If you’re a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog, by the time you’re reading this, you probably already have an opinion (perhaps a very strong one) about Sonic Frontiers, the upcoming open-world game starring everyone’s favorite high-speed game. hedgehog and his friends. We can’t say much about the 45 or so minutes we played at Summer Game Fest, but what we can talk about, and stay with me on this, it definitely sounds like a Sonic in Elden Ring twist.
The demo begins with Sonic emerging from some kind of portal into a dark, rainy system of rocks and grasslands dotted with mysterious stone ruins. Sonic, per lore, is tasked with finding the Chaos Emerald, after which he is free to roam, or at least follow a series of tutorials that teach the basics of traversal and combat.
During my session, I opted for the “quick controls” option, which Sonic Frontiers says is for players familiar with Sonic games. I played my fair share in Sonic 3: Sonic and Knuckles, I guess, and obviously that’s going to be the pattern for me. It was a bit reckless, as it turned out.
Acting on the show is never perfect. There’s the added stress of not looking silly while playing, developers are usually there and you want to ask interesting questions and you’ve probably played five weird indie games that hypnotized your brain just before you sat down. I couldn’t compare it to the slower variant, but Sonic Frontiers’ fast controls give very Quick.
Criticism of Frontiers for seeming like an ’empty world’ is not true
This meant that it usually took me a few tries to get through the area. An ill-timed spin charge would throw me off a rock into the sea, or I’d simply miss, leap over a railing in midair and fall to my doom. That doesn’t matter though – there are quite a few checkpoints in the open world of Frontiers, so I never felt like I lost much progress.
The tutorials go fast at first, which is a bit frustrating. Sonic can move very fast, and Frontiers clearly allows him to do just that, but he’s constantly interrupted by unwieldy setup frames that set up the next mechanic or input he needs to learn.
However, the criticism of Frontiers for seeming like an “empty world” is untrue. The portion of the overworld I’m testing at Summer Game Fest seems to be well calibrated for Sonic’s movement; in fact, all too often I’ve been interested in some sort of obstacle course or collectible that I’ve set aside to make the most of it. outside of regular good flash. A long time.
The demo includes two secondary “boss” fights, and that’s where I get to know the Frontiers combat system. It’s pretty simple: grabbing an enemy will change Sonic’s focus, so he’ll move relative to that enemy, like in the Souls games. Pressing X will make it do a dash attack that focuses directly on the enemy, and the trick is usually to time it so it doesn’t get hit when you stab.
This attack also knocks Sonic into nearby bumpers and elevators, causing him to hover over huge chasms or cliffs, as appropriate. Sonic can also attack various floating objects in the world, allowing him to jump between distant platforms or solve puzzles.
As Sonic explores and defeats enemies, he gains ability shards that eventually unlock new tools and abilities, such as leaving a trail of light with your steps – run around a group of enemies and once Sonic has cycled through, will attack. all in. This is how I can beat the second boss, which works like a rotating jenga tower made of saw blades: block, run to dodge missiles, draw a loop, hit. The bottom of the turret is broken and after a few rounds I shortened the bad bot enough for him to jump up and kick it in the head with a normal kick.
This skill can also be used to match puzzle pieces with the environment, often granting skill shards, rings, or even unlocking new areas. And that was just the first ability on the tree.
The Sonic Frontiers demo is under a complex embargo and I can’t share everything I saw during the game. It’s already a divisive game and I’m sure it will continue to develop for release. I will say this though: even when playing in less than ideal conditions (such as using an alien PlayStation controller with Xbox on-screen prompts), and with a little jolt, the slight taste of Sonic Frontiers left me interested in seeing more. , and the strange and dark world is just one reason for it.
Sonic Frontiers has a release date set for the upcoming holiday season and will be available on PC via Steam.
Source : PC Gamesn
