Sonic Frontiershas been released to impressive reviews and sales, at least by modernSonicstandards. After spending over a decade trying different variations of Boost gameplay, the series has merged it with something resemblingSonic Adventure’s more freeform platforming. This played out inSonic Frontiersopen environments, and was supplemented by a strong narrative, resulting in the biggest step forward theSonicfranchise has taken sinceSonic Mania.
Over its three decades of life,Sonic the Hedgehoghas become known for trying different ideas and then discarding them. The Boost era began withSonic Unleashedand stabilized this somewhat, but many feel that Boost gameplay relied too heavily on gimmicks. The addition of classic 2DSonicgameplay didn’t help, and was promptlyoutdone bySonic Mania. Now that 3DSonichas found success again withFrontiers, there are some concerns that it will start over when the game followingSonic Frontiersshould strive to make everything good about the original better, patching up holes in the process.
RELATED:The Case for a Sonic Frontiers Sequel
Focusing on Open-World Gameplay Would Improve a Frontiers Sequel
Ideally, aSonic Frontierssequel will build upon what makesFrontierswork, including how well Sonic’s mobility complements an open environment. Sonic is able to cross the Starfall Islands so quickly thatseveral areas inFrontiershave to stop the hedgehogwith either a choke point or an invisible wall. While some boundaries are acceptable, it’s handled clumsily inFrontiers,highlighting how the game isn’t leaning into its open nature as much as it could. There’s more to be done with a sandboxSonicgame than scattering rails, springs, dash panels, and puzzles around scenic landscapes.
Varying the environments beyond open fields or desert ruins would help alleviate this. Seeing the open-zone approach used inSonic’s typical wide mix of backdrops would be visually striking, and justify having more variety in the challenges. Sonic should be spending as much time in these open spaces as possible, requiring traditionalSoniclevels to be further marginalized.Sonic Frontiers’ Cyber Space levelsproved controversial for a number of reasons, so it would be better to allocate resources toward what’s fresh and functional. The occasional linearSoniclevel is good, but improving micro-challenges in zones and the world itself would be the way to go.
A Frontiers' Sequel Needs Gameplay to Reinforce The Narrative
Sonic Frontiersset up a lot of potential with its new structure and story. Sonic’s capabilities in battle and the environment should be expanded and streamlined where appropriate, ensuring versatility in regular gameplay. More fights withgiant opponents, whether as normal or Super Sonic, would also be appreciated if given more polish. One lead that aFrontierssequel must follow up is the individual adventures of Sonic’s allies, and potentially what they can bring to the table in gameplay. Fans will be getting a taste of that through DLC in late 2023, which should serve as a testing ground for reintroducing Sonic’s friends in modern gameplay.
Close friends aren’t the only people Sonic should be interacting with. A big step toward making environments feel more lively would be adding NPCs.Sonic Frontiershas the occasional holographic friend and scattered Kocos, but that isn’t much. Giving moreinhabited parts ofSonic’s world theFrontierstreatmentwould be great for worldbuilding, and could introduce plenty of new fan-favorites characters or side quests. Above all else, aSonic Frontierssequel needs to focus on delivering a compelling world to run through if it wants to be the ideal successor.
Sonic Frontiersis available for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
