Sonic Frontiershas intrigued fans despite there being little news currently surrounding it. All players have are two cryptic trailers, the title, and a release window. However, the latestSonic Frontierstrailer from the Game Awardshas made it clear the nextSonicgame plans to emulate an open world. The key word is “emulate,” as press releases have used a different term that’s been just as interesting. The game won’t be open-world, but “open-zone.”
Beyond a few small details, such as who is writing and composing for the game, fans don’t have much to go on when it comes toSonic Frontiers. With the promising Game Awards trailer, along with constant publicity aboutFrontiersbeing the first “open-zone” title, many are holding out for gameplay to know more. There’s a good chanceSonicfans already have an idea what this phrase entails.
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Making Sonic’s Zones into ‘Open-Zones’
The term “open-zone” might seem like something new, and could be confusing at first. However, Sonic fans are already well acquainted with zones, as theSonic the Hedgehogfranchise has used “zone” at the end of many level names. The latest prominent use of the term goes back toSonic Lost World, as every world had “zone” on the end like classic levelssuch as Green Hill Zone.
From there, the concept becomes more clear. This means fans can look forward to zones that are more-or-less open spaces. Instead of linear levels, it seems that the “open-zones” will be large in scale and allow players to freely run wherever they please. Not only have games such asSuper Mario OdysseyandPokemon Legends: Arceusmanaged to do this well, butSonic Adventureserves as a proof of conceptfor the blue blur.Adventurewas known for having hub worlds with plenty of space and secrets, and levels such as Emerald Coast and Twinkle Park had wide spaces as a key part of their level design.
What Open-Zones Could Bring to Sonic Frontiers
Some fans may be concerned about these ideas due to the nature ofSonicgames focusing on speed. It’s possible that open spaces would result in players running out of room, possibly careening off of ledges and falling into bottomless pits. However, with level design that takes Sonic’s speed into account, as well as careful choices of the right game mechanics to elevate that level design, this could be successful.
Super Mario Odysseymakes players feel like they’re exploring big open spaces, but each level is smaller than it lets the player believe. Nintendo designed the levels to work with Mario’s movements, and filled them to the brim with tons of things for players to find and do.Sonic Frontierscould easily take notesfrom explorative levels such as New Donk City to make the Starfall Islands fun and fulfilling.
With these aspects in mind, the idea of an open-zoneSonicgame does sound interesting, but players will need to wait for gameplay to really know whatSonic Frontiershas in store. Luckily, there’s a chance fans might not have to wait long, as Summer Game Fest has teased a gameplay reveal may not be far away. Even if the event doesn’t showcase gameplay, Sega has stated thatSonic Frontiersnews is coming soon.
The concept of an open-zone game isn’t the only thing interesting aboutFrontiers, as the way Sega is treating the game is also curious. The company has publicly revealed it is doing all it can to ensure the next title pleases fans as well as critics. It has setinternal goals forSonic Frontiersto review well, along with holding back the game to ensure quality. Players will need to see for themselves ifFrontierslives up to these lofty goals when the game releases this holiday season.
Sonic Frontiersis set to release holiday 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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