Sonic the Hedgehog's latest game has had gamers talking all throughout June as Sonic Frontiers reveals gameplay details, combat mechanics, and more throughout the month. As part of Summer Game Fest, players got to experience the game for the first time during an in-person event in Los Angeles. Amid the first impressions finding their way onto the internet, further details on things such as Sonic Frontiers' control scheme are slowly being revealed.
Sonic fans have been eager for news on Frontiers since the game was teased just over a year ago. Despite a promising announcement trailer at the Game Awards, almost nothing was known about it until recently. While the first gameplay footage of Sonic Frontiers wasn't received well by many gamers at first, first impressions from critics seem to be leaning in a more positive direction.
According to a preview piece from Summer Game Fest by TheGamer, it seems that Sonic Frontiers offers complete customization over how Sonic controls in the new open-zone game. Eric Switzer writes that the game gives players "a dozen or so sliders" that adjust Sonic's speed, acceleration, resistance, and turning among other things. Switzer also states that these controls pop up the instant the demo begins.
While Switzer thinks that there's a chance that these options might not make it into the full game, everything else known about Frontiers suggests that this may be the case. One of the first details known about Frontiers, albeit unofficially, was that it would feature a skill tree to upgrade Sonic's abilities. Having not only a skill tree but sliders to adjust the blue blur's performance may make it easier for certain abilities to be unlocked and performed throughout the adventure.
The preview piece on TheGamer makes a point that there's a chance that these settings could possibly be Sonic Team not knowing what exactly to do with Sonic's control scheme in this title. This may be a likely story with how many of the hedgehog's titles featured vastly different control schemes in the last few years, such as the change from Sonic Generations to Sonic Lost World.
However, having full control over how Sonic plays may actually be Sonic Team trying to understand that the franchise has gathered many different fans over the years, by giving them the power to make the title work exactly how they want. It's no secret that plenty of Sonic loyalists have different ideas on how the series should be, and this may be the best way to make sure almost all Sonic gameplay styles can shine in Frontiers. Players will need to wait for more info in order to see if this truly is the case.
Sonic Frontiers is due to release in holiday 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: TheGamer