![]() ![]() The landscapes of Sonic Frontiers are beautifully designed to feed a desire for exploration using Sonic’s speed, including a lot of verticality. And for all its shortcomings, and the game has a few, I think the overall package brings the innovation Sonic the Hedgehog has needed. ![]() Even the storytelling is strong here, meaning that the whole game feels like a fantastic joining of ambitious story and game play. In truth, playing through the game reminds me a lot more of Mario Odyssey than Breath of the Wild. After I excitedly got my copy and after playing the game, I was pleased to find that Sonic Frontiers consists of numerous expansive maps that are fun to run around and explore. Since release day, I have struggled to maintain other responsibilities, trying to put another hour or two into gameplay. So, as the final weeks before this game’s release drew near, I began to affirm that I wanted a game where Sonic can use his speed to run through a world and explore at whatever pace felt right.įor the most part, I have loved this game. While it’s easy to look at games like Sonic Colors (2010) and Sonic Generations (2011) as strong 3D games, only the models were 3D and the gameplay of both games were mostly linear courses with minimal room for exploration. To me, Sonic Mania felt like the evolution of 2D Sonic for the 2010s, but 3D Sonic games have not successfully evolved since Sonic Adventure 2. I did not want to buy into that cynicism this time, having learned my lesson that no game is really worth reviewing in a vacuum and that I should leave myself open to being pleasantly surprised. It is for this reason that it should not be surprising that most people tend to assume the worst when a new game is announced. Unlike Nintendo’s Mario, who rather consistently gets the love and care needed to put out reasonably well received games year after year, Sonic the Hedgehog does not have that benefit. And while all of this had the potential to be very exciting, it came with the knowledge that fans were investing this good will into a Sonic game, which meant it was going to come with some expectation to underwhelm. ![]() And it should also be clear that, to my knowledge, the team behind the game never wanted the audience to see it as “open world” as much as “open zone” as expressed in the trailer released a few months out from the game’s release. The game appeared to be taking cues from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Shadow of the Colossus, using the movement of Sonic to recontextualize what an expansive open world could be. Understandably, when Sonic Frontiers was announced in December 2021, I approached with a certain amount of trepidation. A lot of people will complain that Sonic Forces was lackluster, a sentiment that I understand, while still finding some enjoyment during my completion of the game late last year. But sadly in the last five years, there has not been another game that has garnered any acclaim. ![]() I’ll even say that the DLC adding new game modes and playable characters had me returning to the game as recently as this year. And in recent years, Sonic Mania proved to be the shot in the arm the franchise needed. Nothing will ever impact me more than the original games on the Sega Genesis or the Dreamcast entries: Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2. The Sonic the Hedgehog comics published by Archie Comics are the longest running continual comic book series based on a video game and cartoons of one form or another have existed from my childhood through to adulthood, meaning that there was always something to latch onto, regardless of how the actual games have been received. Part of this sustainability is that the franchise has been multimedia for me for most of the last 31 years. It was one of the first games that I remember playing with my older cousins back in the early ’90s it became a franchise that, regardless of how divided the quality may be from game to game, I never lost my love for. These are the hilarious trailers the game developers don't want you to see.Īfter years of failed reboots and spin-offs in the Sonic franchise, here comes a game that satisfies what Sonic fans really want - a Sega Genesis game.I have had a pretty storied history with the “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise. Trailers that tell you the TRUTH about your favorite Video Games: Honest Game Trailers. ![]()
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