feel free to watch this review in video form<<< click me

I liked Sonic Frontiers.

It's the first 3D Sonic game I've liked since Unleashed, Colours and Generations.

There's stuff I don't like and stuff I do like—but overall, I was left with a generic, insipid, yet enjoyable experience.

Movement, traversal, speed, exploration and combat are all things I loved about the game.

Simply moving around is a blast and very gratifying.

Traversing the open zones at breakneck speeds is exhilarating and Sonic Team even implemented sliders that allow you to tweak how The Hedgehog controls.

But of course, even with tighter and customisable controls, in good old sonic fashion, platforming still manages to be quite jank at times.

Despite this, the idea to allow the player to play around with the blue blur so that he feels exactly how you want him to feel is excellent and should be featured in every Sonic game moving forward.

I must add that the majority of my playthrough was also modded to improve the game's physics, alongside adding a few quality-of-life changes.

I recommend anyone playing on PC to do the same, honestly makes the game 100x better...

(note doing so can break certain parts of the game)

The exploration is decent; it's no Scorsese, so don't expect elder scrolls or breath of the wild levels of mystery, wonder or intrigue, but it's there nonetheless.

I was honestly expecting the combat in Frontiers to be broken and bankrupt so it turning out to be one of the better aspects of the game was a very pleasant surprise.

Although this is still a Sonic The Hedgehog game, so don't expect the combat to be fully realised or thought out.




The game was in need of some innovation, and I wasn't surprised by any of the game's mechanics.

It simply took what we've come to expect from the open-world formula and threw Sonic into the mix.

This left Sonic Frontiers feeling quite unexceptional.

A passable, middle-of-the-road, run-of-the-mill, uninspired hodgepodge of a game.

It's mediocre

Regardless, Sonic Frontiers is still a fun game; its mediocrity at times is overshadowed by its ability to entertain.

Though, I'd like to talk about what I believe to be Frontiers' most significant flaw.


I constantly found myself getting bored during longer play sessions, long being like 40 minutes to an hour.

Because when put in a pot and reduced, Sonic Frontiers boils down to:

Open Zone > Run Around > Encounter Puzzles, Enemies & Collectibles > Cyberspace > Chaos Emeralds > Final Boss

Rinse Repeat

You must suffer through this gameplay loop five times over with no alterations. There is nothing to shake up this formula other than the next hyper-realistic, beautifully dull environment for you to repeat everything you had done previously.

And each time, it becomes more and more monotonous.

Cyberspace is also repetitive, easy and forgettable; no thanks to there being only four level themes.

There's absolutely no flair and no character to be found in these stages, which is rich since they took the layouts from past sonic stages only to suck the life out of them.

While playing this game, I had this what-if scenario playing out in my head, what if all of Mario Odyssey looked hyper-realistic, like the ruined kingdom.

Absolutely nothing to contrast one kingdom from the other.

Alas, Sonic Frontiers.

Now don't get me wrong, I think the game is beautiful, and it runs like freaking butter (at least on PC)

Nonetheless, Frontiers could've benefitted from not being afraid to be Sonic.

From not being afraid to be unique and true to itself.

Breath of the wild was a clear inspiration for this game.

But what made breath of the wild great was its willingness and eagerness to be authentic to its identity, to be a genuine Zelda experience that just happened to find itself in an open-world environment.

And I feel like if Sonic Team realised this, the game would've had the variety; it's severely lacking.

We would've had environments, enemies and a story that's distinctive and faithful to the character.

Also, the story is trash.

It took itself way too seriously and came off as cringe and simply uninteresting.

Every time a cutscene began to play, my eyes rolled right into the back of my head.

All in all, there's a lot of fun to be had with Sonic's latest endeavour.

And don't get it twisted; I enjoyed playing Frontiers, and you will too.

But as if trapped in a chamber, the game is plagued by an echoing gameplay loop, and by the third island, I was exhausted and keen for the game to end.

Sonic Frontiers is a good game.

It isn't bad; it isn't great.

It's just good.

But if anything, Sonic Frontiers is, without a doubt, a step in the right direction and, hopefully, a step towards a brighter future for the blue blur.

Thanks for reading ~

[h1]Sonic Frontiers Has a Problem With Repetition[/h1] [i][b][url=https://youtu.be/AuI4Hvjtpkk]feel free to watch this review in video form[/url][/b][/i][u]<<< click me[/u] [b]I liked Sonic Frontiers.[/b] It's the first 3D Sonic game I've liked since Unleashed, Colours and Generations. [b]There's stuff I don't like and stuff I do like—but overall, I was left with a generic, insipid, yet enjoyable experience.[/b] [u][b]Movement, traversal, speed, exploration and combat are all things I loved about the game.[/b][/u] Simply moving around is a blast and very gratifying. Traversing the open zones at breakneck speeds is exhilarating and Sonic Team even implemented sliders that allow you to tweak how The Hedgehog controls. But of course, even with tighter and customisable controls, in good old sonic fashion, platforming still manages to be quite jank at times. Despite this, the idea to allow the player to play around with the blue blur so that he feels exactly how you want him to feel is excellent and should be featured in every Sonic game moving forward. [b]I must add that the majority of my playthrough was also modded to improve the game's physics, alongside adding a few quality-of-life changes.[/b] I recommend anyone playing on PC to do the same, honestly makes the game 100x better... [b][i](note doing so can break certain parts of the game)[/i][/b] The exploration is decent; it's no Scorsese, so don't expect elder scrolls or breath of the wild levels of mystery, wonder or intrigue, but it's there nonetheless. I was honestly expecting the combat in Frontiers to be broken and bankrupt so it turning out to be one of the better aspects of the game was a very pleasant surprise. Although this is still a Sonic The Hedgehog game, so don't expect the combat to be fully realised or thought out. [h1]Now for the bad.[/h1] The game was in need of some innovation, and I wasn't surprised by any of the game's mechanics. It simply took what we've come to expect from the open-world formula and threw Sonic into the mix. [b]This left Sonic Frontiers feeling quite unexceptional.[/b] [i]A passable, middle-of-the-road, run-of-the-mill, uninspired hodgepodge of a game.[/i] [b]It's mediocre[/b] Regardless, Sonic Frontiers is still a fun game; its mediocrity at times is overshadowed by its ability to entertain. [b]Though, I'd like to talk about what I believe to be Frontiers' most significant flaw.[/b] [h1]Repetition.[/h1] I constantly found myself getting bored during longer play sessions, long being like 40 minutes to an hour. [b]Because when put in a pot and reduced, Sonic Frontiers boils down to: Open Zone > Run Around > Encounter Puzzles, Enemies & Collectibles > Cyberspace > Chaos Emeralds > Final Boss[/b] Rinse Repeat You must suffer through this gameplay loop five times over with no alterations. There is nothing to shake up this formula other than the next hyper-realistic, beautifully dull environment for you to repeat everything you had done previously. And each time, it becomes more and more monotonous. [b]Cyberspace is also repetitive, easy and forgettable; no thanks to there being only four level themes. There's absolutely no flair and no character to be found in these stages, which is rich since they took the layouts from past sonic stages only to suck the life out of them.[/b] [i]While playing this game, I had this what-if scenario playing out in my head, what if all of Mario Odyssey looked hyper-realistic, like the ruined kingdom.[/i] Absolutely nothing to contrast one kingdom from the other. Alas, Sonic Frontiers. Now don't get me wrong, I think the game is beautiful, and it runs like freaking butter [i](at least on PC)[/i] [b]Nonetheless, Frontiers could've benefitted from not being afraid to be Sonic. From not being afraid to be unique and true to itself.[/b] Breath of the wild was a clear inspiration for this game. [b]But what made breath of the wild great was its willingness and eagerness to be authentic to its identity, to be a genuine Zelda experience that just happened to find itself in an open-world environment.[/b] And I feel like if Sonic Team realised this, the game would've had the variety; it's severely lacking. We would've had environments, enemies and a story that's distinctive and faithful to the character. [b]Also, the story is trash. It took itself way too seriously and came off as cringe and simply uninteresting. Every time a cutscene began to play, my eyes rolled right into the back of my head.[/b] [i]All in all, there's a lot of fun to be had with Sonic's latest endeavour.[/i] [b]And don't get it twisted; I enjoyed playing Frontiers, and you will too.[/b] But as if trapped in a chamber, the game is plagued by an echoing gameplay loop, and by the third island, I was exhausted and keen for the game to end. [b]Sonic Frontiers is a good game. It isn't bad; it isn't great. It's just good.[/b] But if anything, Sonic Frontiers is, without a doubt, a step in the right direction and, hopefully, a step towards a brighter future for the blue blur. Thanks for reading ~