I finally managed to test Sonic Unleashed recompiled and it is amazing. It is a static recompilation of the machine code for the Xbox 360 version of the game, which converts it to C++ code and then compiles the game for PC (both Windows and Linux, soon also MacOS). A great explanation is available here:
Sonic Unleashed is a quite old Sonic game, it debuted in 2008, but easily the one with the best graphics, best modern levels and a great Pixar-esque artstyle which fits the Sonic franchise a lot. I really admire the love and passion that Team Sonic put into the Hedgehog engine 1, trying to replicate the Pixar style rendering in real time, utilising really clever computer graphics tricks:
I really love the Pixaresque semi-realism and design and the sheer ambition of the game. Asides from Sonic Colours and Generations, SEGA hasn’t really pursued this artstyle anymore, which I find a bit of a shame, but after Generations, Sonic has generally experienced a heavy drop in quality. I feel like Rift Apart is the first game since Unleashed that really outperforms it.
Eitherway Sonic Unleashed was clearly developed on PC and yet it was always a Xbox 360 and PS3 exclusive. It has gathered quite a cult following, so the demand for a PC port was always high. Sadly emulation does not work that well - I played Sonic Unleashed on RPCS3 at effectively 15-20 FPS with lots of bugs.
This is why I’m so amazed at this project. This game can be run natively on Linux with a great user interface with a great installation theme as well! The raw machine code on the Xbox360 including all the console-specific and unique GPU instructions can now be translated into a native Linux or Windows applicaiton. What a time to be alive! I’m
And the game also runs butter smooth, here’s me playing Apotos Act 2 (Day) on Linux Mint on my Asus Tuf laptop with stable 60 FPS (though the recording only has 30FPS):