Sonic Frontiers has intrigued fans despite there being little news currently surrounding it. All players have are two cryptic trailers, the title, and a release window. However, the latest Sonic Frontiers trailer from the Game Awards has made it clear the next Sonic game plans to emulate an open world. The key word is "emulate," as press releases have used a different term that's been just as interesting. The game won't be open-world, but "open-zone."
Beyond a few small details, such as who is writing and composing for the game, fans don't have much to go on when it comes to Sonic Frontiers. With the promising Game Awards trailer, along with constant publicity about Frontiers being the first "open-zone" title, many are holding out for gameplay to know more. There's a good chance Sonic fans already have an idea what this phrase entails.
Making Sonic's Zones into 'Open-Zones'
The term "open-zone" might seem like something new, and could be confusing at first. However, Sonic fans are already well acquainted with zones, as the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has used "zone" at the end of many level names. The latest prominent use of the term goes back to Sonic Lost World, as every world had "zone" on the end like classic levels such as Green Hill Zone.
From there, the concept becomes more clear. This means fans can look forward to zones that are more-or-less open spaces. Instead of linear levels, it seems that the "open-zones" will be large in scale and allow players to freely run wherever they please. Not only have games such as Super Mario Odyssey and Pokemon Legends: Arceus managed to do this well, but Sonic Adventure serves as a proof of concept for the blue blur. Adventure was known for having hub worlds with plenty of space and secrets, and levels such as Emerald Coast and Twinkle Park had wide spaces as a key part of their level design.
What Open-Zones Could Bring to Sonic Frontiers
Some fans may be concerned about these ideas due to the nature of Sonic games focusing on speed. It's possible that open spaces would result in players running out of room, possibly careening off of ledges and falling into bottomless pits. However, with level design that takes Sonic's speed into account, as well as careful choices of the right game mechanics to elevate that level design, this could be successful.
Super Mario Odyssey makes players feel like they're exploring big open spaces, but each level is smaller than it lets the player believe. Nintendo designed the levels to work with Mario's movements, and filled them to the brim with tons of things for players to find and do. Sonic Frontiers could easily take notes from explorative levels such as New Donk City to make the Starfall Islands fun and fulfilling.
With these aspects in mind, the idea of an open-zone Sonic game does sound interesting, but players will need to wait for gameplay to really know what Sonic Frontiers has in store. Luckily, there's a chance fans might not have to wait long, as Summer Game Fest has teased a gameplay reveal may not be far away. Even if the event doesn't showcase gameplay, Sega has stated that Sonic Frontiers news is coming soon.
The concept of an open-zone game isn't the only thing interesting about Frontiers, as the way Sega is treating the game is also curious. The company has publicly revealed it is doing all it can to ensure the next title pleases fans as well as critics. It has set internal goals for Sonic Frontiers to review well, along with holding back the game to ensure quality. Players will need to see for themselves if Frontiers lives up to these lofty goals when the game releases this holiday season.
Sonic Frontiers is set to release holiday 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.