Rather than make these levels optional, they’re required to progress in Sonic Frontiers as completing them rewards you with Vault Keys needed to unlock Chaos Emeralds. They’re self-contained, quick to complete, and have only a handful of objectives attached such as beating the level with a set amount of Rings, or racing through it quickly enough to earn yourself an S Rank. I often found myself enjoying these Cyber Space levels more than the game’s island activities because of how they’re structured. To help island exploration avoid feeling dull, the game gives the player the opportunity to run through traditional Sonic levels via “Portals” that take Sonic into Cyber Space. If anything, Sonic Frontiers is a game where you can sit back, relax, and take things at your own pace. At times, this process can feel a bit repetitive, but it’s not exactly an unpleasant sort of repetition. More specifically, each island’s setup is essentially the same where you work to rescue Sonic’s friends like Amy, Knuckles, and Tails by collecting items like Memory Tokens on their respective islands. You can zoom around, interact with obstacles and standalone puzzles, grind rails, collect Rings and other key items like Memory Tokens, and battle foes like Guardians in whichever order your heart desires.Īs open as the islands of Sonic Frontiers are, they’re not wholly without structure for the player to follow.

This helps make island exploration feel consistently fresh and engaging, in addition to the fact that each island is a large, raceable Sonic map in and of itself. Sonic Frontiers complements each island’s distinct scenery with a day and night cycle and bonus content like collectible falling stars that let you spin for rewards, along with dynamic weather where it can be sunny one moment and rainy the next. Similar to games like Mario Odyssey, the open zones you’re able to explore in Sonic Frontiers are broken up into five separate islands known as the Starfall Islands.

Sonic Frontiers introduces open-world elements to the series for the first time and does so in a fantastically clever way. However, none of Sonic Frontiers’ flaws are enough to hold it back from feeling like one of the most refreshing, enjoyable Sonic offerings the series has seen in quite some time. The story that unfolds in the background can at times feel bland and unimportant, and there are a few other minor issues that detract from the fast-paced, addictive gameplay experience of Sonic Frontiers. Racing around in Sonic Frontiers never ceases to feel like a joy thanks to the plentiful array of activities on offer to help keep you busy, in addition to traditional elements one would expect from a Sonic title. Sonic Frontiers is nothing short of a marvel in how it blends together beloved elements from previous games with exciting new twists and turns to create something wholly unique.

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