During EGX 2022, I had the opportunity to get some hands-on with Sega’s upcoming open-world Sonic title, Sonic Frontiers. As a casual Sonic player, I went it with low expectations. More often than not, being disappointed by the 3D Sonic offerings. I’m pleased to say I was pleasantly surprised by how good Sonic Frontiers seems to be. Allow me to explain!
For those that don’t know in Sonic Frontiers, the franchise is going open world…well, sort of. It seems more of a semi-open design based on what I played. That sees you searching each area for keys, chaos emeralds, and more. With the playable demo at EGX 2022, I was able to play two areas from the game. This was done by completely environmental puzzles, and I felt they were far too simple. The two I was able to try consisted of lining up statues and running around stone cairns in a sequence, which again, seemed far too simple. Here’s hoping they become a little more difficult as you expand the map and find new areas.
I’m not sure how big the map is but the area I was in felt big enough to hide secrets and have lots to discover. I found a chaos emerald just hanging around in a random crate. That I wouldn’t have found without miscalculating a jump, you could activate a switch on one side of the area that unlocks a boss fight on the other side, which in turn unlocks a bonus level by giving you a portal key.
Everything feels connected, which leads to the impression that you never know what you’ll find next. Somewhat similar to the sense of discovery in Breath of the Wild. Knowing I could find a key, emerald, etc., seemingly anywhere on the map. Made me want to look around every corner and check every box. Trying to interact with things I couldn’t just in case they unlock something cool. I haven’t had that feeling in a game for a while, and it has been a long time coming for Sonic.
Keys that you end up locating can also be used to unlock portals, which transport you to more traditional on-rails 3D Sonic levels. These may not be to everyone’s tastes. In my short time, they were enjoyable. It was nice to have that option for a change of pace to the gameplay.
Now, let us switch gears and talk about combat and skills. Combat feels ok, even if it is a bit simple. You seem to have one attack button (X on the Xbox Controller); however, one skill I had allowed me to stun enemies. Holding the Y button while running in a circle around one or more enemies achieves this. Stunning enemies and opening them up for some Devil May Cry-style combos. It remains to be seen how much depth the combat has, from what I’ve played, it felt smooth, which is a good start.
Hopefully, the skill tree can provide that depth, adding some new combat options and traversal ones. Speaking of traversal, it’s about what you should expect. Speed, Rings, Rails, and More!
It seemed like certain areas weren’t accessible until you had certain abilities unlocked. There was one skill tree that was blanked out, so I can’t comment on how many skills there are, though, as I was only able to unlock the stun ability for combat. I got to see one mini-boss fight that my friend got into. It was a literal tower! My immediate feeling… towers could be Sonic Frontiers’ version of Guardians from Breath of the Wild. I’m ok with that!
I only had a short time with Sonic Frontiers, yet I enjoyed what I played, despite it seeming like Sonic meets Breath of the Wild. Sonic has never felt more at home than in this open space. So much so that I went from low interest to definite purchase. The sense of discovery in this more open setting left me wanting to see more. How much more will ultimately depend on the depth of the combat and traversal. Hopefully, the full game delivers on these promising early signs. If it does, it might surprise you as much as the demo surprised me.
Sonic Frontiers releases on November 8th, 2022, to Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC.
