Introduction
Basic information
- Developer Name: SEGA
- Full Name: Sonic Frontiers
- Release Date: November 8, 2022
- Released on: PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC
- Cross Play: No
Initial thoughts
I love Sonic games, so when Sonic Frontiers was announced, I was intrigued. The idea of an open-world (or open-zone) Sonic game sounded promising, and I was especially interested in how the story would unfold. The early trailers hinted at a darker, more serious narrative, and I wanted to see how well it played out. Unfortunately, while there were some fantastic moments, the game ultimately left me with mixed feelings, mainly due to its rushed ending, underwhelming level structure, and some design choices that didn’t quite work.
Story and setting
Plot overview
The story starts strong. Sonic, Tails, and Amy find themselves trapped in a mysterious new world filled with ancient ruins, hostile robotic enemies, and a growing corruption that starts affecting Sonic. The stakes are high, and for a good portion of the game, it feels like we’re building towards something epic. Sonic’s corruption gradually worsens, and for the first time in a long while, there’s genuine tension in the plot. Super Sonic, usually the answer to everything, doesn’t immediately fix the problem, which was a refreshing change.
And then… the ending happens.
The final resolution feels rushed and anticlimactic. After all the buildup, Sonic’s corruption is just… reversed by memories? No Hyper Sonic, no grand moment of overcoming the corruption through power and determination—just an abstract solution that feels unsatisfying. There was so much potential here, but it felt like the story wrapped up far too quickly.
World building and immersion
The setting is visually interesting, but the open-world concept doesn’t feel like a natural fit for Sonic. The islands feel too empty at times, and while there’s lore about the Ancients and the Chaos Emeralds’ origins, it’s not explored deeply enough. The mystery starts off engaging but doesn’t feel fully realized by the end.
Character development
Sonic has some good interactions with his friends, but they don’t get much development. Sage, the game’s new AI character, is intriguing, but her arc is resolved far too quickly.
Emotional impact
There are some emotional moments, especially with Sonic’s corruption, but the rushed ending undermines a lot of the buildup. It could have been one of the strongest Sonic stories in years, but it falls just short of that mark.
Rating for story and setting
I have visited multiple aspects of the story and after some thought and objective thinking, I rated the story and setting with a 6.5
Gameplay and mechanics
Core gameplay mechanics
Frontiers attempts to blend open-world exploration with traditional Sonic platforming. While there are some fun mechanics—like boosting across landscapes, rail-grinding, and combat—it often feels like the game is struggling to find its identity.
Difficulty and balance
The difficulty varies wildly. Some parts feel too easy, while others spike unexpectedly. The bosses, while visually impressive, can sometimes be more frustrating than fun due to awkward camera angles and quick-time event spam.
Pacing of the game
The pacing is all over the place. The first few hours feel engaging, but once you realize how repetitive the structure is, it starts to drag. The cyberspace levels (which are meant to be traditional Sonic stages) feel oddly disconnected from the open-world gameplay.
Innovation and uniqueness
The attempt at open-world Sonic is bold, but it doesn’t fully work. The idea is innovative, but in execution, it feels like Sonic would have been better off sticking to traditional stages with a smaller hub world rather than vast, empty islands.
Controls and user interface
Controls feel decent, but movement can sometimes be slippery. The UI is functional, though navigating menus can feel a bit clunky.
Microtransactions
None, which is always a plus.
Rating
After combing through many of the mechanics, the pacing and other factors of this game, I rated the gameplay and mechanics with a 6.
Graphics and art style
Quality of graphics and art direction
The art direction is a bit strange for a Sonic game. The environments are more realistic, which clashes with Sonic’s cartoonish design. While some areas look great, others feel bland or unfinished.
Technical performances
The game runs fairly well, but pop-in is a big issue. Objects and platforms frequently appear out of nowhere, which breaks immersion.
Environment and design uniqueness
The islands have variety, but they don’t feel as alive or interesting as they should. The enemy designs, particularly the robots, look fantastic, but the world itself doesn’t always match that level of creativity.
Rating
It took me some time to give the graphics and art style an objective rating. There are many things to consider, but ultimately, I rated this section with a 6.5
Sound and music
Music score and how it contributed to the game
This is where Sonic games rarely fail, and Frontiers is no exception. The soundtrack is fantastic, blending atmospheric themes with high-energy battle tracks. The boss fight music, in particular, is incredible.
Sound effects quality
Everything sounds sharp and satisfying, from Sonic’s boost to the various enemy attacks.
Voice Acting
The voice acting is solid, though some of the dialogue feels a bit stiff. The performances suit the characters well.
Rating
After a lot of consideration, I rated the sound and music section with a 8.5
Replayability
Game Length and content volume
The game is decently long, but the repetitive nature of its world design makes it feel stretched out at times.
Extra Content
There’s some extra content in the form of challenges and collectibles, but nothing that feels truly exciting to revisit.
Replay value
Once you finish the main story, there’s little reason to go back unless you’re a completionist.
Rating
After thoughtful consideration, I decided to rate the replayability and game length of Sonic Frontiers with a 5.5
Suggestions and comparisons
Suggestions and feedback
- Give us a proper, fully developed ending.
- If Sonic is going to be corrupted, let us actually see that struggle—don’t just erase it with memories.
- Hyper Sonic should have been in the game.
- Refine the open-world design so it feels more natural and engaging.
- Better structure for cyberspace levels—make them feel meaningful rather than side distractions.
Comparisons
- Sonic Adventure 2 – Still one of the best Sonic stories with real stakes.
- Sonic Generations – Traditional levels done right.
- Breath of the Wild – The open-world inspiration is clear, but Sonic Frontiers doesn’t fully commit to making it work.
Personal experiences and anecdotes
One of the few things I really enjoyed was how the game explored the Chaos Emeralds’ origins. That was genuinely interesting, and I wanted to learn more about the Ancients and their connection to the emeralds. However, it felt like the game just scratched the surface and didn’t fully commit to expanding on it.
The story had potential, but the rushed conclusion killed a lot of the tension. Seeing Sonic struggle with corruption was a fantastic concept, but it went nowhere. I kept waiting for a Hyper Sonic transformation—something that would truly feel like an ultimate resolution—but instead, we just got… memories fixed it.”
At this point, I’d rather Sega just give us Sonic Adventure 3 with Chao Gardens instead of experimenting with these half-realized open-world mechanics.
Rating
Taking in all the personal experiences with Sonic Frontiers, I give it a personal rating of 7.
Last words
Pros
- Great soundtrack
- Some interesting lore about the Chaos Emeralds
- Sonic’s corruption arc starts off strong
- The robots and bosses look cool
- The open-world concept is ambitious
- Combat can be fun at times
- No microtransactions
Cons
- The ending is extremely rushed
- No Hyper Sonic, despite the perfect setup for it
- The open-world feels empty
- Cyberspace levels feel disconnected
- Platforming often feels awkward
- Major pop-in issues
Sonic Frontiers had the potential to be a fantastic evolution for the franchise, but it falls short in several key areas. While the soundtrack and some aspects of the story shine, the open-world design, rushed ending, and lack of polish hold it back. It’s not a bad game, but it’s not the Sonic game I was hoping for.
FINAL RATING
6.5
Please let me know what you think of Sonic Frontiers in the comments!
I hope you enjoyed reading this review, I hope to see you in the next review!
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Interesting game, I suppose. I wonder how the open world *feels* like when played.
That ending, though… Definitely not what I expected, lol. Was very surprised when I found it in the Screenshot of the Week.
What kind of “corruption” was it? Like an illness or something?
I have explained everything in Discord! As for the open world, expect getting lost every five seconds and bad waypoints.
Open-world feels empty… think I’ll pass on it besides that look well designed.
Some of the things do look nice. Rather go back to the Wii games.
I never played this, but I figured it’d be about a 7 or so, some strong suits, but also many cons, mainly due to the 3d, good review, I agree with most of the points.
I am glad you agree with the review points!
Yeah, these thoughts are relatively similar to what I’ve heard other critics say, even though it got great reception from the general public. Most of it is just hype that an actual good Sonic game came out. But hey, at least it’s not Sonic ’06 eh?
I wouldn’t mind playing 06, nothing more fun than a bit of cringe!
Sounds like another case of wasted potential. How unfortunate!
Still, great review as always! 🙂
I am glad you like the review!
Haven’t played Sonic games, but older ones might be better
Yes, older ones are indeed better!
There might be a possibility that it could turn out nice if a sequel is released.
I understand that you want Sonic Adventure 3 lol🐑
Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 are WAAAYYY better.
I often have the feeling that the developers don’t know exactly how to transfer the ‘old’ game feeling into a high-resolution, detailed open world. Often you just have beautiful but empty landscapes.
I rather have a small hub and some active stages like older Sonic games, now it all feels disconnected.
This game look beautiful but I prefer the original sonics.
Yeah, me too!
Did you played former Sonic games on Dreamcast? Was it different experiance then on PC or d Consoles? Back to Frontiers, i was really interested about it so thanks for review. Yes Japanese producers attach a lot of importance to music in games, this is really big plus. I think making/transfering game to open world 3d is not an easy task but after many “closed” games i was interested how it comes in open world and with a little changed more serious formula and despite not a great rating you gave i will like to see more/try game. But maybe videos will tell me more 😉 PS – Is Zelda: Breath of the Wild possible to play on PC?
I did play it a very long time. Yes, the consoles are very much different. Sonic Adventure did a great job ushering in the 3D era.
A little disappointed because I like Sonic but thank you for the test.
Yeah, I also like Sonic!
I really like the gameplay, I haven’t played any Sonic games, even the old ones, but this one has caught me, I love the gameplay and the music. I agree with the review, I think they need to put more work into the open world… Nintendo games often lack quality and repetitiveness is the worst part.
Sega has not been pumping out the greatest open world games.
I never played the old sonic games, the fast paced jump’n’run isn’t for me. But it’s cool to see, that the franchise is still running and still has fans. I LOVED the movie (yeah, I know there are three now, but I only saw the first)
Go watch the other two movies, they were great!
hm… sounds like a lot of missed chances ó_ò
and never expected sonic to be a shmup 😀
Indeed, a lot of lost chances!
Sounds like the game can feel repetitive and the ending is a bit rushed. Even though it tries some new things, it doesn’t seem to fully live up to its potential, especially for someone who’s never played a Sonic game before.
Nope, and it is not good for long time fans like me! (fan for over twenty years!!)
The idea of an open-world Sonic game is interesting but it does run the risk of feeling empty especially in series’ that are known to have a controlled and memorable style of gameplay
Yeah, they should have canned the open world.
It looks like a cool game. The ending was shocking but other than that I’d defo play it
If you want this ending, you need to play the entire game on hard mode.
If there was an example for a mediocre game to show, I’d go with this one. It’s sad when the game falls short on your expectations, especially when it’s a long-running franchise, and it had great previous installments. :/
Sadly, Sega has a really good thing going for, it either sucks, or it is great.
yeah, this space levels not fit to main game gameplay.
Well, space has been a part of Sonic for a long time, I mean almost everyone is an alien and they can breathe in space.
The graphics look beautiful and open-world Sonic sounds amazing! Sad when they don’t fill that large open world with details and lots of things to do/interact with…
Oh, I almost forgot, there are some bosses, but they are just pushovers to grind some levels, which are not needed in the final boss fight…..
This game is amazing! The gameplay is awesome. This review is good.
I am glad you like the review!
I’m so split on this game after reading this review…
Yeah, maybe buy it on sale?
Thanks for the review! Looks like a nice game.. will consider buying this haha
Just get it on sale!
The combat system also sounds like a great addition
The original combat is a lot different compared to this.