Sonic Frontiers is looking to be one of the biggest shake-ups to the series, taking the Blue Blur into an open-world setting. This has led the game to be compared to other titles in the genre, like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The first gameplay reveal of Sonic Frontiers showed off a number of elements that cemented these comparisons further, such as the melancholic atmosphere and music. The month of June also gave fans an extensive look at the mechanics of the game, including its combat.
The combat mechanics of Sonic Frontiers shows that Sonic has his iconic moves like the Homing Attack and some new attacks such as his new Cyloop move. This has Sonic surrounding an enemy with blue energy, causing them to be stunned. Recently, Sonic Team went into what to expect for Sonic Frontiers' mechanics, including the game's skill tree.
Based on early previews of Sonic Frontiers from Game Informer, Sonic can collect skill pieces that allow players to obtain skill points, with battles that contribute to the meter. The Cyloop ability is the first ability that Sonic Frontiers gives to the player, which can create an AoE attack when drawn around multiple enemies, can be used to break pieces of armor, or solve puzzles. While the Cyloop is a fundamental skill of Sonic Frontiers, the game also offers eleven additional skills that are part of the skill tree, with three more being locked behind story progression.
These unlocks include the Sonic Boom, where Sonic can shoot out projectile blade mid-combo, Speed Burst which increases the character's power upon reaching max combo, and an ability known as Air Tricks allowing players to taunt mid-air to earn skill points. There's also Wild Crash, where Sonic does a flying kick towards an enemy and a Stomp move.
Other unlockable skills include QOL upgrades, such as a toggle-able Auto Combo or Quick Cyloop which automatically activates certain skills. Flashier abilities in Sonic Frontiers include the Spin Slash, Homing Shot, and Loop Kick. The final unlock in the skill tree is known as Recovery Smash, which gives the chance for Sonic to immediately counterattack after he's been hit.
While the skill tree is primarily how Sonic will learn new moves, the game also features another way to level up. Players can find the mysterious Koco creatures in Sonic Frontiers, with two known as Hermit Koco and Elder Koco being able to upgrade Sonic's stats. Hermit Koco can increase Sonic's attack or defense, while Elder Koco can boost Sonic's speed or ring capacity.
Sonic Frontiers is scheduled to release holiday 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Game Informer