Due to the fact that Sonic Frontiers marks the series' first venture into being open world, tons of fans have their eyes on Sonic Team's next big release. After a formal reveal at the Game Awards, news about the game was scarce, but Sega has gone all out and released plenty of news throughout June. This news is scattered across many sources, but it isn't hard to keep up with it all if fans know where to find it.
The month of June has always been a big one for the Sonic franchise. This is because the first game in the series was released on June 23, 1991. In more recent years, this has led to many important events falling either on that date or around it. For instance, the Sonic 25th Anniversary Party in 2016 took place on July 22, just barely a month later. While fans of Sonic's 2D games had Sonic Origins to enjoy on June 23 this year, the 3D fans were given details on Sonic Frontiers such as gameplay showcases, hands-on previews, and much more.
Sonic Frontiers' Gameplay
At the start of June, players got a first look at Sonic Frontiers' gameplay through showcases that focus on the game's exploration and combat. Other footage shared by Sega conjoins these two elements together to show exactly the fast-paced action players can expect from the full game. At Summer Game Fest, some hands-on impressions of the game stated that Sonic's speed and control would be adjustable. Sega also stated in an interview with IGN that Frontiers will take 20-30 hours of playtime for a normal playthrough, taking double that time for any completionists.
The gameplay loop in Sonic Frontiers focuses around the game's collectibles. Fans are given a vast open island to explore in search of find items that'll help save Sonic's friends, as well as gears that help unlock the game's cyberspace levels. These levels serve as the kind of linear sections most commonly seen in the series, and beating them grants players keys that unlock vaults. The vaults eventually lead to fans gathering all seven of the Chaos Emeralds, the mythical gems that had vanished from the rest of Sonic's world at the start of Sonic Frontiers' story.
The Story of Sonic Frontiers
Following the trailer shown at the Game Awards, some early details about Sonic Frontiers began to surface. One of these was a synopsis for the game's story. It starts out in ways that many Sonic fans should be familiar with: Dr. Eggman has discovered an ancient technology and plans to harness its powers for himself. Game Informer's Sonic Frontiers issue expands on this story by revealing that Eggman is soon pulled into cyberspace for tampering with the tech and gets trapped there.
Afterwards, Sonic, Tails, and Amy are heading towards the Starfall Islands in search of the Chaos Emeralds, but as Sonic Frontiers' writer Ian Flynn has stated, "things take a turn for the dramatic immediately, and Sonic is left alone with a lot of questions." As the hedgehog hero works with an AI voice who guides him into using many of the game's collectibles to find his friends, he runs into a curious AI called SAGE taking the form of a human girl. She warns Sonic to leave the islands even though he still hasn't found Tails and Amy.
Sonic Frontiers' Features
Throughout the month, fans were given numerous hints towards what features they could look forward to in the next Sonic game. Now, at the end of June, they have a rather cohesive picture. Frontiers' "open zone" gameplay puts players into wide-open areas that make up the Starfall Islands, filled with puzzles to solve and enemies to fight that'll reward Sonic with gain gears that unlock the more linear levels. On the first of these islands, Kronos Island, players can gather hearts to help save Amy, and find little creatures known as the Kocos for powerful upgrades. These critters are most likely the small stone-like beings found across the map in gameplay showcases.
Among all the other items that players can grab, they'll also be gathering experience points for a skill tree to unlock even more upgrades for Sonic. There upgrades can be seen in many of the game's trailers, especially those focused on Sonic's combat. Among players needing to save Tails, Amy, and possibly even Dr. Eggman, Sonic Origins' files may have revealed Big the Cat's involvement accidentally. According to Game Informer and some hands-on previews, he teaches Sonic how to fish, which unlocks a fishing mini-game. Players earn special coins to purchase helpful items from the big purple cat.
While Sonic Frontiers' marketing was rather strange at the start of the month, everything shown for the next Sonic game has made it rather clear what fans can expect without giving too much away. Hands-on impressions of the game from different news outlets have been rather positive as well, which also gives many fans hope that this game may be a Sonic title that certainly stands out above the rest.
Before June, Sega said openly that Sonic Frontiers is a game with high internal standards set for it. The company is hoping that the game reviews well with critics this holiday season, and that good review scores will lead to high sales numbers. Frontiers was also held back from releasing last year for Sonic's 30th anniversary to make sure the next game was one that truly delivered in the quality department.
In the last month alone, Sonic Frontiers has gone from recieving overwhelmingly negative opinions from fans to having future players feel hopeful and positive again. It's understandable that after so many questionable reveals this month, many fans are still on the fence about the next Sonic game. Just how well it performs will most likely need to be seen once it arrives if a demo doesn't come out first.
Sonic Frontiers will release Holiday 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
