Sonic Frontiers - PS4 | PS5

[Slava]

43 minutes ago, Viper said:

There is combat in the teaser that's why I mentioned it looking like the same thing we've been seeing for years. Unless yall are talking about something I didn't see above. 

 

EDIT: You must mean the IGN video. There's combat in the teaser video posted yesterday. 

 

Yea, that's the one. IGN will be posting more gameplay footage this month. The combat will probably be featured in their next video. The first teaser gave a taste of what to expect I guess.

 

2 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

In my opinion, there has never been a good Sonic game (aside from the cart racers,) but this seems like potentially the most promising attempt in a long while.

 

 

Which ones have you played?

[DrBloodmoney]

33 minutes ago, Slava said:

Which ones have you played?

A smattering - not every one, for sure - there’s been a LOT of them ?

 

Definitely played  1,2 & 3, and CD for sure (to various levels - I think the only ones I actually finished were 1 & 2,… and Sonic and Knuckles maybe?)

 

There was at least one Game Gear one I remember (that’s hazy though - was there more than one on that system?)

 

Played Colours on the DS (MsBloodmoney was actually a big fan of that one! She’s more of a Sonic fan than I am generally - she had more friends with Megadrives growing up I think! ?)

 

Definetly tried Unleashed at one point (and really didn’t get with that one - even more than most!) and I remember Sonic Forces… though admittedly I may have just seen MsBloodmoney play some of that one - can’t actually recall having a controller in hand for that ?

 

Aside from the cart racer (which I legit liked quite a bit), I think that’s it…

 

…i’ve got vague memories of seeing the Dreamcast ones (was that Adventure?) in action, but again - probably seeing my mate play, not playing much myself (I didn’t own a Dreamcast, I just had a friend who did!).

 

Oh - and mania. The missus tried that one, and I probably played a little of it, but not much. it was retro through and through, so the memories are easily mixed up with the old ones!

 

 

Admittedly, there’s a lot I didn’t touch, but I do think that’s still a fair amount for a series I’ve never really connected with - Sonic does get around! ?

 

Edited June 1, 2022 by DrBloodmoney

[SelectiveGamer]

I'm cautiously optimistic. I really am. Because I really do see the potential in this. I really do.

 

But I also understand being mixed about this. I really do. BECAUSE SONIC FANS HAVE BEEN BURNED FAR TOO MANY TIMES TO COUNT.

 

It looks AMAZING and I truly do feel like it could, potentially at least, be the best Sonic game in a VERY long time maybe even the best Sonic game PERIOD.

 

But this is asking Sega to not screw this up. Which is clearly asking a lot it seems like. Obviously. I guess. I don't know anymore.

 

I want to say that there's hope... but... I'm afraid to even do that because of potentially jinxing it.

 

I am worried. Obviously. That goes without saying. EXTREMELY. But... I just... want to hope for the best. Is that really so much to ask? I guess to some it is. I love how everyone wants to be negative about everything.

 

Whatever. Let's wait and see. I guess.

[Jelly Soup]

On 5/31/2022 at 9:37 AM, Jelly Soup said:

Looks cool. Basically Breath of the Wild mixed with Genshin Impact but Sonic. I'm in.

 

Rethinking it, it's more like Phantasy Star Online 2. Giant open fields of just grass, rather saturated colors, combat a particularly thick batch of particle effect stew. Still in.

[Apocasy]

Looks good graphically. Gameplay looks iffy since it’s an early build. The open-world aspect of the game will be very interesting thought that I’ll look forward to.

[AJ_Radio]

On 6/1/2022 at 11:10 AM, Viper said:

Me and you have VERY different outlooks on how Sonic has been since the Genesis days. I don't know where you're seeing any praise for the 3D style Sonic games because they get nothing but criticism for never hitting the mark on what people want. And the fact that Sonic Mania comes around, goes BACK to the 2D 16-Bit style from the days of old and is the most critically successful Sonic game SINCE the Genesis days...speaks volumes on how dire this franchise has been. And speaks further volumes on how Sonic can't seem to succeed unless it's doing something the old way. 

 

Like I said in a previous post. Something like Mario (Sonic's biggest rival) has managed to reinvent itself time and time again and succeed massively within the confines of multiple genres. Sonic has tried, tried and tried again to do somethng...ANYTHING...to succeed, and it never does. The best games in the 3D side of things, got lukewarm receptions at best...but they never got that game that made people say "Yes! This is it! This is how Sonic should be now!". 

 

So with Frontiers they have the opportunity to try something new with Sonic again, possibly the "thing" it needs to finally shine. But going back to this same old gameplay loop routine isn't going to help it at all. Yes Sonic should be fast paced and frantic...but we also need to control that pacing. All I see here is a Sonic game with a new environment idea, but making the same gameplay mistakes that it always makes. 

 

That's my whole point. When Sonic 2006 released back in the early days of PS3 and Xbox 360, my opinion on the franchise had sunk.

 

Sonic and the Secret Rings did ease my tensions when I played it on the Nintendo. But it was nothing like the old days of Sega Genesis, nor the Sega Dreamcast days.

 

This was one of the first franchises to really take a steep nosedive that contained a lovable, prominent mascot. And Mario, the Italian plumber, basically eclipses Sonic at almost every opportunity. I heard the same reception when Sonic Forces released in 2017. Some good ideas, but ultimately fails as a 3-D Sonic game.

 

Sonic Team can never get it right. But Sonic Mania, that was developed by the ROM hacking community and by those involved in fan games and fan service, somehow hit it right out the ballpark.

 

That right there speaks volumes on just how long Sonic himself has been dripping in mediocrity.

[EcoShifter]

On 6/1/2022 at 2:10 PM, Viper said:

Me and you have VERY different outlooks on how Sonic has been since the Genesis days. I don't know where you're seeing any praise for the 3D style Sonic games because they get nothing but criticism for never hitting the mark on what people want. And the fact that Sonic Mania comes around, goes BACK to the 2D 16-Bit style from the days of old and is the most critically successful Sonic game SINCE the Genesis days...speaks volumes on how dire this franchise has been. And speaks further volumes on how Sonic can't seem to succeed unless it's doing something the old way. 

 

... It's moreso that you're heavily out of touch. Not to offend, but it has to be said that you're factually wrong on several points to say the least and don't really know the series's well. The boost gameplay is infact well regarded by critics and fans; Unleashed's daytime stages, Colors, and Generations have all been praised in this regard (graphics as well). As a Sonic follower you should know formulas usually don't stick past two installments (part of that being due to the producer's philosophy of constantly wanting to try new things tbh), but here we have one of the longest—actually the longest—3D Sonic formula ever, even surpassing Adventure's. It has stuck around largely because of its wide appeal and success but also because it works well for Sonic. So in general not a huge amount but enough 3D Sonic titles have been praised, including the blatant go-to SA2, which received a 91 score (higher than both releases of Sonic Mania) and came out after the genesis games.

 

Quote

Like I said in a previous post. Something like Mario (Sonic's biggest rival) has managed to reinvent itself time and time again and succeed massively within the confines of multiple genres. Sonic has tried, tried and tried again to do somethng...ANYTHING...to succeed, and it never does. The best games in the 3D side of things, got lukewarm receptions at best...but they never got that game that made people say "Yes! This is it! This is how Sonic should be now!". 

 

Sonic has done that and succeeded on several occasions. Not as often as Mario, who by the way has immensely more titles mind you, but there have still been multiple cases. Even though it's technically not his game, which doesn't stop everyone from treating it as such, S&ASRT as one other blatant example has constantly been compared and commonly agreed upon to be better than the relevant Mario Kart installment(s) at that time (and held its own against MK8 as well). The sameway DKR and CTR have been praised for being the best kart racer of all time for decades, yes SASRT has been too. Also, no, Sonic and Mario's rivalry ended in the early-mid 2000s (confirmed by a Sega rep but also obvious). There's also a massive difference between how Nintendo treats Mario versus how Sega had been treating Sonic for a long time, with some exceptions. No-one also takes into consideration the significant advantage for decades Mario has of being a predominantly single platform franchise, while Sonic has all the shenanigans that comes with being a predominantly multi-platform franchise. Sega were also known for having issues adapting to and designing titles for other consoles after their own, and even today there's still some issues with any multiplatform Sonic title at launch (including one serious one Mania once had). They're known for their strict deadlines/rushed production schedules as well, which they admitted to and then mostly addressed starting with one of the Boom sequels in 2016. Additionally, Sega reps have stated in the 90s and modern times that designing 3D Sonic games are really hard (and expensive) because of his speed. Remember when you brought up wanting a modern Flash game? One thing the developers stated about the cancelled Flash game was that balancing his high speed was hard and that they simply had to slow him down, regardless that people would think he's too slow. Other mascot platformers like Mario, Crash, and Ratchet, etc, obviously never had to worry about this aspect, and I recall one of those developers being glad their mascot didn't have superspeed like Sonic as they knew how stressful it'd be. Lastly, the best 3D games scoring in the high 70s, low 80s, mid-high 80s, and low 90s isn't lukewarm status. And the SA titles and the boost titles (again) did actually have people say "this is how Sonic should be". Sonic (and Shadow's) stages were enjoyed so much in SA2 that a common criticism ended up being there weren't enough stages for him (especially Shadow who has only 4 stages). SU was the game that reinvented the 3D formula, with everyone singing the praises for the daytime stages and commonly agreeing that the game should have been just that. Colors somewhat answered that prayer and was primarily praised for "ditching" the nighttime stages from SU, and then the game was hailed as not just a good 3D Sonic game but also one of its best. Generations got the same praises but is usually considered the better game and fairly often called the best 3D game. (It's not the best, but it's up there.) 

 

Feel like I missed something there.. 

 

Quote

So with Frontiers they have the opportunity to try something new with Sonic again, possibly the "thing" it needs to finally shine. 

 

Realistically speaking, it doesn't matter what Sonic does. (Because it's Sonic!) You're opposed to 3D Sonic on a core level, so this game won't change your mind or do anything for you. The recent footage, which is clearly beta or an older build, still makes it clear that a lot of what came before will be intact here. Just wait till we see those self-contained linear levels which will probably be a mix of SU and SG. If you don't like the boost gameplay on even a basic level, then you can only ever like a portion of the game at best. Then again, considering you don't truly like the any of the differing 3D games regardless of their quality, you'll be dissatisfied with any future 3D title like you have the past two decades. Who puts up with a series they've been disappointed in for over two decades? I feel bad for you because you can't even get excited for remasters of older titles either. 

 

Quote

But going back to this same old gameplay loop routine isn't going to help it at all. Yes Sonic should be fast paced and frantic...but we also need to control that pacing. All I see here is a Sonic game with a new environment idea, but making the same gameplay mistakes that it always makes. 

 

Apparently Mania doing exactly that and having less originality than the original genesis games and nearly every 3D game is fine somehow. Oh, totally surprised you're disappointed with the recent footage. Didn't see that coming at all.

 

Edited June 5, 2022 by EcoShifter

[Alos88]

I just find it bizarre how badly Sonic himself clashes with this stock unity-looking environment. You have this relatively-muted color scheme and high detail environment, and then Sonic just looks like he always has. 

[Viper]

6 minutes ago, EcoShifter said:

 

... It's moreso that you're heavily out of touch. Not to offend, but it has to be said that you're factually wrong on several points to say the least and don't really know the series's well. The boost gameplay is infact well regarded by critics and fans; Unleashed's daytime stages, Colors, and Generations have all been praised in this regard (graphics as well). As a Sonic follower you should know formulas usually don't stick past two installments (part of that being due to the producer's philosophy of constantly wanting to try new things tbh), but here we have one of the longest—actually the longest—3D Sonic formula ever, even surpassing Adventure's. It has stuck around largely because of its wide appeal and success but also because it works well for Sonic. So in general not a huge amount but enough 3D Sonic titles have been praised, including the blatant go-to SA2, which received a 91 score (higher than both releases of Sonic Mania) and came out after the genesis games.

 

 

Sonic has done that and succeeded on several occasions. Not as often as Mario, who by the way has immensely more titles mind you, but there have been multiple cases. Even though it's technically not his game, which doesn't stop everyone from treating it as such, S&ASRT as one other blatant example has constantly been compared and commonly agreed upon to be better than the relevant Mario Kart installment(s) at that time (and held its own against MK8 as well). The sameway DKR and CTR have been praised for being the best kart racer of all time for decades, yes SASRT has been too. Also, no, Sonic and Mario's rivalry ended in the early-mid 2000s (confirmed by a Sega rep but also obvious). There's also a massive difference between how Nintendo treats Mario versus how Sega had been treating Sonic for a long time, with some exceptions. No-one also takes into consideration the significant advantage for decades Mario has of being a predominantly single platform franchise, while Sonic has all the shenanigans that comes with being a predominantly multi-platform franchise. Sega were also known for having issues adapting to and designing titles for other consoles after their own, and even today there's still some issues with any multiplatform Sonic title at launch (including one serious one Mania once had). They're known for their strict deadlines/rushed production schedules as well, which they admitted to and then mostly addressed starting with one of the Boom sequels in 2016. Additionally, Sega reps have stated in the 90s and modern times that designing 3D Sonic games are really hard (and expensive) because of his speed. Remember when you brought up wanting a modern Flash game? One thing the developers stated about the cancelled Flash game was that balancing his high speed was hard and that they simply had to slow him down, regardless that people would think he's too slow. Other mascot platformers like Mario, Crash, and Ratchet, etc, obviously never had to worry about this aspect, and I recall one of those developers being glad their mascot didn't have superspeed like Sonic as they knew how stressful it'd be. Lastly, the best 3D games scoring in the high 70s, low 80s, mid-high 80s, and low 90s isn't lukewarm status. And the SA titles and the boost titles (again) did actually have people say "this is how Sonic should be". Sonic (and Shadow's) stages were enjoyed so much in SA2 that a common criticism ended up being there weren't enough stages for him (especially Shadow who has only 4 stages). SU was the game that reinvented the 3D formula, with everyone singing the praises for the daytime stages and commonly agreeing that the game should have been just that. Colors somewhat answered that prayer and was primarily praised for "ditching" the nighttime stages from SU, and then the game was hailed as not just a good 3D Sonic game but also one of its best. Generations got the same praises but is usually considered the better game and fairly often called the best 3D game. (It's not the best, but it's up there.) 

 

Feel like I missed something there.. 

 

 

Realistically speaking, it doesn't matter what Sonic does. (Because it's Sonic!) You're opposed to 3D Sonic on a core level, so this game won't change your mind or do anything for you. The recent footage, which is clearly beta or an older build, still makes it clear that a lot of what came before will be intact here. Just wait till we see those self-contained linear levels which will probably be a mix of SU and SG. If you don't like the boost gameplay on even a basic level, then you can only ever like a portion of the game at best. Then again, considering you don't truly like the any of the differing 3D games regardless of their quality, you'll be dissatisfied with any future 3D title like you have the past two decades. Who puts up with a series they've been disappointed in for over two decades? I feel bad for you because you can't even get excited for remasters of older titles either. 

 

 

Apparently Mania doing exactly that and having less originality than the original genesis games and nearly every 3D game is fine somehow. Pacing looks fine; there's seamless parkour, less automation, and Sonic is slower (inevitably there'll be upgrades to make him faster.. just common). Oh, totally surprised you're disappointed with the recent footage. Didn't see that coming at all.

 

Oi...I don't have the patience for these internet arguments anymore man. If you want to win this one...fine, congrats, it's apparently important to you when you over post like this to prove a point. 

 

But the point I'M making is just going by what I see every time a new game is released...and what I see is the usual exhausted derision from people and critics because the new game still isn't the blockbuster Sonic game we've been hoping for and the last time I saw arousing positivity was Sonic Mania...a non-3D game. Simple as that. If you like them...great, more power to you. But all this crap you said in this wall of text is absolutely not what I've seen about these games over the years...nowhere even close. 

[EcoShifter]

3 minutes ago, Viper said:

Oi...I don't have the patience for these internet arguments anymore man. If you want to win this one...fine, congrats, it's apparently important to you when you over post like this to prove a point. 

 

But the point I'M making is just going by what I see every time a new game is released...and what I see is the usual exhausted derision from people and critics because the new game still isn't the blockbuster Sonic game we've been hoping for and the last time I saw arousing positivity was Sonic Mania...a non-3D game. Simple as that. If you like them...great, more power to you. But all this crap you said in this wall of text is absolutely not what I've seen about these games over the years...nowhere even close. 

 

Same. It's only every now and then. I can't even find the motivation to finish unquoted comments most of the time. But you was repeating your claims in following comments, so...

 

Unlike other large franchises, it's impossible to please the Sonic fanbase with any singular release, or ever use as guiding light or consensus on certain subjects, because it's far too conglomerated. So many sub styles within the 2D and 3D space; you can't generalize people in either group because some 2D fans only like particular 2D titles and same goes for 3D. 

 

The critics and fans want completely different things... We don't want blockbuster-level titles, the critics do. The reception for the games doesn't need to be overwhelming great for the points to stand. A game being well received doesn't mean it's one of the greatest games of all time. It can just be fairly good. You haven't seen it over the years, but I have. You can get at least a few confirmations from some quick wikipedia searches, even.

[MidnightDragon]

New video showing off combat

 

 

Edited June 5, 2022 by MidnightDragon

[Viper]

Yeah, I'm not feeling this at all. That combat looks SUPER repetitive. And there's just something...empty feeling about all of it. I don't know...it's definitely not a day 1 from me, maybe if people say it's good I'll check it out eventually. 

[SaAlLoAg]

Sonic Team should really post some footage of mid-to-late locations and objetives (w/ HUD included), because from what I've seem it just feels as shallow and boring as Sonic Forces. Maybe 4-5 hours of fun completing the story, and 10-12 hours of an Open World being dragged out and tedious.

[MidnightDragon]

Still gonna wait until I see more before I totally write it off.

[Slava]

I like the circle drawing mechanic (even though it's not new) and the boss fight, but the rest of combat looked boring. 

[SelectiveGamer]

 

 

To the surprise of ABSOLUTELY NO ONE... we now have confirmation that what we've been seeing is an EARLY BUILD. BECAUSE OF COURSE IT WAS. WHY ELSE WOULD IT BE ANYTHING ELSE.

 

I absolutely fail to understand or comprehend how this is not common sense to anyone.

 

But yes... let's just cancel all Sonic games and the franchise in general. Because that's absolutely the right decision. ?

 

I STILL SEE MASSIVE POTENTIAL IN THIS GAME.

 

Hopefully it'll get delayed so everyone will STFU but I feel like this is something that might not happen. If you hate it that much... JUST DON'T BUY IT. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. I just can't comprehend why negativity has to be spread around like wildfire. If you hate everything about this... then do not buy it. That's it. End of story.

 

Let those who want to try this game and see it's potential do so instead of acting like this is the second coming of Sonic 06 or something.

 

But whatever I guess

 

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk

 

?

[dieselmanchild]

I’m a little surprised at all the negativity here. Admittedly I haven’t played a ton of Sonic games, with a bit of experience with the classics growing up as a kid and more recently with Sonic Forces on PS+ which I thoroughly enjoyed for what it was. I thought that game had a good mix of the classic side-scrolling levels with the introduction of the 3D levels and gameplay which actually felt pretty awesome to play. So when I heard there was a 3D, open world Sonic game in the works my interest was definitely piqued.
 

After watching the IGN gameplay footage on YouTube last night I can say it’s official - I am excited! Unlike most people I think it actually looks pretty decent. Good graphics, relaxing music, and interesting exploration and environments. The only negative thing I have to say is that it did seem like a lot of the world they showed was just kind of empty and barren, so hopefully this is just an early game area or first look and will continue to develop into something rich and with more depth.

 

Overall though I’m feeling positive towards what we’ve seen and actually looking forward to this one. I hope it turns out to be a success, as it seems the hardcore Sonic fans have seen many disappointments over the years and have been waiting for another classic for a very long time.

[Ninjise]

I... Enjoyed what I've seen, granted I'm still very skeptical about some things, but overall doesn't look too bad, with all the negativty I've seen around the internet, you would expect some sort of Sonic 06 flashback, that's not the case.

 

It is Sonic Team, so I guess they can always find way to screw up in one way or another.

[EcoShifter]

On 6/7/2022 at 5:38 PM, SelectiveGamer said:

To the surprise of ABSOLUTELY NO ONE... we now have confirmation that what we've been seeing is an EARLY BUILD. BECAUSE OF COURSE IT WAS. WHY ELSE WOULD IT BE ANYTHING ELSE.
 

I absolutely fail to understand or comprehend how this is not common sense to anyone.

 

I've been extremely lazy to share my overall thoughts, but I was waiting for the two footage drops yesterday before considering. I still might not say anything until the next one dropping this week at Summer Game Fest. Though I will say IGN's latest video provided a ton of context generally and briefly showed off two new gameplay elements: a puzzle and Sonic having the ability to climb the towering enemies (instead of just running up). 

 

One of the earlier things I was going to mention is the early build. The confirmation from IGN was not surprising whatsoever. The world premiere gameplay video aka Exploration/Puzzle gameplay (as titled in the files, and IGN iterates in the intro) always looked like a tech demo/early build: HUD entirely absent, no direction or objectives, multiple unpolished/unfinished animations that would absolutely never make it to the final build of the game, etc. (Same for the following combat video.) It literally was common sense, and too early to write off as MidnightDragon said.

 

The fact they had to add this in the new video is a bit sad.

 

IGN has had a positive outlook and experience with the game from the beginning, even with the old build they were given. I'm not sure if you're aware, but IGN's preceding screenshots showing higher quality visuals than the prior video uploads, along with their widely-talked-about "hand's-on" video (and partly the short Sonic Central gameplay video) hours later, dramatically shifted the sheer negative force behind the game. Sonic-tubers and the fanbase, communities across comment sections, forums, stream chats, twitter, etc have all seen a tremendous change in perspective and expectations. Yesterday was a great day for Sonic Frontiers. If SGF really shows off a story trailer or new gameplay and it looks good, it'll just add to the now-more optimistic outlook on the game.

Edited June 29, 2022 by EcoShifter

[EcoShifter]

Since at least two more videos are coming later, i'm going to post some of the newest information that hasn't been posted yet before those drop-

 

IGN expanded upon a point they made in the hands-on impression on Twitter

Quote

Sonic Frontiers isn't just "Open Zone Sonic," It's a mix of what feels like a very experimental open world 3D high speed action game, AND the traditional linear 3D Sonic levels.

 

The flow of the game is basically: Explore open world > solve puzzles to open up map > find collectibles to improve stats > fight world bosses to earn portal gears > use portal gears to unlock linear Sonic levels > complete linear Sonic levels to unlock chaos emeralds
 

From what I've played so far, it's a very solid gameplay loop. There's obviously a lot of work to be done, as I talk about in the preview, but I think structure-wise, Sonic Team has something with Frontiers. It just needs a lot of polishing up.

*Mitchell has roughly 4 hours of hands-on experience with the build he was given.

 

And then the Sonic Central footage

Finally one trailer that doesn't make me think about Shadow of the Colossus

 

Like the last few Sonic titles, Sonic Frontiers will also have a prologue but animated

Edited June 9, 2022 by EcoShifter
extra space

[EcoShifter]

A lot of news-

 

Despite Sonic Frontiers being featured in every single Summer Game Fest trailer leading up to the event, no new trailer was shown there. Although, Sega secretly featured a by-appointment demo there and prohibited recording (video end), seemingly to be fair to other media outlets to cover the game later. Sega also had IGN delay the upload of their latest video by a day (video end), apparently so it didn't get buried under uploads of SGF videos.

 

Sonic Team Boss/Creative Officer Takashi Lizuka explains how it came to be an 'Open-Zone' game

No new gameplay in this one, and a lot of points here reinforce, overlap, and slightly adds more context to information shared in their hands-on impressions, but the additional clarification on being open-zone instead of openworld is important and something to keep in mind.
---

 

Dialogue writer hinting at the story having dark themes, reminiscent of older titles in the series

During a recent Q&A the game's writer Ian Flynn suggested playing Sonic Frontier's when asked if Sega would ever go back to exploring dark/tragic themes like in Sonic 06 and Shadow the Hedgehog (game).

& (Considering these themes are some of the most iconic, memorable, and best aspects of the 2000s games + Black Knight, this is a point in Frontier's favor.)

Quote

(since he was recently mentioned by the interviewee-)

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IGN Japan's SGF demo hands-on impressions

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G4TV host's brief thoughts on the demo

Quote

I got to play Sonic Frontiers!!! I’ll talk about it in detail during xplay next week but I was impressed.
Controls felt crisp and I wasn’t expecting that!

---

 

NEW GAMEPLAY, Interview, and First hands-on impressions by other outlets, based on the SGF demo build-

(The new footage was provided by Sega again—same across all videos)

 

New Gameplay without commentary

 

Gamespot Interview with Lizuka - How Sonic Frontiers Brings Sonic into an *'OpenZone'

 

Nintendo Everything's first hands-on impressions

 

Easy Allies's first hands-on impressions

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As everyone is mentioning, the SGF build looks way better than the one IGN has been showing.

The game having a Highspeed style (a faster paced experience recommended for Sonic veterans), Action style (an experience aimed for casuals that slows Sonic down and gives him more weight), and multiple slider options for Sonic's control (resistance, acceleration, turning, etc) is really interesting and a revolutionary design choice for the series; Sonic's controls has been fairly controversial for decades (even the titles with the best controls), and now there's a feature to tune Sonic's controls—in a mainline game, beyond just speed, and outside equippibles—to personal preference.

Edited June 20, 2022 by EcoShifter

[SPRAY-N-PRAY_242]

On 12/10/2021 at 10:32 PM, Viper said:

I don't know. I keep hoping and praying that Sonic Team finally figures out how to make a great modern, 3D Sonic game. Games like Sonic Mania are great and all...but when the old school 2D 16 Bit style is the only one they can get right...there's a problem. 

 

Bruh have you only played the 2D games lmao 

[Viper]

5 hours ago, SPRAY-N-PRAY_242 said:

 

Bruh have you only played the 2D games lmao 

I feel like you missed the point of what I was saying there, but no...I've played a few of the 3D games and none of them ever feel like anything more than just an experiment they have yet to get right. The last one I played was Sonic Forces and that game was god awful. The last one I actually enjoyed was Sonic Heroes on PS2, and we see that went nowhere. 

 

Yall keep trying to call me out on my comments about the 3D games...this shouldn't be news to anybody. 3D Sonic games are NOT beloved outside of the Sonic Adventures games. There's a reason they keep trying to come up with all these new ideas and nothing truly sticks. And so far, I'm not feeling what I see from Frontiers...but I'm hoping I'm wrong and this is finally the experiment that works. 

Edited June 14, 2022 by Viper

[SelectiveGamer]

i love it when i'm right

 

Glad to see what was shown to others was a better build that what IGN showed. I still believe this game has MASSIVE potential. In the end... it's up to Sega for them to reach said potential. Which... obviously is disconcerting to say the least... but all we can do, as I've said SEVERAL times already, is hope for the best.

 

And maybe hope for a public demo that's dropped on PSN or something

[EcoShifter]

(Not all but most of this stuff is nearly two weeks old—post SGF—that wasn't posted yet)

 

Follow up impression from Goldenboy

On 6/14/2022 at 6:11 AM, EcoShifter said:

G4TV host's brief thoughts on the demo

 

TheCompletionist and Goldenboy discuss their hands-on experiences from SGF

("I'm the only guy on the internet..." Apparently The Completionist wasn't actually aware that many others besides himself who got hands on enjoyed their time with the demo as well.)

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Demo impressions round-up

Someone on twitter compiled a list of many impressions covered by media who actually got to physically play the game at SGF

(Considering Kotaku's infamous track record with gaming news and the Sonic series, their impressions doesn't really hold weight. Instead that spot with the same rating, could go to Skill Up who is one of the few absent ones.)

 

Multiple sources had also confirmed that the demo had "memory leak" issues, which got worse the longer the demo was kept on and is why there has been some inconsistent technical experiences by those who had hands on; people who played later had rough experiences, while those who played the earliest had the smooth experiences. Skill Up was among those in the former group.

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Interview (video)

(Creative Officer Takashi Lizuka explains in his interview with IGN how the 'Open Zone' system originated.)

(In his interview with Gamespot he talks about the progression and freedom within the 'Open Zone'.)

Game Director Morio Kishimoto in his interview with IGN Japan talks about the evolution of 3D Sonic and the Open Zone's structure- 

no new footage

These video interviews (especially the last two) really share a lot of important and interesting details about the game's design, such as one being the 'Open Zone' described as a 'playable world-map'.  

 

Confirmation of some really good things from the Kishimoto interview:

- second time it was mentioned the puzzles being optional content but also an alternative way to progress through the game.

- the day/night cycle and weather has effects on gameplay (makes me think of Days Gone which is great).

- the game taking 20-30 hours to beat (surpassing Marvel Spider-Man's 17-20hr campaign), and double that to do complete everything. (That's incredible for a Sonic game.)

- the implication(s) at the game being speed-run friendly. 

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Some news from this week

IGN confirmed their last S.Frontier's preview, as part of their "First Games" program throughout June, will be a Q/A video (based on the non-SGF build).

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Some NEW gameplay from the Nintendo Direct Mini

(Featuring the first glimpse at the Cyber Space levels)

 

Music composer stated the music in this trailer is an "important piece" of the game's soundtrack; and that the soundtrack incorporates use of the 9-string guitar.

Edited June 30, 2022 by EcoShifter
multiple new links