Critics generally disapproved of "Sonic 3D Blast"s gameplay style, some finding its isometric perspective limiting. "GamePro"s Art Angel found that it made timing jumps and spin dashes to either destroy enemies or land on moving platforms frustrating at first, and that once those techniques are mastered the game suddenly becomes too easy. Crispin Boyer of "Electronic Gaming Monthly" remarked that "The game doesn't hold nearly as many secrets earlier "Sonic the Hedgehog" games, and it gets repetitive after a while." Lucas M. Thomas of "IGN" lamented that "the sense of speed and intense action that Sonic's name was built on is absent here, replaced by, essentially, a looping, lazy fetchquest". Austin Shau of "GameSpot" echoed this concern, calling the gameplay "an exercise in tedium".