Sonic Frontiers will attempt to take the classic series in a bold new direction with a vast explorable world, a change that will seemingly result in a rather lengthy time commitment, especially for those who seek out all the game has to offer. Not content with calling it an open world game, publisher Sega prefers the term "Open Zone." Regardless, with Sonic Frontiers shirking linearity in its design, play times will vary depending on how much side content players decide to engage with.
Although Sonic Frontiers was teased during the hedgehog's 30th anniversary in May 2021, the title wasn't officially announced until The Game Awards late last year. Recent Sonic Frontiers gameplay trailers highlight what players might expect from the game, but they have received varied responses from fans. The Open Zone design fundamentally alters how the Sonic formula operates, but individual play times will come down to a number of factors.
In an interview with IGN, Sonic Frontiers director Morio Kishimoto estimated it would take most players approximately 20 or 30 hours to complete the game. With its Open Zone format, though, there will be a plethora of side content available to players, which contributes to Frontiers being the largest Sonic game ever made, according to Kishimoto. For players that may get hooked on Sonic Frontiers' new, different gameplay and want to take a completionist approach, the developer estimates that aforementioned play time will at least double to somewhere around 40 or 60 hours.
What To Expect From Sonic Frontiers' 20 To 30 Hour Play Time
Despite the game being scheduled for a release sometime in 2022, Sonic Frontiers remains rather mysterious. Virtually all that is known of its story is a very general framework. Sonic, Tails, and Amy are dragged through a wormhole and deposited in different locations across the Starfall Islands. Controlling the titular blue hedgehog, players will then be directed by a mysterious artificial intelligence to collect the Chaos Emeralds while searching for Sonic's missing companions. The Starfall Islands are expected to have multiple biomes, but so far the footage of Sonic Frontiers has only shown hilly, moderately forested grasslands.
Transitioning to an open world format raised concerns about how much filler content there could be, but early hands-on previews for Sonic Frontiers have been generally positive. The 20 to 30 hour estimate likely accommodates a decent amount of side content, including puzzles, platforming sections, time trials, and possibly optional enemies to fight. Although a main concern in regards to pre-release footage has been the world's emptiness, there will probably be incentives to explore, which, depending on how large the game world ends up being, could contribute significantly to play time. Developer estimates should always be taken with a dash of skepticism, but Sonic Frontiers appears to be shaping up to provide players at least a couple dozen hours of gameplay.
Source: IGN