We now officially have a full release date for Sonic Frontiers! Revealed during last week’s comic con, the newest entry with the blue blur is expected to come out on November 8th, just one day before God of War: Ragnarok releases. More so than any other game that has come before it, Frontiers is looking to be a massive departure for Sonic the Hedgehog. By taking obvious inspirations from games like Shadow of the Colossus and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, this looks to be the first Sonic game with a larger emphasis on an open world than ever before, or as Sonic Team is putting it, “open-zone”. This looks to be a game where Sonic himself will have areas with the most freedom to run around and explore in than he has ever had before, a game that will seemly have the most content for any Sonic game to date that will definitely give the player their full $50 to $70 money’s worth, and the game that seemly will have the most work and effort put into it than any other game in the franchise thus far. Regardless of how the actual game turns out, this certainly won’t be a game where one will just simply shrug their shoulders after playing it like say, Sonic Forces.
Opinions on this game has been very split down the middle since the very first gameplay footage showed off from IGN back in June. Many have criticized Frontiers for looking too much like a tech demo and not having much of an identity of it’s own other than Breath of the Wild but Sonic. Fans have understandably been concerned about this latest project, especially since this is the first main Sonic game since Sonic Forces, which came out in 2017. It’s has caused so much concern that there was even a hashtag going around on Twitter at one point, #DelaySonicFrontiers, which had some fans pleading for SEGA to delay the game and give it more development time. SEGA, however, is not giving in and have full intention to release Sonic Frontiers this upcoming holiday season. Despite the mixed reaction to it thus far, SEGA and Sonic Team are 100% committed with their new game.
Sonic Frontiers is a game that has been reported to be in development for at least four to five years, longer than any development of any Sonic game to date. While this has surely been caused due to recent events (*cough* Covid-19 *cough*), this is also because there hasn’t been a Sonic game quite like this before.
After Sonic Forces, Sonic Team wanted to go bigger and grander than they ever have with Sonic the Hedgehog. They wanted to define what a modern Sonic game should be and created a new formula that would be a template for the future in the same way that the original Sonic Adventure did. With Forces receiving criticism for it’s short length and brief levels, Sonic Team felt as if the boost formula on it’s own had run it’s course and intended to put more emphasis on giving fans and players more bank for their buck. That led to the idea of a more open world Sonic game which would provide players with more freedom and diverse gameplay than ever before. Elements like these are things that have been talked about for the game for the past few years, going all the way back to when leaks of the game first came out back in 2019 or 2020. And as it turns out, it was true! All of it! Sonic Frontiers is real!
Me, personally, I have no idea how to feel about this game. On one hand, it is refreshing that this looks to be the first Sonic game since Unleashed that seems to be putting more effort in the story, presentation, and other content than simply the basic gameplay. I like the fact this is looking to provide a full package that can’t be complete with just one brief Gamefly rental sitting unlike other recent entries. It’s also nice to have the well-known/beloved Sonic writer Ian Flynn, writer of Archic Comics, taking a stab at the game’s script since he tends to add more depth and intrigue to his comic stories than Sonic Team usually does with the plots of their games. Those are all promising elements that does get me very curious of the game. On the other hand, I still can’t help but feel that Frontiers is likely going to fall into the same trapping that previous Sonic games from the past decade have fell into.
When watching the gameplay and trailers for it, I still can’t help but get the feeling that Frontiers looks like a fan-made mode of Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War, or basically any other recent game with large open worlds and RPG elements. It just doesn’t look like a game that belongs in the Sonic universe and feels as if you just inserted Sonic into someone else’s game. Adding elements such as puzzles, hearts, stamina, food items, etc.. doesn’t align on what I view (and I imagine many others) view as Sonic. And even the open worlds that have been shown don’t look all that impressive and the combat on display is nothing more than mindless, brainless button mashing. To tell you the truth, if it wasn’t for the fact that Sonic himself has been in all the gameplay footage shown, I would be hard-pressed to guess that this was suppose to be a Sonic the Hedgehog game.
While there are definitely things that look promising of the game such as the cyberspace levels, (the kind of levels that reportedly plays like Sonic Generations), and more focus on story and characterization, it looks as if Frontiers could be to Breath of the Wild what Sonic Lost World was to Super Mario Galaxy. In that, it will be yet another Sonic game borrowing from another successful IP without an understanding as to why it worked for that property but just doesn’t work for Sonic.
This has been a common case with Sonic Team’s overall approach to the Sonic franchise. They constantly makes games that at times come across as experiments than actual games. They are always throwing things at the walls to see whatever can stick, then cherry pick the things that they believe stick, make a handful of games with that sort of style and gameplay, and then the whole process starts right over again after it loses it’s appeal. Sonic the Hedgehog has become so many different things over the years and as a result, has lead to many games that are very inconsistent in their overall quality. It’s always difficult to get a grasp of what SEGA and Sonic Team views as Sonic since the identity of the character is constantly changing year in and year out.
And, here we are again with Sonic Frontiers, a game that yet again sees Sonic Team experimenting on a new formula that is hopefully good enough to have follow-ups that will expand on this open zone-style formula until there is another left to expand upon. The overall difference between Frontiers and other recent games however is that this is the one that SEGA and the team seems to be fully putting their chips in.
With ideas for Frontiers starting near the tail end of 2017 and development beginning sometime in 2018 or 2019, I can’t recall a Sonic game that has had this much time spent on it. There’s been no rushed development cycle, no tight scheduling, and no concern of budget or fan interest of the product fading. Sonic Frontiers is SEGA fully going for it and hoping this is able to redefine Sonic in the current window they currently have after the big success of both Sonic movies. If this works out, then there is a big chance that this will lead to Sonic to be in the kind of spotlight he hasn’t been in since the days of the Genesis and the Dreamcast. If not, then who knows where this will lead to for Sonic.
It seems as though whenever a new Sonic game comes out, there always seems to be some sort of pressure added from fans and gamers that this must be the one Sonic game that changes the landscape or else the franchise is finished. This has been the case since Sonic The Hedgehog 2006, a game that is consider that very low point of not just Sonic but video games in general. Even after successful games like Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations, there is always that sort of unrealistic expectations set that if the game isn’t completely great, then Sonic could be as good as dead. Despite that, even after games with middled to negative reception released after 2011 such as Lost World, Rise of Lyric, and Forces, the Sonic franchise is still here, alive and well.
The reason Sonic the Hedgehog is still a thing that exists is because Sonic has such a dedicated fandom that is constantly expanding generation after generation that simply refuses to let the series die. Just like a professional sports team that is usually mid or bad year in and year out with a few bright seasons in between, Sonic fans are loyal and will always stick around to see if this year will be the one that they can share with others why they love what they root for so much. There will always be support from Sonic fans everywhere and will let their beloved hedgehog live on for many more years to come.
The way Frontiers can make or break Sonic isn’t necessarily whether it would revive or kill the franchise but put less focus on the gaming side of Sonic and focus on the other successful mediums such as the movies or even streaming series if that Sonic Prime show, expected to be released sometime this year on Netflix, is successful. The success of the Sonic movie franchise shows that Sonic doesn’t have to be known as a strictly slumping gaming franchise but can be something much more. Fans and moviegoers enjoyed the first two Sonic movies and have a third movie and even a Knuckles spin-off series to look forward too. This is SEGA’s chance to get Sonic more in the public eye than ever before. Even if Frontiers bombs critically and financially, it may not matter much for the character to fade away but it could matter for Sonic games for the foreseeable future. There will always be a Sonic game coming out here or there but that won’t be necessary to keep the character relevant in 2022 and beyond.
Regardless, I guess we all just have to wait and find out ourselves as to how good or bad Frontiers will be. Maybe it will be something revolutionary. Maybe it will come across as a complete train wreck. Even so, SEGA and Sonic Team aren’t looking to play it safe with Frontiers and want to give everything they got to bring the world the very best Sonic game they possible can!
Sonic Frontiers is expected to be released on November 8th, 2022. It will be available on the Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 5, Xbox One Series X and S, and PC!
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