Sonic Frontiers tells a surprisingly deep and emotional story, showing how powerful a Sonic the Hedgehog game's plot can be. It manages to weave in darker, more serious subjects than most entries, and does so without seeming forced or out of place. The story actually ends up overshadowing Frontiers' gameplay in some cases, which is unusual for a series that built its reputation off fast-paced platforming. Sonic Frontiers' story could be an indicator of things to come for the Sonic franchise.
Even judging from the trailers prior to Sonic Frontiers' release, it was clear the game aimed to do something more ambitious than past titles. That, combined with Sonic Frontiers being the series' first open-world game, made it a title worth watching. While the gameplay ended up being just okay in the eyes of many fans, with cyberspace levels often faring better than the barebones open-world jungle gyms, it paled in comparison to Frontiers' true narrative strengths.
Sonic Frontiers Tells a More Memorable Story than Most Blue Blur Adventures
Most of the plot is told through Sonic's interactions with his friends, and Ian Flynn's work on Sonic Frontiers' story helps it shine. Players get a deeper look at the characters compared to the surface-level personalities they showcase in other games. Amy is a good example of this, as rather than focusing on her unrequited crush toward Sonic, her arc instead focuses on a worldview of how love and understanding can make the world a better place. All of Sonic's friends get these sorts of introspective moments, and despite being unplayable beyond confirmed DLC, they grow just as much as Sonic - if not more.
Another strong point for Sonic Frontiers' story is Sage and Eggman. Although ambiguous at first, it's revealed that Sonic Frontiers' Sage was created by Eggman to explore and harness the power of cyberspace in his latest adventure. While Eggman is usually exasperated by his minions, he maintains a level head with Sage throughout the game, treating her as something of a surrogate daughter. In fact, Eggman is even willing to ally with Sonic on Sage's request when she realizes it's necessary for both of them to survive. This dynamic brings out a previously unexplored part of Eggman's character, making him more nuanced and sympathetic compared to past games.
The story as a whole does a good job of feeling epic. In an ironic twist, Sonic Frontiers' open-world design was perfect in that it served the story more than the gameplay, giving its cast a scenic location to ground their interactions. The impending threat of The End also fits the vast, silent world perfectly. Flashbacks over the course of the game show what the world of the Ancients was like before The End destroyed their civilization, which allows players to see the stakes of Sonic's adventure firsthand, and makes it clear that failure is not an option.
Sonic Frontiers manages to tell possibly the best story in the franchise, to the point that gameplay almost feels like filler between cutscenes. Sonic Frontiers' story has changed Sonic lore forever, providing a lot of potential for what future stories in the franchise could hold - especially with how well the supporting cast was treated. Hopefully the style set by Sonic Frontiers sticks, because all of its characters are left in a stronger place than they were at the beginning of this latest adventure. Future Sonic games have a blueprint for creating strong stories, and by following Sonic Frontiers' lead, the next Sonic games can similarly thrive.
Sonic Frontiers is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
