Megathread Sonic Frontiers (2022) | MT | General Discussion (DO NOT discuss leaks here please)

[Winston]

I think the game looks fine, from the very little amount I saw. It’s hard to really judge anything yet, but at the very least I’m looking forward to seeing more of it so that’s a positive for me.

I don’t mind combat being a focus, as long as it’s fast and flashy. The only issue I really have so far is the environment’s don’t really strike me as Sonic, but it’s something that I believe I can look over if the final product is at least good.

[MetKey]

why are there rails just randomly floating around, they look like they were just put there with no actual thought

[Razule]

I don't think they'd leave something as glaring as random rails in the sky in the trailer if it wasn't supposed to be there. We know what this in environment looks like, where else would they put them? That's just how it is. 

[___-_]

The rails in the air do just look like it's someone's strand of hair left on screen or some shit =P, but I'm just going to chalk it up and say we don't know the full context yet. It could very well be just a very arcady way of showing how Sonic opened up a different path way after he ran on the treadmill. I don't think it's all that weird considering other things.

Maybe it's just a lil weirder now because we're just seeing them in a different perspective now that there's more camera control it seems? I'd assume levels like Final Rush would look like this if the draw distance and free cameral control would allow for it?

[DaddlerTheDalek]

It looks kinda cool. Looking forward to see more.

[SSF1991]

One thing is for sure. This is nothing like Sonic Forces. And I'm not upset about this at all.

I'm pretty hyped for this game! I can't wait to see more gameplay tomorrow!

[Sonicka]

Whelp, Here we go again.

TBH, I’m not going to bother getting too opinionated until we see more tomorrow (and indeed in the coming month). 20 seconds of loose gameplay barely highlights anything to me beyond it visually looking quite pretty (and that it has nice music).

I will say that it would be a shame if they don’t organically work in level design structures like rails and so forth again, but things like hanging rails and platforms have been a staple of 3D platformers (and indeed every Sonic game) since the PS2/GC era - all Sonic levels are nonsensical anyway when you really think about it, as long as it is fun is what matters. 

Also if this is a VR world like previous trailers / leaks suggested, then that solves that particular aesthetic anyway. 

Presently, I’m intrigued enough. But I’m not going to bat for either side - you just never know these days until the game is actually in your hands and by then it’s too late.

IIRC, Sonic Forces felt incredibly promising to me back in the day from early demos (from my personal experience anyway) yet this ended up being the most middle of the road experience ever. Same could happen here… or we could hit gold. Who knows anymore with Sonic Team.

[Zoomzeta]

6 minutes ago, Son-icka said:

Whelp, Here we go again.

TBH, I’m not going to bother getting too opinionated until we see more tomorrow (and indeed in the coming month). 20 seconds of loose gameplay barely highlights anything to me beyond it visually looking quite pretty (and that it has nice music).

I will say that it would be a shame if they don’t organically work in level design structures like rails and so forth again, but things like hanging rails and platforms have been a staple of 3D platformers (and indeed every Sonic game) since the PS2/GC era - all Sonic levels are nonsensical anyway when you really think about it, as long as it is fun is what matters. 

Also if this is a VR world like previous trailers / leaks suggested, then that solves that particular aesthetic anyway. 

Presently, I’m intrigued enough. But I’m not going to bat for either side - you just never know these days until the game is actually in your hands and by then it’s too late.

IIRC, Sonic Forces felt incredibly promising to me back in the day from early demos (from my personal experience anyway) yet this ended up being the most middle of the road experience ever. Same could happen here… or we could hit gold. Who knows anymore with Sonic Team.

You came to think that of forces from a limited demo that limited your playtime with it? 

[Coz483]

Looks pretty cool have a few issues but am excited for gameplay tomorrow

[Diogenes]

8 minutes ago, Son-icka said:

I will say that it would be a shame if they don’t organically work in level design structures like rails and so forth again, but things like hanging rails and platforms have been a staple of 3D platformers (and indeed every Sonic game) since the PS2/GC era - all Sonic levels are nonsensical anyway when you really think about it, as long as it is fun is what matters. 

The problem I have with the rails isn't that they're unrealistic, it's that they look like garbage level design. Sonic barely has anything to do while grinding, so what's the point of all of them? It's not going to be any fun to just get on one, hold boost, and maybe do a jump or two. Even less if you miss a jump and have to run back to the start to try again.

[Coz483]

Interesting little theory
https://twitter.com/SonicLorepost/status/1531689518214127616?t=DW_0BwpMxe-Vl6RkDkCJCA&s=19
It say's "I noticed something new, Sonic would seem to ''steal '' the energy of the enemies while using the circle, zooming in you can see that Sonic starts to light up a bit and a line of particles appears in a zigzag pattern which then disappears upon action finished." By Sonic Loreposting.

[Slashy]

I have a hard time getting super excited about the Starfall Islands when they look like what I have seen in several open world games before it seems that SEGA really thinks this is amazing world design.

[phobs]

This is unpopular opinion, but I actually like those floating rails in the sky. Does it defy laws of physics? Yeah. But I kinda think that it fits very well with whole glitchy, evil tech kind of atmosphere.

[ZinogreVolt]

Game looks like fun! I love how snappy everything seems, and impressions from (presumed, not yet confirmed) leaks still seem pretty positive overall. Hopefully later footage and the final game lives up.

Personally really digging the dichotomy between Sonic and the realistic environments, although I agree that the rails just hanging in the sky do look somewhat jarring.

[StaticMania]

Remember when rails were just in the sky and people only griped about it...?

[DaBigJ]

We only have 30 seconds of footage, and already Frontiers is this divided. Haven't seen a Sonic game this decisive since...Forces holy shit.

[Shaddy Zaphod]

Man, they can never drop new shit while I'm already awake, can they.

Anyway, no strong opinion on it right now. Animations are whatever. Rails in the sky look weird but only because I don't know what they're for, some of them appear to connect to nothing. Combat looks...weird. People are worried about the enemies being damage sponges but we saw like four different moves and some of them took them out pretty quick. Those robots kind of look like NiER 1 enemies. Weird to hear people complain about the movement when all we've seen Sonic do is run in one straight line and one circle, but hey, at least he can actually turn well at low speeds. Game does not look "unfinished" as some are saying.

[Razule]

52 minutes ago, Razule said:

A lot of the issues I have with it are the same, not that I expected them to change. The world doesn't look very Sonic-oriented, the one aspect that's been added sticks out like a sore thumb. The combat must be the main draw of the game, because it doesn't look any more fun to traverse than any another 3D game's open world. One of the credible leaks did say the Generations-style Cyberspace sections were the better part of the game though. Still not totally sold on the combat, but we've been aware it was a thing for a year now, and it's happening, like it or not. I'd really rather not have to hit anymore than twice in a Sonic the Hedgehog game, but this doesn't look quite like many Sonic games we've seen before. It could be fun, I'm cautiously optimistic. 

The Boost is severely nerfed in the open-zone, which was to be expected. You need to be able to move precisely, and not able to bulldoze through any enemy in your path. There's not even a sonic boom cone effect anymore. The base speed looks pretty slow actually, and the "boost" looks closer to the typical speed in a Boost game. Maybe you need to level it up? He's lost his memories and forgotten how to run.

 

[Detective Kaito]

Remember back when people were coping about Sonic's reused model from Forces being a placeholder? Yeah, that was fun. Obviously Sonic Team would continue to use a placeholder model of the only playable character 4 years into development.

[Zoomzeta]

29 minutes ago, Slashy said:

I have a hard time getting super excited about the Starfall Islands when they look like what I have seen in several open world games before it seems that SEGA really thinks this is amazing world design.

I'm going to have ask you to use Assassin's Creed as the bar you don't want this game to reach right now.

19 minutes ago, Jake_LeOFFICIAL said:

We only have 30 seconds of footage, and already Frontiers is this divided. Haven't seen a Sonic game this decisive since...Forces holy shit.

Last I checked,  I've seen no classic Sonic, so I say we are on better footing from here to tomorrow. 

[D.H]

28 minutes ago, phobs said:

This is unpopular opinion, but I actually like those floating rails in the sky. Does it defy laws of physics? Yeah. But I kinda think that it fits very well with whole glitchy, evil tech kind of atmosphere.

On top of that, since when was level elements merely floating in the sky that doesn't make sense physics-wise been new to Sonic? It's such an odd problem to have, tbh.

The potential issue isn't whether or not it "makes sense," it's whether or not the rails actually leads to anything & if you have to go all the way back to the beginning if you get knocked off. Which we honestly don't know yet.

[Razule]

I get that the gameplay teaser just came out and we're all hyped, but it is so weird that after all this time, there are still fans complaining about other people complaining about nitpicks. The same "no one can ever be pleased" stuff as if this isn't Sonic the Hedgehog, and we haven't had ten years of mid games. Everyone's so hypersensitive that even the tiniest criticism about something they claim to not care about upsets them. If the game's not good, then inexplicably placed grind-rails, Sonic moving kinda stiffly and that one dumb finisher animation will be the least of our concerns.

 

 

 

[Slashy]

5 minutes ago, Zoomzeta said:

I'm going to have ask you to use Assassin's Creed as the bar you don't want this game to reach right now.

Last I checked,  I've seen no classic Sonic, so I say we are on better footing from here to tomorrow. 

World design was a strong suit of Sonic until Lost World hit, but even then we still got some good ideas like Metropolis in Forces and all the Mania original zones.

It is especially bad for Sonic in an open world game to have this uninspired and uninteresting world design.

[Soniman]

3 minutes ago, D.H said:

On top of that, since when was level elements merely floating in the sky that doesn't make sense physics-wise been new to Sonic? It's such an odd problem to have, tbh.

The potential issue isn't whether or not it "makes sense," it's whether or not the rails actually leads to anything & if you have to go all the way back to the beginning if you get knocked off. Which we honestly don't know yet.

It’s more just it’s the only really actual “level design” I’m seeing here beyond the open world map, seriously they’re everywhere in the trailer and the idea of their only attempts at creating Sonic-like interactions with the level are automated grind rails and zero slopes of any kind doesn’t inspire much

[Willsy]

27 minutes ago, Jake_LeOFFICIAL said:

We only have 30 seconds of footage, and already Frontiers is this divided. Haven't seen a Sonic game this decisive since...Forces holy shit.

This is nothing like Forces pre-release. Divisive would be a very, very generous way of describing it, in fact I don't think I've ever seen the fanbase so indifferent in the run-up to a mainline Sonic game than with Forces.