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REVIEW: Sonic Frontiers — Running Towards The Next Generation

 
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SONIC FRONTIERS_20221104130314
SONIC FRONTIERS_20221104130314

 
Overview
 

Published by: SEGA
 
Developed by: Sonic Team
 
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
 
Genre(s): action adventure
 
Mode(s): single
 
Game Type: ,
 
FG RATING
85%
85/ 100


User Rating
no ratings yet

 

Raves


new gameplay mechanics offers variety

Rants


may induce motion sickness due to high speed gameplay


Bottom Line

The Sega Megadrive was the first console I owned and the first cartridge I got was of course, Sonic The Hedgehog. I was part of the generation that grew up playing the game, and even watched the animated series during the 1990s. As an adult, I got reacquainted with the blue hedgehog when Playstation released […]

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Posted November 12, 2022 by

 
FULL REVIEW
 
 

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The Sega Megadrive was the first console I owned and the first cartridge I got was of course, Sonic The Hedgehog. I was part of the generation that grew up playing the game, and even watched the animated series during the 1990s. As an adult, I got reacquainted with the blue hedgehog when Playstation released Sonic Mania, a reimagined version of the classic series as part of the game’s 25th year celebration. During the recently concluded Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit (ESGS) , I got to visit SEGA’s booth and had the opportunity to try the latest game in the series and the game that we get to review today, SONIC FRONTIERS.

STORY 

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Sonic’s latest adventure brings him and his friends Amy and Tails to the Starfall Islands to check on activity involving the Chaos Emeralds. During this trip, the trio got sucked into a wormhole and end up getting separated. Sonic finds himself alone in a new world with a mysterious voice telling him that he needs to find the chaos emeralds, in order to defeat the titans and break the barrier between the real and digital world. Before Sonic finds his way out of his predicament, he would also need to finds his friends whereabouts.

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While exploring this new world, Sonic meets a mysterious artificial technology “Sage” who would do anything to stop Sonic in completing his objective. Sage can controls the Titans that Sonic has to defeat and unbeknownst to Sonic, Sage just like Sonic, is trying to save the series baddie Doctor Eggman, who also happens to be trapped in cyberspace.

GAMEPLAY

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Sonic Frontier is an action-adventure, open-world, 3D platform game. It has the same mechanics of the classic series that let Sonic run around the game collecting rings. Sonic’s life bar is still dependent on how much rings he has. The game is over if Sonic is hit without any ring in his possession.

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Combat is a combination of mashing buttons with the the square button as the combo initiator. You can combine it with other button to activate skills or parry and once the combo meter is full, Sonic gets to execute his special move.

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The game is also full of different puzzles scattered throughout the game and some of these puzzles requires Sonic’s skills to solve. The puzzles are simple enough to solve while some might require to think.

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Similar to Breath of the Wild’s Korok seeds, you meet these cute creatures Kocos who are the inhabitants of the islands. You need to help and collect them and in doing so would help upgrade Sonic’s attack power or speed.

When it comes to game’s boss battles, it is a combination of both puzzle and combat. Reminiscent of Shadow Colossus’ you’ll face towering Titans that you need to figure out how to climb and engage in combat. It’s easy to figure out but also offers sufficient challenge that a simple error would have you start over from the ground.

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Sonic Frontier also features a sort of throwback to the classic Sonic games through the mini stages Cyber Space that are accessible through different portals found in the map. These portals teleports you to the high speed time trial classic Sonic games that we grew up playing. Upon completion, you’ll get rewards you depending on how you perform.

In one of the Cyber Space stages you get to play a reimagined Green Hill Zone, a stage that Sonic fans are all too familiar.  You can watch the gameplay video here.

VISUALS & PERFORMANCE

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In writing this review, I played the PS4 version of Sonic Frontiers and it still performed well. I doubt that it would have any issues regardless of which console you decide to play

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As expected, the game’s cut scenes on the PS4 is somewhat disappointing. It’s quite noticeable the difference in graphics quality as compared to the gameplay. However, this is not a deal breaker. What’s important is that the game is still enjoyable and playable even on last generation consoles.

A bit of warning to gamers who are prone to motion sickness, with the game being focused on highspeed gameplay, you might experience dizziness as the game tends to blur when you activate Sonic’s boost while running. Be sure to disable the blur effect if ever you experience this.

VERDICT

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 True to it’s name, Sonic Frontiers ventures into new territory for the series. They have incorporated new mechanics to the games tried and tested formula. It’s no longer just traversing through platforms and collecting rings along the way. You can notice influences from other games that I’ve mentioned earlier in this review were seamlessly infused bringing a fresh take on the game.

Sonic Frontiers is a good springboard as Sonic runs towards the next generation consoles.

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[This review is based on a retail copy provided by the publisher.]


Ryan Villanueva

 
Your resident all around Flipgeek, from comics,movies,games,toys,music and even sports. A big Spider-man fan raised in the ways of the Jedi,who listens to punk rock and a sucker for chick flicks.


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