Sonic Frontiers Reviews
Messy, overcomplicated and slow to start, but fun once it picks up speed.
Sonic Frontiers is an ambitious open-world adventure that mostly succeeds at mixing up the Sonic formula, even when some of its ideas fall flat.
There is always something cool and worth the effort to see or do in this game, which is why Sonic Frontiers works well despite being very repetitive in nature.
Despite the joys offered, Sonic Frontiers is a hot mess of a reinvention that can't commit to its new direction.
There are teething issues and a reluctance to let go of the past, but it’s also a daft Sonic game with a charming story told in the most competent way we’ve seen in years. Sonic might not be back in the big leagues yet, but he’s catching up. Like Sonic Adventure all the way back in 1999, Frontiers could give the series a new lease on life - Sega has to ditch the old ways and let it happen.
Sonic Frontiers features the kind of lightweight yet engaging storytelling that should easily enrapture fans young and old – though I'd hate to be a child forced to play through some of the abysmal platforming featured throughout. Was taking Sonic open world an ambitious endeavor? Yes. Did it pay off? Absolutely not.
Though it’s rough around the edges, Sonic Frontiers is the best 3D Sonic game in years.
Sonic Frontiers marks a bold new direction for the series, meshing traditional Sonic action with an open-ended approach to progression and exploration across its semi-open world.
It’s unfortunate to see a Sonic game that tries, and often succeeds, in retreading past foundations and applying them to a different setting. But the highs of fighting the Titans or playing remakes of classic levels can’t justify the frustrations that constantly put stops along the way.
Sonic Frontiers is a hugely ambitious new direction for the series that comes close to hitting on all cylinders.
Sonic Frontiers has tight controls and a surprisingly good story, but graphical and pacing issues can drag the experience down. In spite of some missteps, though, Sonic Frontiers suggests that the Blue Blur may still have a bright future.
Probably the best Sonic has been for a while, with open zones that make for scrappy fun and incredible frustration in your hunt for the Chaos Emeralds.
Sonic Frontiers is a brave new direction for the series, but this first 'open-zone' entry misses the mark by quite a margin. Traversal and combat annoyances plague the experience from start to finish, while structurally the game offers up very little variety, instead leaning on repetitive fetch quests that get exasperating after the first island. As far as the Switch version goes, it's quite comfortably the worst option available to fans, with graphical compromises that make it impossible to recommend if you're able to play it anywhere else at all. If you're going to get this game, we implore you to try it out elsewhere.
Overall, however, I’m impressed with Sonic Frontiers. If I put my nostalgia-tinted glasses aside when it comes to my affection for the Adventure games, I feel pretty comfortable calling this Sonic’s best 3D effort. I hope Sega continues using and refining this open world formula. Who knows, we might even get two good 3D Sonic games in a row if they do.
Sonic Frontiers has its fair share of issues, but the open world direction and varied gameplay makes it the most exciting Sonic game in decades.
Sonic Team has never been afraid to take risks and Sonic Frontiers is a good example of one that has paid off. There are some areas where it is lacking, such as the minimal number of Cyberspace settings and the Titan fights, but Sonic Frontiers is the best 3D Sonic games in a long time, with its open-world foundation offering something for the series to build on in years to come.
Overall, Sonic Frontiers takes the lovable blue hedgehog into new open world territory, while staying true to how Sonic should feel in a functional sense. There’s also a lot to unpack here, so don’t take on too much at once and just go with the high-speed flow.
With a revelatory open world to zip around and entertaining boss battles alongside the more traditional Cyber Space levels, Sonic Frontiers is the best that Sega's hedgehog has been for years.
Solid and definitely have an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.