After Dr. Eggman’s latest plan to gain the powers of the ancients, he, Sonic, and Hedgehog’s friends end up in a world no one has ever seen before. Kronos is a desolate place where the ruins tease the high-tech society of the past, but now it’s just a distant memory. However, it has not been completely empty. Little mystical creatures still try to live their lives, but when it comes to creatures that want to cause pain to others, they are outnumbered.
In Sonic Frontiers, the Sonic team tried to add something new to the game series, and with this installation an open game world was introduced. The world is full of challenges for Sonic to take on. At first glance, it looks small, but continues to expand, making it an exciting journey of discovery for those who want to run thousands of miles like a little blue hedgehog. Unfortunately, the game world in Sonic Frontier isn’t very interesting, as it looks grey and a bit shabby. That said, it doesn’t mean there’s nothing to see or do, but it’s not particularly exciting. Instead, the tasks on offer are very monotonous and sometimes feel like a chore rather than a pleasure. Because Sonic Frontier doesn’t feel very meaningful, instead I’m doing things without really understanding why I’m doing them. In fact, you just collected thousands of things and didn’t really feel like it said a lot to you.
As I said, there is a lot to do on Kronos. On the island, there are smaller puzzles to solve that slowly but surely clear the fog on the game’s map, revealing the different activities players can do. Kocos are one of the few creatures that still live on the island, and if you find a hermit or elder Kocos, they can reward you by boosting your defense, attack, max ring capacity, or max speed. Additionally, the island’s guardians are waiting to protect themselves from invaders, in this case, it’s Sonic. However, this is just a sampling of the various activities you can do in Sonic Frontier.
Here is an ad:
However, the game doesn’t just take place on Kronos. By defeating bosses, you unlock gears, which can then launch mysterious portals that plunge you into other worlds. Some may be completely unfamiliar, while green hills, for example, feel more familiar. However, these worlds should not be considered open worlds, but rather levels that you must complete to unlock new key parts of the story. These qualities vary, but when they do deliver, they’re one of the game’s highlights. Because here we can play Sonic in 2D and 3D, and as you can probably already figure out, it’s a brighter level in 2D.
Before that, there’s been a lot of talk about Sonic fighting in this setup, something that’s been fairly rare in the past. From bouncing on the enemy’s head, he was now curled up and ready to duel with his fists. Kronos is the lair of ancient creatures that are different from each other. While some may protect their soft underbelly, others don’t care at all and will beat you no matter what. Fortunately, there are tricks to handle different types of problems. At the start of the adventure, Sonic learns to run around enemies, creating a trail that overwhelms enemies when the circle is closed. Those with some kind of armor are also vulnerable to a hedgehog’s fist attack. Each enemy also leaves experience points that can be used in the skill tree, where you can unlock new abilities. There aren’t many options available, but it’s nice to feel like the battles are getting more and more diverse over the roughly 20-hour adventure. For example, you can fire shockwaves at enemies or zig-zag them later, which leaves room for a variety of combat techniques.
Here is an ad:
What many may have missed is that Kronos isn’t the only island you’ll explore in Sonic Frontier. After all, Sonic Squad doesn’t show anything about the other islands at all, which are very different from each other. Amy, Knuckles and Tails are all imprisoned on different islands and you need to explore them to kill the Titans and free your friends. Sonic Frontier has five different islands to explore, and Kronos is just the beginning. They differ from each other both in appearance and enemies. An island takes about four hours to complete, but it can vary depending on whether you just want to do story-related activities or something else like a fishing break with Big. In reality, however, it only has about four actual islands, as one of them was only briefly visited.
Graphically, Sonic Frontier leaves a lot to be desired. The game feels very old-fashioned graphically, with smooth textures reminiscent of the beginning of the previous generation. Also, the game doesn’t seem to load part of the world from about 100 meters away, and it’s not ideal considering how fast it is when you’re playing as Sonic, with rails, springboards, and other stuff all at the same time. It just doesn’t look good at all. However, the good thing is that Team Sonic offers two different modes where you can prioritize graphics or frame rate. However, with the game looking so outdated, it doesn’t make sense to play it at 4K resolution and then suffer from the stuttering feel of the game. Prioritizing frame rate feels obvious.
Aside from the fact that Sonic is now freer than ever, the tone is also very different from previous games. Most of us probably associate Sonic with joy and rock or pop. In Sonic Frontier, however, the mood is more gloomy and melancholy, which I’ve come to appreciate in these once-vibrant sad worlds. Even if the Sonic team doesn’t make it every time, I still want to pay tribute to them for trying to fit something new into an otherwise predictable and (mostly) bad series. It feels a lot like Sega’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and while it doesn’t stand a chance by comparison, it’s still a good attempt to emulate it based on Sonic’s character.
The story in Sonic Frontier is relatively short, and at first it feels like there’s no story at all. But the deeper you go into the game, the clearer it becomes. However, neither Super Mario nor Sonic are synonymous with good stories, so it doesn’t really matter. In Sonic Frontier, it’s more about the background history of the islands, and as a player, you can think about what the ruins used to be. Whether that’s a good thing or not, I’ll let you guys decide as players, but I personally don’t think there should be more story elements. I’m also glad that Dr. Eggman is working more in the shadows this time around, rather than showing up too often and ruining the melancholy atmosphere with his screams. Regardless, the Sonic team managed to explain Sonic in fine detail.
Honestly, I’m surprised I love Sonic Frontiers as much as I do. Despite the poor graphics and a lot of uninteresting activity, scrolling like Sonic in the open game world is a lot of fun. I also appreciate that each island has less than ten levels with a mix of 2D and 3D environments where we can play Sonic the way we’re used to. I wish the developers improved in many ways, but that doesn’t stop Sonic Battlefront from being one of the best games in the series in years.