Sega’s newest Sonic installment is just around the corner and it is bigger than ever. Set to release in late 2022, possibly November, Sonic Frontiers is an open-world game featuring Sonic who got lost and was separated from Tails and Amy after falling through a wormhole. Speeding around Starfall Island, Sonic has to battle with new foes and recover the Chaos Emeralds. In celebration of the franchise’s 30th anniversary, this game will show players various new tweaks with Sonic and his powers.
Sonic Frontiers is the first open zone free roam video game created by the Sonic Team. Without limitations to the areas, Sonic can run freely through the island to complete his search for the Emeralds. As the players take control of the hedgehog, they will find themselves looking at many elements from previous games. Sonic still possesses his incredible speed, spin boost, rings, and many other abilities. However, in this game players will be able to focus on Sonic’s offensive side as well which hasn’t been discovered much in the last games.
Apart from the classics like the Homing Attack, and Stomp, Sonic will be able to punch and kick enemies and use different techniques on them. In addition to this, the ability to walk and run on walls has been added to the game which Sonic will be able to use in certain parts of the Island.
The game retains the core elements of all the Sonic games such as Springs, Grind Rails, Dash Rings, etc. Players will be able to make full use of all of these to immerse themselves in the best possible gameplay. Moreover, Super Rings which are referred to as 10 rings are also available in the game.
The combat in the game is noticeably different than the rest of the Sonic games. Here, enemies will not be encountered in the traditional Sonic way as players will be able to defeat them with a flashier close-up fighting style which is being introduced in the game. This style brings new techniques into the fold for example the Cyloop ability. This new move lets Sonic create a blue energy trail around an enemy as he runs which can be used to push enemies up in the air to make them vulnerable to other attacks but only after making a complete loop around the enemy. Furthermore, Sonic can use his speed to dodge brilliant speeds and parry incoming attacks. A modified Homing Attack has also been added with which Sonic can hit the enemy with a flurry of combos following the Homing Attack.
Sonic performing the Cyloop, from Sonic Frontiers, Sonic Fandom
Sonic Frontiers is a combination of old and new features making the game far more immersive than before. Sonic can gain Experience Points which can help him ‘level up’ with each level increasing his speed and giving players a chance to purchase new skills for him from the Skills Tree. An interesting new item called Portal Gears has also been added which is obtained by defeating enemies. The main purpose of these gears is to serve as a gateway to bite-size linear levels when a certain amount of them is collected. Completing the objectives in these levels rewards the player with a Vault Key which can be used to unlock a Chaos Emerald.
There are many collectibles in the game all for various reasons. Some can be exchanged for rewards while others such as Memory Tokens can be used to free friends of Sonic in the game. A new species of lost creatures named ‘Kocos’ can also be collected. Apart from this, many minigames present players with rewards when completed.
Lastly, this game is rumored to release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. However, with the release of new games only on the next-gen consoles, there is a chance that Sonic Frontiers will release only on the latest devices.
