Sonic Frontiers is a GOOD game, that much I can say for the very least, especially given the absolute train ride Sonic fans have gone through in the decade of game releases that came before Frontiers. The game's hype moments in the boss fights are no doubt going down as some of the most epic and fun moments the franchise has ever seen, with some musical surprises for those who don't know what's ahead for them. The game continues SEGA's track record of including junk nobody asked for unfortunately. The Cyberspace levels have a pretty awkward sense of control if you're familiar with 2D Sonic and most of the levels are rather unremarkable, if not plain bad, but there are definitely a handful of great highlights that I found myself replaying. They ended up being fairly easy in order to 100% complete with all 4 objectives. (Completion, Time Rank, Red Rings, and X ring total). The overworld is pretty fun to traverse. Sonic controls very well in a large open space, but I found the islands themselves to be pretty underwhelming for the most part. The game on large feels like Sonic just dropped into an Unreal Engine 5 demo world, since the only SONIC universe additions are the enemies, most - if not all of which are in a new style of...gray and geometric with red shapes? They're all a little abstract looking mechs compared to what we've fought before. The game's objectives and length really dragged for me by the end but the in-game fishing mechanic lets you get a ton of collectibles as a reward for exploring for the Purple Coins. On the flipside, I found the character writing to be the best the franchise has ever seen. Ian Flynn knows these characters inside and out, and he just KNOWS how to get the likes of me engaged with what they're saying. I would always take the time to stop my adventure and watch the cutscenes or listen to characters talk. I really can't think of another time where these characters would just sit around and shoot the shit about what's going on with their lives. How do they feel about their relationship to Sonic? What do they want out of their lives? It's a healthy balance of not too dramatic and serious and fun, engaging delivery. The new character, Sage, is a big new favorite of mine and I think she's earned a place in the hearts of many other Sonic fans. I will keep the events involving her unspoiled for you to find out. The story itself however I thought was just ok. The main plot of going island to island dealing with what's going on there gets pretty tedious by the endgame, but the 4th Island shakes things up and has an absolutely stunning track to go with the story events there. Despite my negativity about the gameplay, Frontiers was a game I truly did enjoy my time with and I would recommend the game as both a Sonic fan and someone who loves a good story. I just hope SEGA will take the stuff that worked here - music, writing, and combat, and cut out the nonsense like the bad 2D levels and extra puzzles nobody asked for. Here's to hoping Sonic makes a comeback. Only the next game will tell us if they learned.