by crashing into an obstacle, these rings can allow you to get back up and keep running. This will cost your rings, however, meaning you'll probably run out of lives if you die several times in quick succession. A special kind of currency, red star rings, can be found rarely in levels or purchased with real-life money. These red-star rings can be used to purchase things like revives to massively boost your position on the leaderboard.

Every so often, you'll have the opportunity to bank your rings for later or continue to risk them by entering a special level section with lots of fancy track elements, including loops and more. During these special levels, the camera zooms out for a more cinematic experience, giving you an even bigger sense of speed. The way these sections break up gameplay helps Sonic Dash feel more like you're beating a series of Sonic levels and less like you're playing a procedurally generated endless game.

Sonic Dash is a near-perfect pairing of a classic IP and a modern style of mobile game. It's a bit difficult, however, and you may find that certain obstacle patterns get to be extremely challenging as you run farther and farther. With a little bit of practice, however, you'll be able to quickly jump and duck through them and run onwards to greener fields.