Befitting Its Name, Sonic Frontiers Brings The Franchise to a Whole New Horizon

The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has had its share of ups and downs throughout its history, with both its 2D and 3D outputs getting mixed results from the general gaming public and longtime fans.

When it comes to the 3D games, Sonic Team has tried many different iterations of what the Blue Blur and his friends are able to do. From team-based gameplay to total speed-based obstacle courses, fans have been divided on what a true 3D Sonic game should be.

Sonic Frontiers is the latest 3D game for the franchise and is truly looking to reinvigorate and innovate, especially after the lacklustre Sonic Forces from 2017 proved to be a tepid recycling of past concepts.

With Thailand Game Show 2022 recently featuring Sonic Frontiers as one of its main events, IGN Southeast Asia was able to have a hands-on experience with the upcoming action adventure.

Rolling Around At The Speed of Sound

Taking cues from open-world games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, players will be zooming through a vast archipelago with Sonic’s supersonic speed in Sonic Frontiers. Right off the bat, it is a stark departure from the usual level by level affair.

The story of Sonic Frontier takes place on the Starfall Islands, a mysterious land where an ancient civilisation sleeps. Sonic’s new adventure begins in a land full of mysterious ruins and eerie enemies, instead of the usual, colourful robots by Dr Eggman.

Got Places to Go

Touted as “Open-Zone” gameplay, Sonic Frontiers features areas that are wide and spacious and filled with all kinds of activities littered across the world. These bring back Sonic staples like grind rails and springs galore.

From all-out battles against waves of enemies, numerous puzzles to rack the player’s brains, and the Cyber Space levels, which is Sonic Frontiers’ take on the throwback levels of Sonic Generations, featuring courses based on classic levels like Green Hill Zone and Sky Sanctuary Zone. The biggest addition is with the combat, with Sonic having access to all sorts of moves in battle beyond his usual Homing Attack. It takes some getting used to, especially if one is more used to the speed-based gameplay of previous entries.

Follow My Rainbow

From start to finish, the demo provided non-stop action that touched the entire gamut of different gameplay mechanics. It was a great preview into what the full game will have to offer, which in short is essentially Sonic’s biggest adventure yet.

It takes some adjustment for those who are more used to the likes of Sonic Adventure and Sonic Generations, with the mixture of platforming and combat feeling a lot more deliberate and methodical in Sonic Frontiers. There is a concern about whether this will be repetitive and get stale quickly in the full game, as Sonic’s quick levels were often just the right length to play and replay to completion. The variety is welcomed in Sonic Frontiers, especially with enemies providing a decent challenge.

Overall, Sonic Frontiers does succeed in refreshing the Blue Blur’s three-dimensional adventures and can definitely be a great springboard for newcomers to dive into. If this is truly the new direction of the franchise, we can’t wait for more.

Dale Bashir ( November 1 , 2022) Befitting Its Name, Sonic Frontiers Brings The Franchise to a Whole New Horizon from https://sea.ign.com/