![]() After talking to other people who’ve had time with Frontiers, it sounds like I wasn’t alone, either. On multiple occasions, I was stuck on such sections for an unbearably long time. That means that unless you’re very close to the actual ramp or spring that’s supposed to get you where you need to go, you’re probably going to end up stuck wandering the map looking for a bridge or switch or rail of some kind. That said, multiple points in the story require you to find these utilitarian floating islands. Most of the time, the pop-in was distracting but never took away from my experience playing the game. Even when playing the game on my Xbox Series X, most of these structures faced severe pop-in. Unfortunately, Frontiers is so poorly equipped to actually render the elements that make up these floating bits that you might not even notice them until you’ve blazed past them on your way to the next chaos emerald. In Frontiers, messing up might require you to restart the challenge, but more often than not, you’ll be greeted with something new on the ground and an opportunity to take the challenge on again. They even make Sonic’s trademark speed work much better than it has in a long time in most Sonic games, error is met with a game over, or sending you back to a checkpoint. Those smaller platforming sections make up a big portion of the game’s appeal. Now imagine each piece actually fit together to make mini platforming challenges that don’t just intersect remarkably well, but also reward players with collectibles, new vantage points, shortcuts or boss fights. Imagine if a child took a massive toy box full of pieces of different Sonic levels-stuff like rails, springs, and platforms-and scattered them across the horizon of a massive landscape. That’s thanks in no small part to the varying types of challenges and distractions Frontiers throws at you. Sure, it’s a trick employed by nearly every open-world game to date, but Frontiers actually genuinely benefits from being an open world game. It feels so natural and enticing that I completed 90% of Frontiers’ first level completely naturally. You might even find one of the game’s fishing spots! Initially, each individual distraction has a way of pulling you from one puzzle or mini platforming challenge to the next. Maybe you’ll happen upon an interesting-looking marker or boss, or perhaps you’ll spot one of the challenges used to unlock parts of a map on the horizon. ![]() In doing so, you’re sure to fall into Frontiers’ trap. Sadly, that newfound flame doesn’t burn quite as bright by Frontiers’ end as it did in the beginning hours.įrontiers’ open, freeing structure lets you explore at your own speed in your own way. By busting these platforming environments wide open, Frontiers injects much-needed new life into the series. It’s something that a surprising number of Sonic games have misunderstood over the years, opting to put players in more rigid segments of gameplay that feel like quick-time events with paths appearing at stops in the mashing and rail-grinding. From its inception, Sonic’s always been about going fast, but the series’ branching levels made speed a reward for mastery and discovery, rather than just haphazardly rushing from zone to zone. Looking a bit deeper, though, it’s clear that the Sonic franchise needs more freedom to realize its core ethos. Chasing 2017’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s lasting financial and critical success is undoubtedly an appealing business venture, but most of these games end up feeling like formulaic, hollow regurgitations of Breath of the Wild’s best innovations and ideas. Beyond Sonic’s history, open-world games, especially ones that reimagine classic franchises, are a tossup. In a series whose buggy, glitch-ridden 3D legacy could (generously) be defined as shaky at best, creating more margin for error doesn’t seem like the best way to find a new direction for the series. That said, I’m not a Sonic fan.Īt first glance, an open-world game sounds like a concerning step for the Sonic franchise. Sonic fans should rest easy, though, as it seems like Frontiers is shaping up to be what many of them have wanted for years. Poorly optimized, bloated open worlds and confusing menus and tutorials clash with good platforming, great music and clever level and encounter design to deliver one of the weirdest games I’ve ever played. ![]() But it’s also confoundingly inconsistent and slapdash. Not because it’s bad actually, I’m surprised (and relieved) to say it’s a largely solid game when everything’s working. Sonic Frontiers is the most frustrating kind of game.
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