The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, and the blue blur decided to end 2021 with a bang. Alongside the first trailer for the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie, fans were finally given a taste of what the game that was once known as "Sonic 2022" was really like. Sonic Frontiers is now revealed formally, complete with a brand new trailer.
Sonic Frontiers was revealed as part of the Sonic Central Livestream held back in May. The teaser trailer captured many fans' attention as it featured a new pink-tinted running power for Sonic, as well as a mysterious glyph. While there have been many rumors circulating the title ever since the vague reveal, fans of the blue hedgehog can now have a clearer image of what to expect with the future game.
The trailer showcases incredible CGI animation that many Sonic trailers have been known for before giving fans a look at the game's gorgeous location, the Starfall Islands. The islands are shown in-engine, leaving a great first impression while confirming the rumors that the game is open world. This looks to be the hedgehog's take on Breath of the Wild, which many fans were hoping for.
The game has been said to release in the 2022 holiday season, while reassuring fans that Sonic's reach seems to be staying multiplatform, even with SEGA and Microsoft's latest partnership. The trailer ends with Sonic face to face with a giant robot that scales to a size the hedgehog has never faced before, with possible implications players may fight it by running all across it.
While the game is still in development, and no clear gameplay has been shown yet, the head of Sonic Team has described Sonic Frontiers to be like Sonic Adventure in terms of what it's going to bring to the series and set as its new foundation. Whatever Frontiers has in store seems to set the tone for Sonic games going forward.
The idea of Sonic being mainly open world after Frontiers seems like a bold move. However, considering the series' many missteps in recent years, some fans being hesitant to welcome the next title would be understandable. No matter what, many Sonic fans will have a new way to experience the series soon.
Sonic Frontiers is to be released on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.