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Pre-Release Sonic Frontiers - Pre-release Discussion Thread (UPDATE: new overview trailer, releasing November 8th)

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Sonic Team be like: oh, maybe EPD Tokyo are not releasing new 3D Mario this year, so it's our time to shine this time.
Uh oh, no.
 
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Oh yeah, even without prior knowledge to that playtest leak, it's pretty obvious Sonic will have level up mechanics in this. Acceleration, top speed, and at least boost for sure.
 
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chocolate_supra said:
According to the playtester leak from no the ago (which has so far been very accurate right down to the "spincycle" move) you'll be exploring the open world to track down and open up levels that play like Unleashed day stages. So best of both worlds.
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Yeah, I want this. The game looks just fine.
 
chocolate_supra said:
According to the playtester leak from no the ago (which has so far been very accurate right down to the "spincycle" move) you'll be exploring the open world to track down and open up levels that play like Unleashed day stages. So best of both worlds.
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I really need to see those. Fortunately since we're getting coverage troughout all june it's safe to say they'll show us at least one of them by the end of the month.
 
Clix said:
Kinda what Bowser's Fury did no, but just way more open?
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The open world in Bowser's Fury is instrumental for their concept, which was to have the Fury Bowser battles happening organically anywhere anytime instead of being scripted.

This Sonic just looks like they wanted to make an open world Sonic game without an actual gameplay concept that they needed the open structure for.
 
Uhhhhh....

1. The controls doesn't seem like it's fun at all. Like, that sonic burst thing he does looks super imprecise, and doesn't look like Sonic cannot even properly turn while he is doing it. It looks like the level design is still reliant on boost pads and trampolines to "go fast"..... That's really not what sonic is though, and it's not fun. What the hell was going on with that climbing section. There was no indication that something could be climbed, vs. ran up upon.

2. This looks like all of the complaints that people have with Breath of the Wild, that didn't actually exist in this game. The world just seemed very empty, and the stuff to do in the world seems way more brainless than your average korok seed. Like, when you need to have a literal signpost that there is a puzzle there, I think you have already failed.

Ooof. What a bad showing.

The rail sections look pretty cool though. But again, that is only speed for the sake of autopilot.
 
This has such big "fan-made in Unreal Engine" energy.

Like a literal "Nintendo, hire this man" meme.

Edit: I now see I am not remotely the first to point this out lmao.
 
Lozjam said:
Uhhhhh....

1. The controls doesn't seem like it's fun at all. Like, that sonic burst thing he does looks super imprecise, and doesn't look like Sonic cannot even properly turn while he is doing it. It looks like the level design is still reliant on boost pads and trampolines to "go fast"..... That's really not what sonic is though, and it's not fun. What the hell was going on with that climbing section. There was no indication that something could be climbed, vs. ran up upon.

2. This looks like all of the complaints that people have with Breath of the Wild, that didn't actually exist in this game. The world just seemed very empty, and the stuff to do in the world seems way more brainless than your average korok seed. Like, when you need to have a literal signpost that there is a puzzle there, I think you have already failed.

Ooof. What a bad showing.

The rail sections look pretty cool though. But again, that is only speed for the sake of autopilot.
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Also like, having these structures around the map kinda turns the exploration into a checklist thing, like "I already checked this rail, now I have to go check that one" and it looks exhausting just by watching. Good open world design is subtle and makes you actually want to go there check those places because they look like they might be interesting, not because you know there's some content there you don't wanna miss.
 
Gameplay wise it looks very much like the boost formula crossed with BoTW, but I like both of those so I'm down for this.

Do kinda feel Sega should have released a story trailer or something to go with it though, "Okay but why are we doing these things?" was my first thought throughout all that.
 
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I'm worried they've ruined the music of Sonic, even the worst games typically have some great high energy tracks. I hope they don't go with the slower more ambient stuff like in the gameplay video the whole time. Doesn't fit Sonic at all.
 
Gotta be honest, this looks extraordinarily bad. Not visually speaking, visually it looks fine, even nice.

But it feels like they completely missed the point of why people like open worlds. People don't like open worlds so that they can find slingshots that shoot them along a linear path for some coins/items. There's nothing appealing to that.

The puzzles looked a bit interesting but what exactly were those rewards?
 
I don’t know. It doesn’t look too bad.

But in fairness. I don’t care for Sonic the characters or games so the opinion comes from someone who is 99.9% sure ain’t gonna play it lol.
 
Kingpin Rogers said:
I'm worried they've ruined the music of Sonic, even the worst games typically have some great high energy tracks. I hope they don't go with the slower more ambient stuff like in the gameplay video the whole time. Doesn't fit Sonic at all.
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I was thinking they better have some kind of music player feature in the game like FFXV had with music from past games or else it's all probably gonna sounds really boring.
 
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Lozjam said:
Uhhhhh....

1. The controls doesn't seem like it's fun at all. Like, that sonic burst thing he does looks super imprecise, and doesn't look like Sonic cannot even properly turn while he is doing it. It looks like the level design is still reliant on boost pads and trampolines to "go fast"..... That's really not what sonic is though, and it's not fun. What the hell was going on with that climbing section. There was no indication that something could be climbed, vs. ran up upon.

2. This looks like all of the complaints that people have with Breath of the Wild, that didn't actually exist in this game. The world just seemed very empty, and the stuff to do in the world seems way more brainless than your average korok seed. Like, when you need to have a literal signpost that there is a puzzle there, I think you have already failed.

Ooof. What a bad showing.

The rail sections look pretty cool though. But again, that is only speed for the sake of autopilot.
Click to expand...

It is a but like they took the parts of Sonic Utopia everyone complains about ("it's so aimless!!") and missed the part everyone also misses (the physics are an absolute dream).

I'll probably be fine with it but man, if only solid gameplay feel wasn't so underappreciated.
 
Game looks rough, really rough. How is this the first gameplay footage their showing us? How did Sonic Team/Sega sign off on such a boring and jittery gameplay demo?
 
I wonder if it’ll get delayed to 2023. Open World game being more difficult to develop and 2020 still affecting games
 
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BassForever said:
Game looks rough, really rough. How is this the first gameplay footage their showing us? How did Sonic Team/Sega sign off on such a boring and jittery gameplay demo?
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I was thinking the same thing. Like I can't believe they decided to even release this. But I guess they have to show the game off at some point, lol
 
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The teaser looked rough and janky, the actual gameplay demo adds in boring, completely uninteresting and nonsensical, it keeps on giving. Why even have the open area where most of the platforming sections are putting you on a rail, and that they rely too much on automation.
 
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Stopdoor said:
It is a but like they took the parts of Sonic Utopia everyone complains about ("it's so aimless!!") and missed the part everyone also misses (the physics are an absolute dream).

I'll probably be fine with it but man, if only solid gameplay feel wasn't so underappreciated.
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Literally yeah.

I don't mind an empty world as long as it's fun to control.
Shadows of the Colossus? An empty world, but it's a dream to control.

Spiderman PS4, very empty but it's so fun to zip along.

Sonic Utopia is a dream... We could have gotten that as a Sonic game. But instead, we get slow puzzles and poor controls.


How can modders and fan make stuff like this, in a cave, with a bunch of scraps..... Yet Sega gives us this.
 
Just saw the gameplay. I really feel like this is going to be a love it/hate it game for me. The world feels barren except for the obstacles. Hopefully the gameplay clicks.

I will probably have it on my Black Friday shopping list for the time being.
 
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Lozjam said:
Literally yeah.

I don't mind an empty world as long as it's fun to control.
Shadows of the Colossus? An empty world, but it's a dream to control.

Spiderman PS4, very empty but it's so fun to zip along.

Sonic Utopia is a dream... We could have gotten that as a Sonic game. But instead, we get slow puzzles and poor controls.


How can modders and fan make stuff like this, in a cave, with a bunch of scraps..... Yet Sega gives us this.
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Wow, that fan game looks incredible!
 
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Skittzo said:
Gotta be honest, this looks extraordinarily bad. Not visually speaking, visually it looks fine, even nice.

But it feels like they completely missed the point of why people like open worlds. People don't like open worlds so that they can find slingshots that shoot them along a linear path for some coins/items. There's nothing appealing to that.

The puzzles looked a bit interesting but what exactly were those rewards?
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According to the 4chan leak, the puzzles reward you with orbs that you use to unlock linear, traditional 3D Sonic stages
 
What an odd showcase

It's like getting a random assortment of our of context dialogue from a sitcom. Some setups, some punchlines, but not the two together lol.
 
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This doesn’t looks so great, but I have to see more. One of my biggest issues is this world…why is it so bland? Why does everything look the same and feels like it’s going for something more realistic looking? It’s a turn off.
 
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Red Monster said:
BF had “levels” though

This doesn’t. Or at least we haven’t seen any
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Magic-Man said:
Bowser's Fury felt natural inside the Mario Universe. This just feels super realistic with super un-realistic stuff everywhere. The gameplay looks great, but why on earth they chose this artstyle and basic landscape I have no idea.
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Leo said:
The open world in Bowser's Fury is instrumental for their concept, which was to have the Fury Bowser battles happening organically anywhere anytime instead of being scripted.

This Sonic just looks like they wanted to make an open world Sonic game without an actual gameplay concept that they needed the open structure for.
Click to expand...

Not so much the artstyle, which I agree is not what I wanted. In an earlier post I mentioned I would have liked a funky colorful art, especially 90s and early 00s Sonic.

I mean more, about the random platforming in the world.

Like, you hitch some rails or ramps and you go to an area or challenge, etc.
 
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I think it could be fun, springs, rails, ramps, balloons sprinkled in an open area. It was a bit amusing that they missed some springs and ramps 😅 but I think when you get the hang of it it could flow well
 
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Red Monster said:
According to the 4chan leak, the puzzles reward you with orbs that you use to unlock linear, traditional 3D Sonic stages
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Huh, so if the open world is more of a hub zone then that would be a bit better. Weird though.
 
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mazi said:
so this world is just the hub? then i don't understand why they want to push "open world" as a selling point for this.
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I guess it is just the hub - but with ubisoft open world elements to it, like towers to expand the map and puzzle elements. Maybe there will be some combat?
 
Lozjam said:
How can modders and fan make stuff like this, in a cave, with a bunch of scraps..... Yet Sega gives us this.
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As someone trying to do literally just this, it's because making a full featured game that you expect people to give you money for is incredibly difficult, much harder than making a very nice looking proof of concept.
 
I want to like it, but I just don't want to move like Sonic through that world. The melancholy open world feel makes me want to explore, Sonic wants to shoot through huge amounts of terrain quickly.

I admit, I haven't played a lot of Sonic since the genesis, so I am neither a fan nor a hater nor someone who thinks Sonic went off or back on the rails at any point. I really do want to want to play this - I just don't get it yet.
 
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Skittzo said:
As someone trying to do literally just this, it's because making a full featured game that you expect people to give you money for is incredibly difficult, much harder than making a very nice looking proof of concept.
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I mean, I totally get it. Development is hard. But there is not really a single franchise that people legitimately like fan projects more than the actual properties themselves, besides Sonic. For example, that fan remake of Sonic 06 is already showing itself to be way better than the original game.

It says quite a bit to the dedication and talent of the Sonic community. But at the same time, something is horribly wrong with Sonic Team.

Like yeah, I have played a ton of great Mario fan stuff, and they do so much EPD cannot do. But still that doesn't mean that Mario Odyssey a huge gulf of quality between fan games and the real deal. When fans have been conistently been putting out better content, better remakes(like the Sonic Colours texture pack), and better game design. Something is wrong with Sonic Team and the leadership there. The one time, that Sonic reached out to fan developers to make a new official game led to the most critically acclaimed and loved sonic game in decades.
chocolate_supra said:
* ahem *
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Tony, Tony. Don't you see, we are team. You gotta let me see what you are working on, and I will take care of the rest ;)
 
I think... I actually like it? 🤷‍♂️

I like Sonic Adventure and I like open world games. This looks like that.

Ultimately, I'll either gel with it or I won't based entirely on how Sonic feels to control, so I guess we'll see.

Could also personally do with a few more distinct environments. Really hope there's a city/urban area hidden somewhere in there for maximum Adventure vibes.
 
Yeah, I was optimistic but now I am definitely not. And I really don't like being pessimistic with stuff.

The game just looks like Sonic Team took a brief glance at Breath of the Wild, looked at purely the surface-elements, and decreed that Sonic has to be 'like that.' Couple that with the janky-ass looking movement, the clear performance issues (if this is the current-gen version... I pray for the Switch version), and the general lack of cohesiveness and, yeah, my hopes aren't very high.

I think I might still get it if it isn't a complete disaster, if only because the fast traversal would make this a nice satisfying "tick boxes in an open world," kinda deal.
 
Those on-rails levels that everyone loves about Sonic are really hard to make/expensive to make, IIRC. I think ever since Unleashed, Sega has been trying to figure out how to do those, but not for a whole game.

They found one answer with Generations - pair them with classic 2D levels. Lo and behold, Generations is a genuinely great game.

Frontiers looks like it has another answer - have an open world hub which you need to explore to find the entrances to the on-rails speed-demon levels.

I think the open-world gameplay itself looks good, tbh. It doesn't look jank like Adventure was, IMO. I know people in this thread disagree with that, but I think it looks much better in terms of control. My issues are all with the aesthetics. I think that it's visually boring and has weak music. Sonic is meant to be energetic, damn it, and everything about how this part of the game looks and sounds lacks energy. Maybe it's all leading toward something or a conscious part of the presentation that will work, but I am skeptical about that.
 
Man that pop-in is brutal. If this is meant to be the "hub" I'd rather something lively and fun like Station Square, not just empty fields. I know it's early and my expectations were pretty moderate but I don't think this even met them lol. They're gonna have to show me more to get excited.
 
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It looks so random lol. The world is also very dull. So strange.

Also, why does it sound like Crash Bandicoot's spin attack when Sonic jumps and curls into a ball? Like am I the only one hearing that lmao.
 
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Red Monster said:
I guess it is just the hub - but with ubisoft open world elements to it, like towers to expand the map and puzzle elements. Maybe there will be some combat?
Click to expand...
There is combat, it was shown in the gameplay snippet from yesterday. It looks like a lot of mindless homing attack mashing though. In general, attempts at combat have never been a strong suit for Sonic games.

mazi said:
so this world is just the hub? then i don't understand why they want to push "open world" as a selling point for this.
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I was under the impression it was more like Mario Sunshine where you had small traditional levels as extra challenges but they weren't the main course. Personally though, I'm not really a fan of Unleashed day levels or Generations levels so this is sort of the worst of both worlds to me. I just wished Sonic interacted with the actual terrain in some way that was interesting.
 
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I can't say I was super impressed, but I feel like it's more because of the way Sega decided to showcase the game. I would've preferred a general trailer showing parts of the game rather than a slow trickle of gameplay videos focusing on single elements.

I really don't know how to feel, though I'm a little bummed about boost-era controls being still a thing.
 
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I'm sorry, everyone.

I finally got a chance to sit and watch the video and I have to admit, it looks like Sega reached into my head and dug out the Sonic game I've been dreaming of.

Yeah, the control looks kinda janky right now but overall this is so close to what I've had in my head that I'm convinced Sega actually drew out my thoughts and made them into a game.

So to those of yall who really don't like the look of this, it's all my fault. I manifested this.
lol I'm actually not sorry at all 😁
 
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