SEGA has just shown off a new teaser for Sonic Frontiers that highlights some of the upcoming title’s revamped combat and open-world gameplay. After months of rumor and speculation, Sonic fans got their first look at the Blue Blur’s next interactive adventure during December’s Game Awards 2022 livestream event with a Sonic Frontiers trailer that featured everyone’s favorite speed-driven hedgehog racing through mysterious ruins in an open world that instantly drew comparisons to games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka has stated in interviews that his team aims to take the long-running Sonic The Hedgehog franchise in a new and exciting direction with Sonic Frontiers, and the developers even held back on their original plan to release the game last year to coincide with the Blue Blur’s 30th anniversary to allow for more time to polish its new gameplay mechanics. Sure enough, a fully-explorable open world is a first for Sonic, and rumors have suggested that Sonic Frontiers will also feature new combat styles to go with Sonic’s classic speed.
Earlier today, the official Sonic The Hedgehog Twitter account posted a brief Sonic Frontiers teaser trailer that provides a small preview of what the game's new mechanics could entail. In addition to Sonic's usual antics of collecting life-sustaining Rings, boosting through colorful worlds at extreme speed, and grinding on rails, the Blue Blur can be seen powering up some kind of radar device by running through a metal hamster wheel-like structure, dodging enemy attacks with super speed, and even unleashing fast-paced aerial combos on the many robotic enemies in his way. While these attacks appear to begin with the classic Homing Attack that has been part of Sonic’s repertoire since Sonic Adventure, viewers can later see him throwing a few punches, kicks, and swirling tornado attacks. At one point, Sonic can even be seen running up the leg of a larger mech to strike at its apparent weak spot before the trailer ends with the mysterious Sonic Frontiers logo at was present in the game’s early teasers. Finally, IGN is hosting a special cover story for Sonic Frontiers in June that promises to reveal even more information.
Not much is known about Sonic Frontiers’ plot, save that it is being penned by current Sonic The Hedgehog comic writer Ian Flynn. Longtime Sonic composer Jun Senoue will return to lend his talents to Sonic Frontiers’ soundtrack, and the current voice actors for Sonic, Tails, Amy Rose, and Dr. Eggman will all reprise their roles in the upcoming game - with Amy being a particular source of speculation due to her ghostlike voice in the previous Sonic Frontiers trailer. While there is currently no official release date for Sonic Frontiers, rumors have suggested that it could launch this November - in keeping with the tradition of previous 3D Sonic games like Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic '06, Sonic Colors, and Sonic Forces to hit stores on that month.
Whenever Sonic Frontiers does race onto current and last-gen systems later this year, it looks like the game is indeed taking the Sonic franchise in a new direction judging from what the most recent Sonic Frontiers trailer has shown. The new attacks Sonic uses seem to fit well with the series’ classic emphasis on speed, as he is shown using agility and rapid strikes to take down his robotic enemies - with the addition of melee-like punches and kicks to go with his standard Homing Attack. More information about Sonic Frontiers will likely be revealed in the coming weeks as well.
Source: Sonic The Hedgehog/Twitter