Sonic Frontiers feel empty and messy low-key

We are at a new turning point in Sonic’s 30-year history. The favorite gaming mascot has once again become a major attraction, outperforming Sony Unknown to the office box and spawning New series on Netflix. And after moving from a side-scrolling platformer to a 3D soap opera, the series is now moving into an open world in its most ambitious entry yet. with vocal boundaries. But the recent trailers have fans worried, and after 30 minutes of trying the game, it has left me indifferent.

I played the game while attending Summer Game Fest last week in Los Angeles, and while I’m not ready to write it off just yet, I’m still incredibly skeptical about Sonic boss Takashi Iizuka and his crew. trying. The demo opens with Sonic, separated from furry companions Tails and Amy Rose, as they emerge from a wormhole into a rural archipelago called the Starfall Islands and are recruited by a mysterious AI to find the Chaos Emeralds. From there I set out to explore puzzles, grind on bars, and fight the occasional boss. The time I had was fun at times, often messy, and usually very good looking.

I put off writing these impressions in part because there wasn’t much to do in the demo. We’ve investigated recently revealed footage of vocal boundaries as such Looks like a cute Unreal Engine project. The game looked better on a personal level, especially when the sky was clear and the sun was starting to set (the islands follow your standard abbreviated open world day-night cycle), but it was still mostly empty.

Enemies’ pockets here and there can be demolished with a new combat system that includes a series of automatic punches and kicks, defensive dodges, and even a timed parry mechanic. You solve light spatial puzzles such as pressing pressure plates or navigating launch pads to unlock collectibles. Sometimes an open runway with speed boosts allows me to collect rings while going up a small obstacle course on a mountain road. Soon I got bored.

I wasn’t immediately drawn to by Sonic’s feeling of control either. I felt something. He never seemed to gain momentum in a satisfying way, and the complex and uneven terrain made it very difficult to move forward quickly for very long periods of time (for everything) vocal boundaries It seems that bed from Breath of the wild, the green stamina ring symbol that depletes during a boost is almost a one-to-one). Passing combat and war relies on a precise targeting system to make sure that Sonic directs his attacks in the right direction.

Towards the end of the demo, I encountered a giant boss called The Tower and for a moment felt like I was in it shadow of the Colossus. It was a great moment for a while with both the camera fight and Sonic’s tense action as I struggled to hit the enemy’s weak points without constantly falling off the side. When the camera, aim and action line up, vocal boundaries It approaches nailing an esoteric but rewarding way of navigating a sprawling map. The rest of the time it felt like a nuisance to navigate.

If I sound harsh, it’s because the demo didn’t do a great job of showing you how to do it vocal boundariesOpen-world elements will unlock new possibilities for the long-running series. I felt rough and incomplete, and didn’t nail any little thing I could point to and say ‘who – which It was fun – let me do who – which For the full game!In fact, the lackluster graphics and art direction seemed like the least of the problems for the 2022 holiday game. To be clear, I think there is a version of vocal boundaries, based on what has been shown to me, it can all come together and be great. I’m not confident, based on my limited time with the demo, that the Sonic team will get there soon enough.

Although some fans crowded around the hashtag #DelaySonicFrontiers, Takashi Iizuka Tell VGC That there are no plans to do so now, and that the team is in fact very happy with the results and internal feedback so far. It’s also unclear how old the building that I and the other journalists played in was IGN Reports The initial examination was based on a previous examination. Otherwise, Iizuka and the rest of Team Sonic still have their work cut out for them. vocal boundaries It’s set to launch on Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Switch before the end of the year.