[Extremely Shania Twain voice]: Let’s go girls.
Sega is betting big onSonic Frontiersthis year, and just ahead of a June blowout, the company shared a “small preview” of the game’s open-world action and exploration gameplay. Sega says to expect more info “all June long,” but for now, here’s roughly 20 seconds of honest-to-goodness (albeit chopped up and teaser-ified) gameplay footage.
Is this what you were expecting fromSonic Frontiers?
As someone who really only properly gets into Sonic’s side-scrolling adventures, the idea of a 3DSonicgame that takes cues fromBreath of the Wildhas beenintriguing, admittedly — enough for me to pay attention to the news and teaser videos like this one.
That said, talk about an incredibly tall order for Sonic Team. Many of us know to go in with modest expectations, and I’m sticking to that strategy until proven otherwise.
Try as we might, there’s only so much to glean from this out-of-contextSonic Frontiersgameplay clip. A realistic-ish green landscape with floating rails dotting the horizon? Not exactly the strongest first impression. In the new footage, Sonic runs on a wheel to power up a radar (?), zips around robots in a combat encounter, and ultimately scales a big boy.
The promise of “open-zone freedom”
For me, whether this game succeeds or not will boil down to two general questions: is it inherently fun to traverse this world, and do I feel rewarded for exploring beyond the quickest path forward? IfSonic Frontierscan clear those bars, that’ll be a good starting point for keeping my interest in the run-up to reviews and the game’s launchthis year.
Sega will be back with moreSonic Frontiersreveals starting tomorrow, June 1, onIGN.
Today’s teaser didn’t divulge any new release timing info, butSonic Frontiersis confirmed for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
