Cutthroat Cove

Cutthroat Cove is the fourth level in Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice. It is a gloomy island of untamed wilderness and harbors hosting what appears to be a lawless community for pirates. Due to Dr. Eggman, the island's environment was messed up by the by-products from the doctor's mining operations on Ragna Rock, creating fire and ice elements. This pollution was brought to an end by Team Sonic.

Overview
Cutthroat Cove is set at night during a full moon. At the coast is an old-style harbor with cannons and sailing ships. On the island itself is a moss-filled cave held up by pillars, and a murky swamp with a village amongst the large mangrove trees and waters. The structures there are connected by old bridges with poles adorned with skulls.

The first two adventure levels take place in the mangrove swamp. The paths here consist of moss-covered tree blocks and occasional tree trunks that wind between colossal tree roots. Along them are red thorns, Nuphar-like bushes, abandoned plank roads, moss slaps hanging from the ceiling, bottles, barrels, and poles carrying hedgehog skulls. Also, giant and twisted mangrove trees in a green swamp can be seen in the background.

The last two adventure leves take place in an old-fashioned pirating town of brick and wooden framework. Here, giant mangrove trees, buildings on steep hills, and the night-shrouded coast appear in the background. The paths themselves lead across rooftops, through alleys and passages, and over walls. Along them are Nuphar-like bushes, various barrels, lanterns, metal spikes and broken brick walls.

Story
Having arrived Cutthroat Cove to contain the local fissures which were destroying the environment, Team Sonic found the biggest fissure yet. Upon scanning it, Tails discovered it held traces of a new mineral which Dr. Eggman called Ragnium. Immediately after, Tails detected a moving Ragnium source, prompting Team Sonic to chase after it to uncover the source of the fissures.

Catching up to the source, Team Sonic dicovered it was D-Fekt, who was covered in Ragnium residues. Upon seeing Team Sonic, D-Fekt had a flashback of the events leading up to this moment: having been created by Eggman to mine Ragnium via magnetism, D-Fekt was labeled a failure by Eggman when his magnets would not attract Ragnium. However, D-Fekt secretly discovered he could magnetize everything else and so became determined to beat Sonic and Team Sonic to please his creator. Back in the present, D-Fekt made his escape, only for Team Sonic to follow him.

Gameplay
Like in other areas, the adventure levels in Cutthroat Cove are divided into two parts (the foreground and background) that run parallel to each other, which can be traveled between with the Bounce Pad. Other than the Bounce Pads, standard gimmicks here include Boost Pads, Enerbeam Swings, and disappearing platforms. There are also cannons for firing the playable character which can be fired with and move around on their own. Most noticeable though, are the blocks of ice/water that can be turned solid or intangible by touching them while using Fire/Ice Mode. There are also wicks which can be ignited using Fire Mode.

Hazardous obstacles in the adventure levels include stationary rollers with spikes, moving and non-moving spiked blocks (some of which form traps), and spiked surfaces. Touching such obstacles will damage the player and return the characters to an earlier position. The adventure levels also have collectibles scattered about which unlock extra content if collected, breakable obstacles that give extra Rings, and Challenge Room entrances.

Like other levels in the game, Paleo Tarpits' adventure levels have several character-specific gimmicks for the playable characters. These include dash blocks for Sonic, Air Vents for Tails, pillars for Amy, Burrow spots for Knuckles, and Boomerang Switches for Sticks. In addition, Cutthroat Cove features three bonus levels, each with different gameplay mechanics.

Dust Bowl
Mechanized Meltdown is the Bot Racing minigame of Paleo Cutthroat Cove where Sonic or a Bot Racer competes in a circuit race against Fireman-bot on Thunder Island. It becomes available after clearing Treetop Marsh. To clear it, the player must complete three laps before Fireman-bot.

Tunnel of Treachery
Tunnel of Treachery is a bonus level where the player must race to the end of an obstacle course while dealing with fire and ice elements. It becomes available after clearing Dust Bowl.

Underground Tides
Underground Tides is a bonus level where the player must navigate an undersea section with mines and breakable obstacles in the Sea Fox and find the two Trading Cards within the level in time. It becomes available after clearing Scallywag Reef.

Frigid Seas
Frigid Seas is a bonus level where the player must clear an iceberg passage filled with destructible ice bergs, indestructible mines and whirlpools in the Hovercraft and collect the Trading Card at the end in time. It becomes available after clearing Castaway Bay.

Tails' Plane
Tails' Plane is the landing area for Tails' personal aeroplane. It becomes available after clearing Creepy Crawly. Here, the player can access the Cloud Map to reach other levels in the game.