Mileage will vary per person. Feel cobbled together at times, pop in feels worse. Some challenges require a lot from players comparatively to what was done in the base game. New characters implementation can go from feeling good to clunky at different points. Awkwardness with controls and camera at times...etc...etc.
So naturally, I liked it a whole lot but you might not. Score is reflective of janky nature of it really but I had a lot of fun here since I kept up with the updates and changes to the physics. I do think the challenge offered here can be alienating and very unforgiving for people who simply weren't playing frontiers for the content presented here. A lot of tough "you mess up and have to try again from the beginning" moments here that feel extremely jarring when the base game was a lot more forgiving all around. If you aren't prepared for that and haven't been playing frontiers consistently (and actually play other games like most people) the update can be a major turn off and actively hurt a lot of the worthwhile and fun ideas that are in the update. There's a surprising amount here for it being free but I feel like if they charged money opinion would be a lot more harsh. A lot of good ideas such as the new cyberspace levels and platforming challenges with different characters. But there is also a lot of stuff most people wouldn't want to play in order to get to the good stuff such as the tower climbs and trials.
That said, very excited for the next mainline game. This game always felt like a testing grounds and I think there's a lot done well here for a truly great follow-up. Fingers crossed they deliver. There's always a lot of talk of sonic fans not having high standards for stuff but Frontiers now is a completely different game than how it was when it launched and it was due to active feedback and revision from the dev team. It always felt like a testing ground for a smaller and more solid game. I think a smaller scope with more focus on fun platforming that leads to meaningful new areas and rewards instead of puzzles and upgrade collectables would do a lot if they continue with this sandbox gameplay style. Also more varied set pieces please and thank you.
So naturally, I liked it a whole lot but you might not. Score is reflective of janky nature of it really but I had a lot of fun here since I kept up with the updates and changes to the physics. I do think the challenge offered here can be alienating and very unforgiving for people who simply weren't playing frontiers for the content presented here. A lot of tough "you mess up and have to try again from the beginning" moments here that feel extremely jarring when the base game was a lot more forgiving all around. If you aren't prepared for that and haven't been playing frontiers consistently (and actually play other games like most people) the update can be a major turn off and actively hurt a lot of the worthwhile and fun ideas that are in the update. There's a surprising amount here for it being free but I feel like if they charged money opinion would be a lot more harsh. A lot of good ideas such as the new cyberspace levels and platforming challenges with different characters. But there is also a lot of stuff most people wouldn't want to play in order to get to the good stuff such as the tower climbs and trials.
That said, very excited for the next mainline game. This game always felt like a testing grounds and I think there's a lot done well here for a truly great follow-up. Fingers crossed they deliver. There's always a lot of talk of sonic fans not having high standards for stuff but Frontiers now is a completely different game than how it was when it launched and it was due to active feedback and revision from the dev team. It always felt like a testing ground for a smaller and more solid game. I think a smaller scope with more focus on fun platforming that leads to meaningful new areas and rewards instead of puzzles and upgrade collectables would do a lot if they continue with this sandbox gameplay style. Also more varied set pieces please and thank you.