Extra credits go to Pendravide for providing additional proofreading.

Scroll down to “The Physics” section if you just wanna know what the platforming is like.

It’s difficult to convey and articulate my thoughts on Frontiers due to how densely packed of a game it is both intentionally and otherwise. It’s still a solid package, I’m not gonna make that bottom line unclear but reaching that conclusion and getting to that point was nothing short of a migraine, to put it lightly.


It’s so dense, which is quite ironic given how sparse the content actually is, but that’s just the nature of what we’re dealing with here, a product that brought together both some of the greatest minds as well as some questionable development possibly going on behind the scenes. Unfortunately there’s no way to truly tell whether this is the result of the game being rushed or potentially some amateur developers working on their first sonic game similar to Forces as I’ve yet to check the credits to see if that’s the case so take this with a grain of salt. But I’m getting ahead of myself.



I think leaving out the music would be the most fair thing to cut here due to how little debate there is to be had given the unanimous agreement about it, so just to save some breath I’ll just say Ohtani is a great artist as per usual, Merry Kirk-holmes is a phenomenal vocalist and holy shit 150 tracks????!?!!??? And leave it at that.


To start things off I believe the most logical thing to approach first would be the three primary things you’ll spend most time with; physics, combat and visuals (trust me, this is important).


While combat and story are fantastic, the former does not stay long enough for it to really feel like a major part of the game, more like a minor distraction due to how short they are and not being super involved. And the story, while good, also brings its own set of condescend issues as if we needed densely packed problem within another, thankfully though it’s more that there’s a lot involved within the discourse and not that it’s a problematic story in and of itself.




That said, easy to say that this has been a series of Intros so far with no real breakdowns as of yet, so let’s get it on starting with; presentation. While not what I’d normally begin with, I feel it’s quite warranted in Frontiers’ case given the... palatable reception of its art direction, shall we say.

There’s no beating around the bush. They hired that man. He’s a man who has an artistic vision. He makes it in a flash, and all the assets clash. Do his artistic skills know no boundaries? It’s funny, when new footage of the game was shown after that first questionable gameplay demo, people were singing it praises. Now we all know hindsight is 20/20 so they were likely focused on the content because looking back on it the main draw of it sure as heck wasn’t... the presentation.

Once again, while this may seem less important it stands out more and more as you slowly realize it’s seeping its way throughout the entire game, no exaggeration here whatsoever. And it’s seriously not just the pop-ins and the lifeless environments although they’re a big deal but you knew that already since you watched 5 seconds of the game by now. It’s the animation, whenever you can find any of it, that is pretty lackluster. Someone mentioned something about in-between frames and while that could be it, it’s also very flat, lacking any kind of impact or feel to it, anything at all that makes it stand out beyond the bare minimum needed. And it’s not just one set of animation, the combat, the running, the enemies, the bosses, the cutscenes oh god oh man the cutscenes are yet another can of worms within a can of worms within a can of worms unpolish here.


I could go on but it really is everything. As for the cutscenes, I’ll elaborate more in the story part as it might fit there more but it was worth mentioning here regardless. Come to think of it, I’ve never really seen animation being brought up as a bullet-point except by guys like J’s Reviews AKA J’s Js. Highly recommend him by the way. Good reviewer.


But yeah I think that gets the point across. Better to leave it at that because I feel the next part, Story, helps to more smoothly illustrate the core issue lying around. A common consensus about visuals is that they don’t matter if the story or gameplay are good and while I don’t think it should be that extreme, I do understand the mindset and do somewhat relate to it when it’s relevant or meaningful as it’s not the kind of thing that should be spread as a blanket statement.


That said, moving on to the story, like the game itself the bottom line is straightforward; it’s good, but to get to that point is also kind of a headache so let’s break it down. While I respect Ian Flynn’s efforts to course-correct many a mistake by the oh-so-lovely writing duo Pontaff, it’s sadly not hard to admit they weren’t alone on their errors, what with Unleashed having a bit of a cowardly tails predating Forces’ own fuck-up by almost a decade. So Flynn was left with a lot on his plate to unwire and surely enough, he came through like he always does. Not only does he address tails’ “wildly inconsistent” portrayal as the game eloquently puts it, but it becomes part of his characterization and I’m all for it. But it’s pretty evident the dialogue isn’t the underlying issue here, far from it. In fact we’ve sorta hit the inverse situation where rather than the characters being the issue, while everything around them looking great we now have a game where the characters are done fantastically but... the cutscenes... are.... so.... lifeless.


I don’t know when was the last time I seen cutscenes with so little going on. Characters just standing around, just talking, barely making any movement, some lines could’ve used another take too. It’s kinda funny, the cutscenes in the Pontaff Quadrilogy; Colours, Generations, Lost World and Forces were often dreadful to sit through save for Generations where ironically it’s the fact that very little happening that saved it from itself and saved the characters from brutalizing what little charm they had left by opening their mouths, but I digress. Because in spite of all that, those cutscenes were still easier to watch because well, they were finished. Yeah I got no further punchline here that’s literally it. The cutscenes in Frontiers, nay, the entire presentation, nay nay, the whole entire game is unfinished. Undoubtedly. I don’t know what led to this but whatever it may be, be it a rushed deadline, untalented developers or something nasty from the higher-ups, we still winded up with this and it will take a million patches before this starts resembling something even remotely close to a complete game.



That said I ragged on this pretty hard but I definitely got some positives to say which leads me to the next and final part, the gameplay. It’s, well, functional. Mostly. Best to get that out of the way first. It’s also another one where the problem with the visual seep right into it, hence the necessity to mention that early on to better illustrate the gameplay because the more you understand just how bad it is the better you comprehend the reason behind some gameplay flaws. All that said however, it’s luckily not really the end of the world. Just very very, very noticeable and not really something to ignore. It’s easy to point at it and think it’s all minor but this is really a death by thousand paper-cuts type scenario. The environments being bland gives you less incentive to go there and generally speaking having less incentive to play anything at all is not really comparable with good game design, last I checked. The animation being less than subpar means you’ll rarely be looking at anything fun or exciting when fighting enemies and the combat’s somewhat simple nature is not doing itself any favors also. All this plus the somewhat fucked physics which I’ll go over in a jibby makes for an experience that should not be as repetitive as it is. I’d like not to name-drop certain titles that do this right as my next point may not accurately portray some of their strengths but I liked to think that, at least to some extent, that many a game are fairly repetitive but what keeps them from feeling that way are two things, the element of spectacle, which Frontiers has but struggles to meaningfully implement and the element of having a sense of depth of being able to experiment and mess around with your options which... frontiers also kinda doesn’t have, but thankfully the fights are so short you hardly notice... even though that’s kinda also to its detriment since not being given a chance at all to explore the system due to how over and quick it is is an issue in and of itself.


That last segment went on a little too long, so it’s probably a good time to break down the physics, yet another aspect you’ll be spending most of your time with. Thankfully one of the easier aspects to critique on its own due to its issues existing outside of visuals but still not necessarily simple on its own as if’s one of the more complex things to dissect. Not the level design thankfully, it’s too braindead and half-functioning to be even described as “complex”. No, it’s the physics that’s the center of this game, for better or for worse.

THE PHYSICS:

How does one even actually describe the physics system? Weighty? Then why does sonic get launched off so easily like he’s made of gas. Then he’s light, right? Ok then why does he walk like he has the Death Egg tied to his feet. Then he’s definitely slow? Yeah except when he randomly misses a pink/rainbow ring that you only had one nano of a second to anticipate and react accordingly.


What the fuck is going on with physics.

Rhetorical question but also not. Very contradictory, but it’s within the spirit of this game.

I’ve had this “good but needs polish” approach throughout the whole analysis. This is possibly the exception. While a few tweaks here and there could go a long way this might still be the one part that needs a complete rework to make it more in-line with previous boost games if that’s even what they were going for. My good pal WeskerPawnch suggested the possibility of them trying to ease into a more adventure-esque format and while I never thought about it that way, it does somewhat explain and put into perspective the boost only really being needed for exploration and cyber(shell) stages which are a recreation of old boost games’ levels. Other than that, you won’t be really using it for that one platforming island in Frontiers nor do you need it for most bosses. Makes you wonder.



Speaking of those platforming sections, they’re the one final aspect tied to the physics that are worth mentioning. Now you boys, gals and everything in-between can harp all you want about Generations letting you build up speed on foot but not while rolling or how Forces lets you build up speed while rolling but not on foot (w-weird.... reversal there...) or how Unleashed’s Sonic controls like a car while Colours’ Sonic doesn’t control like a car (also... weird...) but I, for one, don’t really care. If it works for that given game, that’s all I could ask for. If it gets in the way or directly clashes internally within the game’s own established system, we got a problem.


Fun unpopular opinion here. I don’t care if a Sonic level feels automated.
Reprehensible, I know. How could I? Yep, you found the secret Forces’ fan! Except not really. Well, more on that later.


What I do kinda care about is consistency within the level design. While some boost pads can be a bit of fun you know what isn’t?


Stopping on a dime.


I really wanna leave it at that but you have to understand, it’s not just the automation, it’s not the fact jumping resets your momentum, it’s not the fact that the homing attack is heavier and is now on a different button, it’s not the fact that sonic is glued to the ground at all times and can no longer run on water, it’s not even that the level design wresting with itself and being boiled down to memorizing button presses for specific scenarios as opposed to internalizing a coherent physics system to make freeflowing gameplay.....well it’s kinda that, but also It’s all of these things coming together to make..... man I’m just tired of all this. Let’s wrap it up already hahaha. I think you get it by now.



While I came off as somewhat strongly negative, I honestly think it’s still warranted. I still make it clear without vagueness or beating around the bush that this is good and I recommend it. It’s understandable to wanna know right off the bat if something is good or bad so I just give that answer right away. The problem comes with stopping there. In most games I’m fine with a quick verdict but in Frontiers’ case it feels it would be disingenuous to not further elaborate. And while I’m also ok with either someone coming out of it and immediately deducing it’s good or bad, what I wouldn’t really accept is people on both fences going either it’s a total 10/10 masterpiece or a 0/10 nothing good in the game at all. Basically wars you see on Twitter and YouTub(er) comment sections. These kinds of reactions... are absurd. And serves no one or anything any value as it completely derails the discourse behind the game and is neither acknowledging the great that needs to stay nor the bad that needs to go away. Just a blind approach that’s a disservice to the game and the community and only further gets us back to square negative one and if you unironiclly engage in those, you should get a life. The game is a simple 7/10 and the sooner people accept that, the better.

So now I made it clear I’d still recommend this and I’ll finally elaborate as to why.


Ultimately Sonic Frontiers is a fun game, pure and simple. I used death by a thousand paper-cuts to illustrate the consequence of the totality of these issues but the moment-to-moment gameplay loop is fairly fun and decent as is. Didn’t take long to get 100% either so that helps. Around a measly 30 hours and I was messing around often so it can be even shorter than that. Maybe even 20 if you know what you’re doing. I actually am open to a future replay just to see how much I can cut down the 100% time. Should be fun.

Sonic Frontiers is in kind of a unique position that becomes more apparent if you’re in-the-know of the smaller details of what’s been going on with Sonic. On one hand, it’s kinda worse than Forces (there, I said it. Cry me a river) but on the other, it is not nearly showing half the signs that Sonic is going down the gutter, it is good that Sonic and his “stupid friends” are no longer shooting themselves in the mouth by, well, opening it. It is great that the story felt like an actual story. It is great that Izuka seems like a pretty alright guy and it is great that we’re getting something fresh with potential if they plan to follow up on it.


Funny how I was planning for this to be all professional then I went off-rails the more I analyzed the game. The more I broke it down, it broke me down with it. But that’s on par for the course for the one and only Sonic.

Time to mention parts I couldn’t properly fit in anywhere meaningfully without having them completely drown, which is definitely not something I wanna happen given the peculiar nature of these fun facts. They’re oughta be highlighted plus they’re inconsequential enough not to feel weird as an ending note.

Did you know that Jet the Hawk from Sonic Riders, Sticks from Sonic Boom and Tangle from the IDW comics all get name-dropped?


Did you also know that Eggman’s favorite anime is Chainsaw Man? And that Amy’s favorite anime is Fruits Basket?


AND MY BOY BIG THE CAT IS HERE YES YES YES I ALWAYS LOVED FISHING IN GAMES I ALWAYS LOVED BIG IN SONIC I ALWAYS WANTED FISHING TO COME BACK IN SONIC YES YES YES THIS IS DAWN OF A NEW AGE, EVERYONE.

I love this game to death. I feel it’s better to get this out of the way and not beat around the bush. This is one of my favorite games ever made, and I don’t typically say that for that many games. While by no means one of the best crafted games, as that’s a completely different discussions and usually games that fall under that typically fall deep into my 100% achievements backlog even though I plan to get to them eventually (such as Dark Souls 1, Yakuza 3, Final Fantasy X, Dead Rising 1, Minoria, Touhou HSiFS, Dragon Quest XI S, etc, etc), it’s still one of the most joyful and engaging games for me. The simple quick gameplay loop, the chaotic sandbox, challenging obstacles, amount of things to do and find, great music and short but sweet playtime all make for a stellar experience in a stellar series that consistently delivers. GTA V was the last great GTA game (and hopefully not the last GTA, period) but GTA III was the first truly phenomenal GTA. Though GTA 1 and 2 were awesome, you should check em out. Great music in those two also.

DMA Design (now known as Rockstar North) realty knocked it out of the park with this one.

I played the console versions. So no mods and I don’t recommend having too many of them as to not risk breaking the game. For instance, physics are tied to framerate so having that unlocked can cause some hilarious but very unfortunate deaths. although I do recommend having some kinda manual aim enabled as well as a map. Otherwise some parts can feel unnecessarily difficult and half weapons can become useless but other than that, the game is perfectly playable. Even the difficulty of missions like Bomb Da Base II are highly overrated as once you realize where all the guards are, it becomes a matter of simple trial and error. Got it on my second or third try as you’ll see with most missions in this game.



This game does not take long to 100% as all you have are story missions, one or two minigames, a few vehicles missions and a bunch of easy collectibles. A lot of this nets you awards such as an access to a tank before beating the story, infinite sprint and weapons spawning at your house including a rocket launcher. You can earn a lot of money also but that quickly becomes useless since there’s not much to buy in this and game and most of it can be unlocked for free.


As for the main content itself, there’s a story which I feel goes largely under-appreciated purely due to the whole package feeling disconnected, the protagonist’s personality being incredibly vague and the game not having any kind of resolution. However, none of that undermines the talent and passion behind this work, and that’s not a blanket statement. Voice acting is quite rich for its era and it’s a pretty astounding achievement to get so much of its production right in what is definitely one of the first 3D crime drama action adventure games (unless you wanna think of Driver 2, which I unfortunately haven’t played).


Not just that, but things like pedestrian dialogue, an aspect which still is largely given only the minuscule amounts of care and effort in their creation (except in Yakuza, interestingly enough,) is done amazingly here. The mocap and animation ain’t really half bad either. Combine this with the characters’ rich dialogue and clear homage to classic crime dramas such the good fellas and scarface and you got a completely memorable experience that’s unlikely to be forgettable. Even the unnamed Protagonist (who was later revealed in San Andreas to be just called “Claude”, likely a nod to the GTA 2 protagonist “Claude Speed” who was most likely used as a basis for this one especially when comparing the outfit of the GTA III protagonist to the one seen with Claude Speed in the GTA 2 live action intro (also worth noting the inconsistent numerical values is not unintentional. That’s what the games were actually called)) is actually a fairly decent character in his own right.


Speaking of Scarface, did you know the Scarface ost is in GTA III?

Wait, you didn’t know? Or maybe you did? I’m really not sure because for whatever reason, no one seems to bring this up. I thought people liked Scarface. Or maybe internet dwellers don’t watch movies.

Speaking of the OST, the OST is great! While unfortunately could’ve used a few more tracks as I don’t agree with the opinion that the radio takes a while to loop. It doesn’t. It loops so freakin’ frequently because there’s not much music in there but what we DID get was completely outstanding and a lot of my favorite GTA songs come from GTA III, a lot of which are composed specifically for the game by real artists (whom you can find on YT).

A couple of highlights are:
-“Change” by Connor and Jay
-“See Through You” by Frankie Fame
-“Pray it Goes ok?” by Boyz 2 Girlz
-“Rubber Tip” by Funky Bjs
-“Shake” by Chris Walsh and Terry Donovan and pretty much every track composed by those two (AKA the entire Rise FM Station)
-The entire Scarface soundtrack. No, really.

“Change” is without a doubt my favorite in this game. Such well written lyrics. Really spoke to me.


And I feel that about wraps it up. Safe to say I built a strong emotional connection with this entry. I actually didn’t think that much of it when I played it for the first time on my ps4 back in 2018, but replaying it and 100% it on my Xbox has suddenly helped me grow something of a bond with it. For that, it’s safe to say this is a more personal than it is a recommendation, but if this looks like something you could enjoy I honestly can’t see anything wrong with giving it a go. If not, no harm done.