Sonic Frontiers (2022)

I watched a bit of a Run Button "Sonic Frontiers" stream and holy. shit. it's so much worse than I could've ever expected. While I try not to talk about things I haven't had hands on experience with, this is a rare exception considering what a lifelong hardcore fan I am, and also that I'm broke and wouldn't afford it (not that I'd buy it now because omg) for a few years after the fact anyway. Lemme break my issues down in bullet list form:

• why does Sonic have noodle limbs that stretch like he's Elastic Man when fighting
• why did you remove his signature Spin Dash move?
• they Ubiosoft'd the map. THEY UBISOFT'D. THE. MAP.
• you have to gain skill points to level up speed. You know, Sonic's defining characteristic
• random boss fights in a pseudo open world environment ala Dark Souls, and don't tell me it isn't like that because, yeah, that's what it is. Execution might not be the same, but conceptually that's what you're doing
• this one is a bit of an uncertainty but from what I've gathered, you cannot fight the final boss unless you play on hard?
• Sonic doesn't sound like an unstoppable hero who's going to save the realm. He sounds like he's gonna do my taxes and then read The Lincoln Lawyer

There's so much more, but holy god is this a trainwreck. I expected it to be Sonic 06 Part 2 but somehow it makes that game look like a masterpiece, which I didn't think was possible. There was a recent headline that read "SEGA says Sonic fans don't understand what Frontiers is" and to that I say I don't think SEGA understands what Frontiers is.

The fact that Sonic Team has consistently managed to not just shit the bed but shit the bed with such ferocity that their doctor is now worried about their colon proves that, perhaps, Sonic Team shouldn't be making Sonic games anymore and maybe it's time to let someone else take a crack at it? Someone who understand and respects the franchise and how it's supposed to be done? Just a novel idea, I suppose.

Ya know, it's a good thing that the movies had captured such goodwill for the franchise, because if they hadn't, this game could've likely been the nail in the coffin for the franchise as a whole, and what a way to go out it would've been. Like I said, I usually refrain from discussing stuff until I've had hands on experience, but the lukewarm mixed reception brings out the old style gamer in me and makes me wanna bitch about something I love dearly. Enjoying Sonic games at this point is like being an abusive relationship, they always promise to get better, but they never follow through, and yet I continue to believe them because we've trauma bonded so much that it's hard to break free.

Ya know, I once got paid to write a column for a game site, and one column I wrote was about the outright travesty that Sonic 06 was. I never thought I'd live to see the day where I actually considered Sonic 06 a better game in every aspect, despite not having hands on contact with the current release, and yet here we are.

Life sure is funny like that.

Ok folks, first impressions time. This is a difficult post purely because I’m having a difficult time pulling myself away from the game to write it (literally, I wrote a point below and then went back to playing before I remembered I was in the middle of writing this). Anyway, here goes:

• The open world is everything I hoped it would be. It’s a vast explorable landscape full of enemies and puzzles. I love having the freedom to explore and the battles I’ve had with giant colossi have been exciting. Sonic Frontiers definitely incorporates risks I was hoping Sonic Team would take.
• Cyber levels are fun but a part of me wishes they were left on the cutting room floor. There’s nothing wrong with them per se but they lean too heavily on the Sonic formula of the past that I fear Sonic Team was apprehensive about a clean break from the old, and left traditional levels in to appease long time fans. I wish they had taken a bigger risk here and found another way to create puzzle levels that are required for world progression.
• A lot of people have and probably will make the BotW comparison, but the world doesn’t feel like BotW to me. It feels more like Xenoblade Chronicles. Everything from the terrain to the music just brings me back to that game, especially the wide open spaces filled with the odd technological ruins, not to mention the roaming mechanical enemies. The game doesn’t feel like Xenoblade Chronicles, it feels like Sonic but those two worlds seem more similar than Sonic Frontiers does to BotW.
• Performance seems great so far. I’m playing in performance mode but even when I was briefly in resolution mode at the start of the game I didn’t notice any problems. So far no frame hiccups or stutters that I’ve noticed, everything is quite smooth even when moving fast.
• Pop-in seems to be limited to puzzle structures like rails, bounce pads and hoops. And they seem to pop-in when you get close enough to reach the puzzle. So for the most part I don’t find pop-in annoying, I find it useful. Puzzles I can’t reach are generally not visible while those that are within reach are visible. Frankly I’m not confident this is a performance issue. If every puzzle was visible in the distance the landscape would be quite cluttered which would take away from clearer navigation. None of the landscape features seem to pop-in, draw distance for terrain is fine. I suspect Sonic Team made a choice about what would be visible at greater draw distances to simplify the landscape for better visibility and navigation. Once you reach an area closer to a puzzle, the components of that puzzle appear. One thing that makes me think I’m right is that there are map spanning rails that you unlock as you complete areas, rails that let you travel vast distances. So far they are more visible at higher draw distances and I think the reason why is because Sonic Team wants you to know where they will lead you. Another reason I suspect that certain objects were designed to be visible at greater ranges while others were not. Regardless, whether done on purpose or not, the pop-in certainly doesn’t bother me.
• Combat is fun and frequent and it’s like I’m playing the Sonic game of my dreams where I’m not just platforming, I’m combat platforming. It’s giving me everything I wanted and I love it so far.
• I think it’s a really pretty game, and don’t really understand complaints levied against the visuals in that SkillUp review. Same goes for complaints about the camera and camera controls, I’ve experienced nothing frustrating in that area. Anything for the views I guess, amiright?

So there you have it, the official word of this non-Sonic fan who is having a damn fine time playing Sonic Frontiers. Now I’m off to bury myself in the game once more.

Never been able to get into the sonic franchise for some reason but the gameplay I've seen for Frontiers has really made me smile. It reminds me of the ps2 days where games did a bit of experimenting and weren't afraid to be a bit whacky and wild. Love the combat and UI even if it does look a bit early 2000's (nothing wrong with that).

What does the game mean to Sonic fans? you guys looking forward to it?

From The Verge:

Though I’ve only been able to play a demo that was about 25 minutes long, I feel that Sonic Frontiers can do for 3D Sonic games what Sonic Mania did for the 2D ones. The open zones with the in-depth puzzle platforming and the monster battles that require Sonic to fight harder and more strategically than simply unleashing a couple of homing attacks bring to the franchise the exact kind of novelty Iizuka and his team were looking for. The Cyber Space levels, meanwhile, incorporate the older, established style of gameplay fans continue to enjoy.

Iizuka is aware of the criticisms surrounding these first looks at Frontiers. The game does look unfinished and sparse, but he’s hopeful that when fans finally get their hands on the game, they’ll see the vision that I do.

“When people sit down and play the game, they’ll understand that it has all the Sonic essence in there,” he said. “As you’re playing the game, it will feel mysterious and maybe like there’s nothing here. But as you start exploring, you’re gonna find things and have things happen that will bring you on this adventure. Hopefully, people play that experience and really enjoy it.

I can't help but continue to feel excited about this game.