Game: Sonic Frontiers
Platform: PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Switch
Genre: Open-World Adventure
Developer: Sonic Team
Release Date: Nov 8
Imagine a Sonic the Hedgehog game that plays like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Sounds awesome, right? Well, that’s the experience on offer in Sonic Frontiers. For the first time in a while, Sonic is going fully 3D, and for the first time ever, it’s an open-world environment he’s able to explore.
It all begins with an interesting twist on the Sonic storyline. Sonic and his usual friends Tails, Knuckles and Amy are pulled through a wormhole into an all-new world called Starfall Islands. The twist is, in this world, Dr. Eggman has succeeded in his plans and rules with his robotic henchman.
Sonic is separated from his friends at the start of the game, and he needs to explore the world looking for Chaos Emeralds. These can be used to bring the group of friends back together and get them home. And luckily, a guide – in the form of an AI – is on hand to help you on your way.
Sonic Frontiers is a beautiful looking game, and we love the lush environments you get to explore. But we also like the fact that the game retains its Sonic feel and gameplay, despite being a very different kind of genre.
Yes, it’s a bit slower paced. For example, you’ll do more puzzle solving and exploration. But all the classic moves are there, including rails to grind, boost pads, springs, homing attacks, and drop dashes, as well as rings to collect. And some sections still feel super-fast.
Plus, you will find altars (like Zelda’s shrines) that will transport you into cyber space and levels that feel more similar to older Sonic games.
There are new features as well. For starters, as you earn experience points you can level up things like speed, attacks, defence and ring capacity. This is vital to facing off against the bigger bosses.
Then there’s new abilities. Alongside combo attacks and wall running, you have the Cyloop. This device can be used to draw things in the world that give you powers and buffs for use in combat or interacting with items.
As you can tell, Sonic Team has put a heck of a lot of effort into this game. If you complete all the challenges and sidequests, there’s over 60-hours of gameplay here. What more could a Sonic fan want!
Did You Know
A third entry in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie series is in development and should be out in 2024.
