Sonic Frontiers - Teaser Trailer

[StaticMania]

1 minute ago, Covskin said:

With the potential open-world aspect, and people talking about BOTW, I have a question for the former Wii U owners: what was the Sonic Lost World Zelda DLC like? I recall people saying it was semi open-world at the time. Its probably our closest indication on Sonic Team's abilities of the style, even with their staff turnover.

You solve a few puzzles in a relatively more open area (but closed off) than the game usually has, then you go into Tunnel Tube which is just standard for the regular game.

[StellarBlur]

This leak makes me happy. Even if the game ends up being a mess, it will have actually tried to be something unlike Forces. It sounds like we're talking about a high budget ambitious Sonic game. The last time was Unleashed in 2008... over a decade ago. It might sound unpopular but if they have to delay it to 2023, they should. They need to give the game as much time as possible. Also, I hope the games gets a somewhat synchronized release date with either the movie or the new show. It could help with the game selling very well (assuming it's good) which would secure us high budget sonic games in the future. Sega better not fuck this up.

[VO.SUPER]

5 minutes ago, Stasis said:

Reading it again, the post was made in August but the user says they played 'a couple of months ago' so it's even earlier.

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Interesting. I wonder if this was some general demo passed over to playtesters over the course of 2020. Sounds like the earliest build must've been a summer build meant to get reactions to how the players interact with the overall gameplay.

This reminds me a lot of how Nintendo made their early Breath of the Wild demos centered around the Great Plateau. They are just trying to get general ideas from what the playtesters want.

[NoKaine]

8 minutes ago, Covskin said:

With the potential open-world aspect, and people talking about BOTW, I have a question for the former Wii U owners: what was the Sonic Lost World Zelda DLC like? I recall people saying it was semi open-world at the time. Its probably our closest indication on Sonic Team's abilities of the style, even with their staff turnover.

The Zelda level was actually pretty fun. It's free DLC so it was never in depth, but it wasn't flat and it was nice to explore even with Lost World's awkward running mechanics.

[Roger_van_der_weide]

I was hoping for an included city location or something to at least contextualize the world a bit.
Just an endless forest sounds boring.
Hope that's something they add in later.....

Heck, I found Breath of the Wild boring with it's generic grass landscape.
Running around grass/ ruin landscapes killing random bosses huh?
Guess I can add "shadow of the colossus jokes" along with Power Rangers jokes for the parody.

[StellarBlur]

I kinda hope we get Shadow of the Colossus vibes for the boss fights or something like in Bowser's Fury. Sonic actively using the environment to find a way up the boss to homing attack the weakness or something. There's so much potential with such a concept.

[KHCast]

If they’re really gonna take inspiration from BoTW, what if that means little music outside occasional ambience stuff lol?

[FloweringFox]

I hope that wouldn't be the case. I'm thinking they should have some ambient music (something like the Unleashed night stages), battle tracks, and music for specific towns and other locations. Some music that isn't obnoxiously loud, but that could make you feel calm during exploration.

[PickleBrows]

7 minutes ago, KHCast said:

If they’re really gonna take inspiration from BoTW, what if that means little music outside occasional ambience stuff lol?

Actually it'd be quite cool if every area (let's pretend there's various regions like a beach, forest, mountains etc) had a "regular" theme that wasn't necessarily ambience but was akin to stuff like the hub world music from Unleashed. Then when you start picking up speed it transitions into a more energetic version. Somewhat of a dynamic soundtrack.

Music is something the series nails more often than not, if they went in a new open-world direction I have faith the music team would be up to the task could pull off something interesting.

[Whatever the WhoCares]

Aesthetically, my main concern is the cyberspace stuff. It sounds so bland and boring. I want gorgeous, natural landscapes with varying themes. Not some Tron shit. 

[KHCast]

11 minutes ago, FloweringFox said:

something like the Unleashed night stages

Do you mean the actual night stages or the gate areas that transition you to the stages? Cause I think the latter would be more fitting for a game like this 

[FloweringFox]

I originally meant the night stages forgetting about the gates, but I took a listen and I do agree the gate music would suit it better.

[Sonicka]

4 hours ago, Blue Blood said:

I think that's quite unlikely, actually. The "SONIC" logo always appears in the same, standard font and the subtitle is written in a different style for every game. They never change the Sonic text itself, and only ever apply different effects and colours to it that match the game.

On the fence with this - I actually think that’s a pretty clever trick and could well be what is going here considering the accidental name reveal recently. 

But the left side of my brain also agrees with you that they do somewhat keep to the Sonic part of the logo quite consistently.

Saying that there’s room for scope on it fitting in and round the shape and pattern here when the final logo is revealed. They have slanted the logo and changed it about occasionally before with games like Rush, Riders, Heroes, etc so it could easily be mapped or overlaid here too. 

[Iko]

What are the chances that the forest island is only one of the many zones of the game? The leak said that there was a "Ubisoft tower" at the center of the map, so maybe in the final game it can be used to teleport to other towers that are placed in other zones?

Though if that was just one zone, why did it have all the emeralds? And why were they required to fight the boss, if that was not the final one? Unless you collect all the emeralds in the first zone like in Zelda Breath of the Wild you collect all the tablet powers on the plateau.

I'm curious to see how a city or a technological zone would be done in an open world setting.

Regarding the cyberspace, if there is one level for each emerald then they are probably going to be all similar and Tron-like... but they're just 7 "special stages" after all... I would not care as long as the final game will feature other zones aside of the forest, and I really hope so, because if it's real that you can finish the forest in 20 minutes, there's no way that the game ends there.

[Shiny Gems]

4 minutes ago, Iko said:

What are the chances that the forest island is only one of the many zones of the game? The leak said that there was a "Ubisoft tower" at the center of the map, so maybe in the final game it can be used to teleport to other towers that are placed in other zones?

Though if that was just one zone, why did it have all the emeralds? And why were they required to fight the boss, if that was not the final one? Unless you collect all the emeralds in the first zone like in Zelda Breath of the Wild you collect all the tablet powers on the plateau.

I'm curious to see how a city or a technological zone would be done in an open world setting.

Regarding the cyberspace, if there is one level for each emerald then they are probably going to be all similar and Tron-like... but they're just 7 "special stages" after all... I would not care as long as the final game will feature other zones aside of the forest, and I really hope so, because if it's real that you can finish the forest in 20 minutes, there's no way that the game ends there.

I would love to see other open area maps based on other zones, ones that are so large. I'd love to see a theme park or, as you said, a technological area. Maybe even space with some gravity gimmicks would work. 

Also, I think having all the emeralds in that area won't be what happens in the final game, since it was a demo. I would rather the emeralds be hidden, one in each alternate open map that may only be accessed after doing some required in the Unleashed like levels like the leak said there would be.

[VO.SUPER]

Of course there are going to be more zones. The forest is probably just the earliest zone and the easiest one to plunk assests into as far as level design goes. This is primarily just a demo build meant to give testers a snapshot of the game and probably communicate the bigger picture material.

There will probably be cities or small towns in between and maybe even factories to explore.

But we won't be able to tell the story context behind this until later on. This demo doesn't have a plot as far as we know aside from that ghost girl who I'm guessing will be your game partner. But aside from that, it's clear the demo is meant to be ambiguous in the plot department to keep the testers focused on the gameplay.

[Indigo Rush]

Couple thoughts on the actual content of the leak, assuming it's legitimate (it probably is).

I wouldn't worry too much about their complaints or the finer details of what was described. This isn't a playtest of a fully-realized project or even a beta, this is a focus test from over a year ago. A lot of work has certainly been done, but keep in mind that not only is this game slated to be released next year, this content is likely at least a year old. That's plenty of time to correct broader issues with the game, and that's the point of focus testing to begin with. Even the best videogames probably had critical feedback at this stage. 

So, things like button mashing, annoying "Koroks" or other details like the stage taking place in an undetailed forest aren't things I'm worried about. It's like playing a demo of Sonic Generations and expressing concern that you're only going to play on Green Hill Zone; this is just a snapshot of the full project. Even games as uninspired as Forces have several worlds or environments to visit, so I highly doubt Sonic Rangers (or whatever the finished title will be) would suffer much here.

On paper, this sounds interesting. If Sonic Team were just shoving another boost game out of the gate, I wouldn't even bother investing myself into it. It would either be as good as Generations or as bad as Forces, and I don't have enough spoons to care about an experience that I know is coming.

This however? I'm curious. An open world Sonic game made by Sonic Team sounds like an absolute disaster, and while I'm extremely wary of it, I'm also kind of excited to see if they could pull it off. I'm not expecting something like a fully realized Sonic Utopia or Green Hill Paradise, but at the very least this could be the shake-up the series needs. I just... kind of worry that this is just jumping on the back of the latest trend that Breath of the Wild started. 

[Wraith]

A lot of bad things have come from following trends, but it's also lead to good things. Working appropriate modern trends into Zelda is how we got Breath of the Wild in the first place.

I'm also just glad to hear that they're a little more conscious of what the rest of the industry is doing even if it might backfire. Sonic felt a smidge insular this decade. A lot of the industry felt like it kind of passed him by.

[UpCDownCLeftCRightC]

To add to Indigo's post, the main thing we should all be concerned about with the development of this game is how sonic moves and controls. Because if they don't get that 'really' right, all else is for naught. It would make sense to me (as someone already pointed out) that ST spent the initials months and years just getting Sonic to feel right and then add and polish other features later. I hope they understand that they can and should take all the time they need for the former, for a game like this it just has to happen.  I don't even think Lost World's physics and controls would cut it here. Something in-between an SA1 and Utopia maybe, easy to pick up and comfortable for the player. 

 

[VO.SUPER]

Of all the trends to follow, I think BoTW is one of the better ones. A lot of what it did was focused around making traversal as fun as possible, which is something I think can resonate with Sonic.

In BoTW it was about the world more than any plot or pure objective. It's just fun to play around the game and seeing the world from any angle you choose.

I think about the scene in the Sonic CD opening where Sonic just runs up that mountain, and the rush of him jumping down into a spindash. Sonic didn't need to spin around the rock like a maniac, but does it anyways because it's more fun that way. Channeling that into an open world experience and structure is the big goal I think the team should aim for.

[Enesephus]

3 minutes ago, UpCDownCLeftCRightC said:

To add to Indigo's post, the main thing we should all be concerned about with the development of this game is how sonic moves and controls. Because if they don't get that 'really' right, all else is for naught. It would make sense to me (as someone already pointed out) that ST spent the initials months and years just getting Sonic to feel right and then add and polish other features later.

That's honestly a really exciting prospect. I remember being so frustrated when I found out that Forces was made in like a year (I think?) and that most of that four years spent waiting for the reveal was mostly just them working on a goddamn lighting engine. With this game there's seemingly no reason they shouldn't have come right out of the gate with gameplay if they've been working on it since Forces, but setting aside the possibility that Sonic Team really do have more to show soon and they just think they can get away with a cryptic tease for E3 with no indication that this particular game will be there, if much of the time we've been waiting was spent getting the movement down, then we really could be in for something special here, seeing as that's much more substantial than how the game looks.

I can't shake the feeling that this will still be an experience that's over very quick in that scenario (and probably even otherwise), but like many have said, as long as the game is genuinely good or even great, then I guess the length could be forgiven, especially if this is the first game in a new style. I'd prefer a meatier experience after waiting up to five years (a wait time normally reserved for giant AAA games), but I imagine Sonic Team wants to turn in something before Sonic turns 35, and I don't know how much actual game they could develop in, let's say, two years, if this is meant for next summer-holiday and they've only recently gone into the full swing of development.

[Red Hot Jack]

The nice thing about this one is it's got something for everyone, I'm assuming, open world and exploration, puzzles and combat, plus traditional boost stages accessible for the overworld, which is basically a developed Adventure field? I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm glad the Generations style stages are still in, as fun as the open world is, I'd get lost wandering around, even though it's part of the appeal of these games. I like the mix.

As for the setting, again I don't mind an ancient civilization, better than Green Hill or cities, which we got fed up after Unleashed, Generations and Forces, in my opinion. The other thing is cyberspace? I'm just glad we are getting new powers, new gameplay styles, and brand new environments instead of nostalgia.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

If they have slowed Sonic down somewhat, and are keeping the boost formula regulated to certain sections, then I could see this being a more meatier experience, like say, Adventure 1.

The reason that Sonic games lately have been struggling with their content is due to the boost formula being prevalent. It's a formula that required them to make unbelievably long to service Sonic's breakneck speed, which took up a lot of dev time.

With more restrained speed, the devs shouldn't be as strapped having to make levels as long and thus have more time to pack more content in.

[herefor1reason]

I like the idea of the boost gameplay being used when collecting Chaos Emeralds (assuming the leaks are true, though the whole metadata thing plus the press release calling it Rangers inclines me to think they are). Cool way to bring back the special stages in a 3d game, at least, that's what it sounds to me like they're doing. The important thing will be the moment to moment gameplay though. FAR more important than the overall structure the game takes, how does it feel to move Sonic second to second, minute to minute? Am I rolling? Boosting (for the love of god, no, unless it's like the Advance games, which looking at the trailer, that IS the impression I got from how the visual effects build up to the boost, though it IS a prerendered trailer that could be fully divorced from gameplay, the loop Sonic does into the weird glyph makes me think we can maybe look into things that way)? Both? Rumors do talk about a skill tree, maybe how Sonic moves plays a part. Would be an interesting way to compromise for fans of both abilities though until I know more, I'm not lending a lot of credence to that idea.

 

I saw somewhere earlier today that this is being made by the team that made Generations and Forces and that...does not inspire a lot of confidence. I like Generations' level design (for a boost game) and I am NOT getting into my feelings on Forces (again) but I'm just...so not interested in playing more of what the post Unleashed era of Sonic has to offer, excepting Mania because Mania. I'm glad Colors is coming to modern hardware and PCs (especially because modding) but I miss the fluidity and the exploration. I miss ramp jumping and finding secrets, chaining movements to maximize the use of my speed to reach new heights and utterly breaking the level geometry with natural as breathing movement.

[Enesephus]

17 minutes ago, Jovahexeon The Undyne said:

If they have slowed Sonic down somewhat, and are keeping the boost formula regulated to certain sections, then I could see this being a more meatier experience, like say, Adventure 1.

The reason that Sonic games lately have been struggling with their content is due to the boost formula being prevalent. It's a formula that required them to make unbelievably long to service Sonic's breakneck speed, which took up a lot of dev time.

With more restrained speed, the devs shouldn't be as strapped having to make levels as long and thus have more time to pack more content in.

I agree with everything you said about the boost gameplay, and, in fact, that's probably the biggest reason I don't think the boost has been a good gameplay style for Sonic, as much as I like Unleashed and Colors, but I'm already allowing myself to believe that this leak may actually be real, I'm not going to take it for granted that they are moving away from boost, nor that they will pack the game with content even in the event that they are. I totally agree that doing so would be more conducive to a longer campaign and more content rich experience, though. It'd be a dream come true, actually.