The Blue Blur’s latest adventure Sonic Frontiers sees the hero star in Sega’s most ambitious title yet.
Ahead of the release of Sonic Frontiers, Sega invited Mirror Gaming to a hands-on preview session, where we got to take a deeper look at what players can expect from the new game when it's released on November 8. Sonic Frontiers’ plot takes place on the Starfall Islands after Sonic and his friends are mysteriously transported there through a wormhole.
In this strange world, Sonic must embark on a new adventure to find his lost comrades while trying to locate the Chaos Emeralds and uncover the mystery of the digital world called Cyber Space. Sega is keeping very tight-lipped about Sonic Frontiers’ story, but with comic writer Ian Flynn at the helm, fans should expect a well-devised plot with plenty of action and emotion.
For this hands-on preview, Mirror Gaming was allowed to experience the first three Islands in the game. The Islands displayed vastly different environments that played into their level design. The first location, Kronos Island, is made up of large waterfalls, lush forests, mountains and floating towers. Remnants of a lost civilisation are scattered across the island, giving players a glimpse at the previous inhabitants.
The second location, Ares Island, is a vast desert filled with sand dunes and ancient ruins. The third and final island I was able to play was Chaos Island, which has been befittingly named due to its desolate landscape filled with volcanoes and lava pits.
These Open Zones are unlike anything I’ve seen in the Sonic series, granting players the freedom to explore each level at their leisure. I was really impressed with how each Island oozed individuality to grant players a different experience.
Sonic Frontiers core gameplay is split into two sections, the Starfall Island Open Zones and the Cyber Space levels. These two sections work in tandem, forming Sonic Frontiers' gaming loop.
Players will need to find Portal Gears scattered around the Islands and use them to access the Cyber Zones. Then completing the objectives in the Cyber Zones will grant players Keys, which are needed to access the Chaos Emeralds.
Each Starfall Island offers an open world-esque experience, called Open Zones, where players will traverse the land completing puzzles, missions and battling enemies. There is a wide variety of platforming puzzles scattered throughout that feel fresh but familiar at the same time.
All the puzzles offered different levels of difficulty that would test players' mental prowess or platforming skills. Their arresting designs were well crafted and offered a new challenge each time. I was enthralled by how each one was developed making use of Sonic’s new gameplay mechanics while allowing me to unearth a new piece of the game's mystery.
Sonic will also be given missions to carry out by his friends who are situated within each island, which will help to progress the story. There are new creatures called Kocos scattered across each Island who plays a mysterious role in the whole adventure.
The Cyber Space levels grant players a more traditional experience with each one built to utilise Sonic’s speed.
These levels pay homage to past Sonic games and do a great job of offering a different style of gameplay. My only issue was that each of these levels had the same objectives which were slightly repetitive.
The main new aspect of Sonic Frontiers I wanted to try out was Sonic’s skill tree, which is a series first. I was very intrigued to see what new abilities the developers would incorporate into his traditional homing attack and legendary speed.
Sonic’s new skills not only increased his arsenal but added a strategic element to the game. Skills like the Cyloop are great for defeating multiple enemies while the stomp attack will deliver a fatal blow. Attacks can be mixed together to unleash much more powerful combos which are essential for defeating stronger enemies.
Sonic will be able to unlock various skills by using points and progressing through the game. For a series first I was very impressed with how Sonic’s new skills felt faithful to his design without diluting his traditional gameplay.
Having a new set of skills is one thing but this experience is elevated by the diverse range of enemies to use them on.
These new creatures have been designed with clever attack patterns that in turn allow players to maximise the use of Sonic’s new combat skills. I was able to encounter a fair few types who were constantly upping the ante as I progressed. One of the highlights was encountering the Guardians, whose meticulous design required various types of playstyles to defeat them.
Other than his new skills, Sonic also has stats that can be upgraded over the course of the adventure by speaking to the Elder Koco. Players will be able to focus on different aspects of Sonic’s development and even re-spec his stats, leading to unique character builds.
From what I played at the hands-on preview, Sonic Frontiers is an ambitious adventure that presents a plethora of new ideas which could be the foundation of something special.
Sonic Frontiers certainly feels like a step in the right direction to gain new players without isolating old fans. As this is the first time players have been given the opportunity to customise Sonic, I am looking forward to seeing Frontiers end game and what state our hero will be in.
