Sonic Frontiers

Game'scover

About the Game

One of the top gaming mascots that manage to stay at the top and continue for several years to entertain us in various ways and media is Sonic the Hedgehog. The blue hedgehog first appeared in 1991 as the answer to Nintendo's Super Mario. Sega is of course behind this hero. No one can dispute the impact and success of the 30-year-old series. Within three decades, various games (and spin offs), various collaborations with other games, animated series, comic book series (over 24 years of release), various collectible figures and recently Live Action movies were released. Thats how popular Sonic is. On May 27, 2021, Sega decided to celebrate 30 years of the blue hero by holding an online live video event in which they announced their main plans for the hedgehog for the next 2 years. These included collaborations with games like "Yakuza", "Olympic games 2020" etc, new updates to the mobile game, a new Netflix TV series and 2 games the Remaster of Sonic Colours (2010)with the new name Sonic Colors Ultimate and the all-new Sonic Frontiers which aims to bring the Sonic team name back to greatness. The first teaser trailer impressed everyone, but the first two gameplay videos did the exact opposite as within 20 minutes they had shown nothing but empty streets and low graphics which was due to the fact that the videos were based on an early build of the game. To appease the crowd, Sega decided to share a new trailer with the fans, which featured loud music, fast-paced gameplay, and snippets of the story, which only managed to confuse the crowd. While the trailers were "mediocre", various news surrounding the game claimed the exact opposite as it had been voted "best upcoming game" at Tokyo fest 2022 by those who went to the event.
Few months before its release the people were divided in the following categories:

  1. those who like what they see and wanted the game
  2. those who they hate it based on the early gameplays
  3. the thinkers who were waiting for more trailers, a possible demo or even the game itself to come out and see how people reacted to it.
Safe to say in November 2022, when the game released it made a huge impact for the series as its now considered as one of the best Sonic games out there. In fact there was a huge argument over the decision to not be nominated in the main Game Awards despite the game
  1. Being one of the best selling games of Sonic and in general
  2. Being in the spotlight for as long as it did( for good reasons)
  3. Having amazing Audio direction
  4. Risking alot by changing its usual formula
  5. overall the reception and awards it gathered from other award shows

Game Sonic

Story of the Game

Once again, doctor Eggman is looking for a new way to finally defeat the blue hero. His quest brings him to the Starfall Islands in order to steal the Ancients' technology with the help of his new Ai creation. In this effort, the security mechanism of the Ancients is activated and various robots come to destroy the scientist. In his attempt to save his creator, the Ai traps the doctor in a different dimension Cyber space.

The next day, the heroes of the series decided to explore the islands as they noticed that all the chaos emeralds were mysteriously drawn to this area. Upon their arrival, a hole opens out of nowhere and sucks the heroes into Cyber space. Sonic wakes up alone in an unknown area unaware of Tails and Amy's fate. A voice marvels at the fact that Sonic did the unthinkable and escaped his fate. He then tells the hero that he will have to collect the chaos emeralds and destroy the titans in order to break the "chain" that unites the world with Cyber space. With the idea that this act will save his friends, the hero begins the search.

At the same time, the mysterious Sage tries to do everything she can to stop the hero and come up with an idea herself, in order to save the doctor she brought into this world. Cyber space is inhabited by Kocos. Small stone statues which are related to the people who once inhabited the islands. Each area you visit gives you a story about that world, its population as well as intimate moments between Sonic, his friends and Sage, who turns out is the Ai dr Eggman created.
Game'chasers

Thoughts on the story

In terms of story the game really surprised me as we havent seen a serious Sonic story in a while and based on the fact that the hero hit the streets of Holywood, i was expecting the age demographic to aim the younger audience that are now learning of the blue devil. The character of Sonic is depiction as usual,on the surface he is cocky and arrogant but deep within he cares alot about his friends and tries his best to do what ever possible to help them escape the cyber space even if the only way will damage himself. On the other hand during cutscenes we get to see the relationship of the heroes with Sonic and how some of them feel, from the love of Amy to the helplessness that Tails feels when Sonic is not around. These characters have been in the eyes of the public for a while now, but now they feel more real and well thought. Moreover, Sage is a unique character who i appreciated alot during the campaign and was wondering how the story between her, Sonic and Dr Eggman would have concluded. Additionaly, Starfall islands also have their own piece of story exposition about the Ancients and the fate that found them which once again was very good and very unexpected. Last but not least, lets not forget the fact that Sonic is able of hearing a voice talking to him which suround the plot in mystery.

Gameplay

The new adventure of the blue hero not only brings back the usual gameplay of the series but brings tears of nostalgia as it combines it with elements from the era of Sonic Adventure (1998). For the first time in the history of the hero, the SOnic Team created an open world experience where you can freely run around the islands of the new area and explore different areas. Your goal in the islands is to free your friends and collect the 7 chaos emeralds to be able to continue. Sega's work is divided into three categories:

  1. the adventure within the open world
  2. the experience within the cyber space levels
  3. various small mini-games

Game'chasers
The open world experience will appeal to some and not to others. During the game the open world lets you explore the area, locate the portals of the cyber space levels and learn information about the heroes. Each world has scattered missions with mini games and puzzles which upon completion will reveal points of the map as well as the various objects in the surrounding area. When you unlock the entire map by doing these missions the fast travel option becomes available. As you explore each area you will encounter the mysterious Sage and one of Sonic's friends. To activate the dialogue, you need a certain number of tokens which you find everywhere on the map. On the minimap, there are faces of the NPCs that if they re colored gray symbolize a side quest, while if they are colored it is the main story. Finally, the huge red swords on the map symbolize the guardians that you will have to fight to get the portal keys needed to unlock the cyber space levels.

Generally each map gives a feeling of emptiness as while they are big, they look empty until you solve all the missions. The developers have added various enemy NPCs but they are located in various specific areas where you will usually run past them. This is a shame because the game's combat is a lot of fun and the bad guys have clever mechanics. With the exception of some older games, players usually fought bad guys by jumping on them or using a "homing attack". Frontiers brought back the ability to do combos, combine different techniques together, throw enemies in the air for air combos, avoid being hit by bad guys and also the ability to parry and counter. All these techniques can be unlocked through a skill tree in which you spend points you get from the bad guys you defeated in battle. Then the battles with the guardians are very interesting as each of them has its own mechanics such as "perfect timing attacks", "parry to stunt", "climb on their backs" and many others that are worth facing yourselves. Also there are the battles with the titans which will leave you speechless.
Game'chasers

Beyond the huge step of the series in the open world theme, Sonic team added the cyber portals in which the game follows the familiar formula of the series. This means that upon entering the level, you must run from the beginning of the track all the way to the end. Each track has its own four objectives which will give you the keys you need to unlock the Chaos emeralds back on the map. These missions need you to:
  1. reach your goal
  2. finish within S-rank time
  3. have a number of gold rings
  4. collect the rare red rings
During the cyber levels you cannot use the combos and skills that you can have in the open world. The cyber levels of the game come mainly from the old adventures of the hero such as "Sonic: Unleashed"(2008), "Sonic: Generations"(2011) and "Sonic Adventure 2"(2001) but it also has its own original levels.

Thoughts on gameplay

Keeping things completely honest the game is very fun and offers a new fresh Sonic experience. The open world as mentioned is nice but sometimes it feels empty as there are not many things to do. The gameplay with the combos and speed feel amazing but when theres not much to do it kinds of taking it away. In the open world the only thing you wanna do is to collect the tokens needed in order to proceed. This feels more like a chore as if you find the main story Quest it wont be unlocked unless you had the right ammount. On the other hand cyber levels treat us with nostalgia as the more we play the more game references we can identify. It goes without saying that these levels are based on iconic games and have unique gimmiks. For example, using a skateboard, a glider etc. These levels are not necessarily challenging but the option to get a perfect time is always up to the player. Certain levels are more challenging than others but all are enjoyable. The DLC expansion also made the game more challenging.

Side Content


The big cat Big invites you to spend time with him fishing in the lake. All he wants in return are the purple coins you find in the open world. Every fish you catch gives you points that you can exchange with Big. This way you can get fruits to level up Sonic's status, get Kocos, buy Eggman lore recordings as well as the tokens that unlock dialogue with the heroes. In simple terms, its ideal to find the fishing minigame, play for 10 minutes and then spent all the currency in the tokens in order to proceed with the main plot.

The second main side minigame can only be activated during the night where the stars fall. A slot machine will appear on the screen's UI which will stop when you collect the stars and press the responsible button or if you leave it alone. The main prize you win is purple coins which as mentioned above you spend on the fishing spot. This game lasts all night.

Game'chasers

DLC

Since its initian release Sonic Frontiers had a fair ammount of free DLC. Whilst some where simply cosmetics or additions that didnt offer much to the gameplay such as a camera mode and costumes, others added moer gameplay portions, more specifically the last one (as of now 13/11/2023). With the release of the latest DLC the ending of the game (which did fell anticlimatic) was atered. To be more specific now the players are allowed to play as the other heroes, Tails, Amy and Knuckles. Their gameplay is different to Sonic's but being completely honest, Sonic's is still superior. During the missions the players re tasked to complete the respectfull levels and gather Chaos emeralds to help Sonic. Once each individual hero completes their missions the players are back to Sonic where they re tasked to go through a challenging boss rush mode to unlock the final boss fight. The final Boss fight is very similar to the rest titan fights, which means cool music, cool mechanics and alot of awesomness. Unfortunately, this new boss fight did not have a new unique OST, but despite that, the quick time commands and the overall battle was very good and had a good climax.

Some negative critisms

A big comment that has been heard since long before the game's release is the empty world. While your story explains the main reason, it still seems simple. The open world may for some feel like "filler" as while it has various things to do it does not advance the story forward. There are cases where you will find the heroes you need to progress but you will have to collect the tokens to unlock the dialogue. Next, the game has RPG elements such as skill tree and level up system but despite this it is not present during the game as you will most likely unlock all the techniques very quickly.

While Sega's project has a nice script with great character interactions some elements are hidden in the fishing mini-game and optional side quests. Despite all the company's efforts to sell us a convincing relationship between heroes, if someone doesn't play the fishing game they won't be satisfied with what they see. Finally, the seed the company planted with the Frontiers teaser was never answered. The teaser showed Sonic creating a symbol that is ubiquitous in both the trailer and the game. Unfortunately, to this day there is no answer as to what it symbolizes and it remains a mystery.

Game'chasers

Sound and Graphics

A big feature of the series is its epic music. There are various iconic songs from the series in the form of instrumentals and regular music with vocals. In their recent project, Sega has combined various genres of music which suits the game very well. During your time in the open world, the music has a slow instrumental type beat that gives the feeling of melancholy as there is nothing but the ruins of an extinct population. The music within the cyber levels has a faster pace, some stages have vocals and there are various rhythms like "dubstep", "techno", "hip-hop" etc. Finally, the developers prove that they know their fans as the project has both "rock" tracks as well as "metalcore" which will not only leave you speechless but will excite you as they appear in important moments and fit unimaginably with the gameplay of that particular moment.

The blue hero's new adventure is his first since the launch of the new consoles. The open world looks very nice as the graphics nicely emphasize the realism of trees, flowers and more. Nice details are everywhere in the game such as the hero's footprints in the sand, the flower petals that fly when you run around them at a fast speed, the way the water reacts when you approach it, etc. The stages of the cyber levels have Sonic's identity throughout, whether it's a reference to Green Hills or Sky Sanctuary. The hero models are from the Sonic Forces game with the exception of the new villains and the mysterious Sage who are new to the series. The game usually loads new areas quickly and has short loading screens on PS5. According to various sources the Switch version of the game has minor problems loading the graphics, but apart from this problem the game is playable.

Game'chasers

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, Sonic Frontiers is a very good effort that managed to show that Sonic team can still release good games with this hero. Their effort to bring the hero into the open world is admirable and sets the stage for future games. The cyber levels may come from older games, but all the original levels are satisfactory in both quality and quantity. In terms of difficulty, the game is relatively easy as far as puzzles are concerned. The experience lasts at least 10-12 hours and for 100% completion it takes 20-22. Furthermore, the game is a right step towards a bright future for the heroes. There are many nice ideas that can be used as a basis for the next game. As for Sonic Frontiers DLCs, the team brought standard mechanism such as camera mode and different new costumes. The new part the story allows you to play as new heroes and challenge yourselves with boss rush mode and challenge runs.

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