Sonic Frontiers from Sega was a title that many including myself were a bit sceptical about. With not a lot of gameplay shown off in the run-up to its release and not really much going for it in the demo that was released a while back, it seemed as if this would be another average Sonic title but thankfully this was not the case.
Sonic Frontiers is one of 2022’s gems and it’s a game that series fans and newcomers will easily enjoy thanks to its very addictive pick-up-and-play gameplay formula. So what exactly makes it worth playing? The answer to that is the game’s core mechanics and its gameplay loop.
Cyberspace Sonic!
In Sonic Frontiers, Sonic gets sucked into Cyberspace but somehow makes his way out of it after speeding through a region. Upon exiting Cyberspace he finds himself in a strange open world where mechanical beasts roam about. In this strange world, Sonic will uncover monoliths which give him access to Cyberspace levels and this is where the game truly shines.
The Cyberspace levels in Sonic Frontiers are very reminiscent of the levels in Sonic Colours. Shorter 1 to 2-minute long runs through a 2D and 3D region where you can collect rings, speed along pathways, grind on rails, boost at crazy speeds and obtain red stars before reaching the goal. These levels are absolutely fantastic and Sega has really done an amazing job with them throughout the game. Each one feels fresh and unique and each one presents its own challenge.
The Cyberspace levels really impart a sense of speed to you too since Sonic almost literally blazes across these levels at really high speeds. As it should be! Each of the Cyberspace levels has its own conditions which need to be met for Sonic to obtain an S rank and once all of these are met, you will be rewarded with additional Gears which can be used in the world outside of Cyberspace.
Large Open-World
This is where the game’s second major feature comes into play. The large open world environment. In this environment, Sonic will adventure out into the unknown discovering new monoliths and areas to explore. The open world is filled with platforming elements such as grind rails, booster pads, rings and more. This is also where story segments play out as Sonic slowly but surely unravels the mystery as to where he is and just what exactly is going on. Without spoiling too much, the narrative is intriguing and will captivate you but don’t expect a Shakespearean epic here. The plot does hook you though since quite early on there’s a boss battle with a monster that looks like it would fit right into Neon Genesis Evangelion to be quite honest.
The open-world environment is filled with collectables such as Hearts and small little creatures which can be returned to an Elder. The Elder plays an important role in the game since he allows Sonic to upgrade his Speed and his Ring capacity. Both are useful for progressing further into the game. Sonic in the open world is also able to upgrade himself and learn new skills as he defeats enemies. These skills give off a very light action-adventure role-playing game feel to the game and it’s great. Unlocking new skills also provides players with an incentive to continue to explore and improve their combat abilities.
Puzzle-solving in the open world is also necessary to progress and using your skills to do this is great. For example, you get a skill very early on in the game which allows you to trace a blue path of light wherever you move. Completing a circle with this light will unlock mechanisms, uncover rings and even stun enemies. It’s such a simple game mechanic but it works so well in action and is very satisfying to use.
Sonic Frontiers looks fantastic from a graphical standpoint at certain times. However, at other points, it looks extremely rough around the edges. Enemy designs are fantastic and the Cyberspace levels are some of the best Sonic levels in recent history but the lacklustre rain effects in the open world as well as the fact that much of the open world just seems so empty or lifeless is problematic. There are also quite a lot of pop-in textures and this is very disappointing in a game where running at high speeds is a key factor. Seeing things pop up out of nowhere while you’re blazing across the world is not something that should be happening since it’s quite distracting at times.
The soundtrack of Sonic Frontiers is exceptionally good with a lot of the Cyberspace levels again, excelling. The music perfectly fits the game and is great. The voice acting on the other hand though can be a bit hit-and-miss throughout with some dialogue clearly having been written with a younger audience in mind.
Another aspect of the game which may frustrate some players is the camera control. While for the most part, the camera behaves decently well, there are some moments in the game where once it unlocks itself from a specific angle, it becomes difficult to angle to your advantage. An early example of this is a fight against a larger enemy which Sonic needs to run up. The camera tends to be flung around here and unless you get used to it quickly, it makes this enemy fight unnecessarily more difficult. Younger gamers will definitely struggle with this.
Sonic Frontiers will take you around 30 hours or more to complete. Collecting all collectables and getting an S rank on each of the Cyberspace levels is quite time-consuming. While the game isn’t exactly difficult, you will have to replay a few of the Cyberspace levels multiple times if you want to obtain the highest scores possible and still obtain all the red stars within them.
Final Verdict
Ultimately Sonic Frontiers is a game I honestly enjoyed way more than I thought I would. The mixture of open-world adventuring, exploring, platforming and puzzle-solving combined with the more streamlined linear gameplay of the Cyberspace levels is flat-out amazing. Yes the game does have problems and it sure isn’t perfect but it doesn’t need to be. This is a title I can recommend anyone pick up and play and they’ll have a blast, either in the open world or in the Cyberspace levels. Seriously, give it a try if you can. You might surprise yourself here.
A second opinion from Finite:
There comes a point where you place the controller down to grab a coffee, not knowing that a sonic fan that runs with his arms behind saying “fast as sonic”. Yes, this is a little child that loves sonic and has been watching me play. Now it’s his time. There might be an issue, he is almost 4 years old so a little young, based on the PEGI Rating of 7+.
But this does not stop the little sonic fan, from starting a new game and having a bash himself. To be fair he does rather well until he is faced with asura.
Then all I get is daddy, daddy, big bad guy, kill big bad bossy bad guy. But the first time I was a little busy and instead of waiting he decided to say nope. He turns Sonic Frontiers off, using the control menu and deletes it.
This is what happens when you leave a sonic fan to confront a hard bad guy. So I had to reinstall and allow him to start again and this time is there for him.
Sonic frontiers might be a game a sonic fan will enjoy, but for a young child, trust me those big bad bossy, or bad guys, you are going to have to help a little.
Sonic Frontiers was reviewed on the PC
Grab your copy here https://store.steampowered.com/app/1237320/Sonic_Frontiers/
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows
Genres: Platform game, Fighting game, Action-adventure game
Composers: Tomoya Ohtani, Kenichi Tokoi, Takahito Eguchi
Publishers: Sega, SEGA of America, Sega Europe Limited
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