A new frontier for Sonic, and one that I was genuinely surprised by. I wasn't expecting much out of Frontiers, but this game had me hooked from start to finish. Frontiers is separated into 5 core islands, and the whole gameplay loop consists of collecting vault keys to unlock Chaos Emeralds to fight the boss of the island you're currently on. You can find vault keys through exploring the "open zone", or collect them much faster by completing a list of objectives in each island's Cyberspace levels. Speaking of, Cyberspace is what surprised me the most. The levels do start off pretty basic, introducing different concepts and gimmicks throughout, but gradually they begin to open up. This is when they start to get really good. Fun, engaging platforming, split pathways that encourage replayability- it's all here. These are some of the best 3D Sonic levels we've had in years. I think I'll be coming back to the game a lot to replay the levels, because even though they aren't a huge focus of the game, it's still solid.
Unfortunately I can't say the same about the the combat, as it is unfortunately one of the game's weaker aspects. It has it's moments, but there's hardly anything there to incentivize using different moves, so most battles end up feeling pretty samey regardless of the enemy or guardian you're fighting. Thankfully, the titan bosses make up for it immensely in hype, scale and presentation. Super Sonic hasn't looked quite so badass in years.
The story as well is pretty good. It's nothing amazing, but seeing these characters feel like actual people again with real emotions feels so good. As well as that, there are plenty references to previous Sonic games. Even if I'm not a die hard Sonic fan and haven't played many of the "best" games in the series, It put a smile on my face to hear them acknowledge more of the series' past, as well as the IDW comics. Some part of me hopes they'll go further with the callbacks in future games though, beyond name drops. Depends upon how the story plays out in future games though.
I don't have much else to say honestly. What I will say is I can definitely see a future in this gameplay style. It won't appeal to everyone of course, but compared to the last few 3D sonic games it's a very refreshing step in a new direction. I look forward to seeing where things go for the open zone gameplay, and the story too. I have faith in you, Sonic Team.
Unfortunately I can't say the same about the the combat, as it is unfortunately one of the game's weaker aspects. It has it's moments, but there's hardly anything there to incentivize using different moves, so most battles end up feeling pretty samey regardless of the enemy or guardian you're fighting. Thankfully, the titan bosses make up for it immensely in hype, scale and presentation. Super Sonic hasn't looked quite so badass in years.
The story as well is pretty good. It's nothing amazing, but seeing these characters feel like actual people again with real emotions feels so good. As well as that, there are plenty references to previous Sonic games. Even if I'm not a die hard Sonic fan and haven't played many of the "best" games in the series, It put a smile on my face to hear them acknowledge more of the series' past, as well as the IDW comics. Some part of me hopes they'll go further with the callbacks in future games though, beyond name drops. Depends upon how the story plays out in future games though.
I don't have much else to say honestly. What I will say is I can definitely see a future in this gameplay style. It won't appeal to everyone of course, but compared to the last few 3D sonic games it's a very refreshing step in a new direction. I look forward to seeing where things go for the open zone gameplay, and the story too. I have faith in you, Sonic Team.