by Two important streams happened that day (at the same time for some reason) – Sonic Central on Sonic the Hedgehog channel and Sonic Frontiers Preview – The First Hands-On Impressions on IGN channel. Here are both videos:
Plot
Quote: “After flying into a wormhole with Tails and Amy, Sonic finds himself separated from his friends and all alone on the isolated island with nothing but an AI voice guiding him to collect the Chaos Emeralds”. The reviewer places great emphasis on the abandoned and mysterious atmosphere of the islands that Sonic visits. Of course, there are few details in the description, but some parallels can already be drawn from it.
First of all, the Emeralds are back. Good or bad, you can decide for yourself, but let me remind you that the Chaos Emeralds haven’t appeared in a major Sonic game plot since Sonic Generations. By the way, this is not the only parallel with Generations. Sonic finds himself in some abandoned lonely dimension, where he got through a portal, obviously not of his own free will, where he split up with his friends and has to find them, collecting the Chaos Emeralds at the same time. Doesn’t it remind you of anything?
Soundtrack
The reviewer notes that the entire soundtrack from the game is unlike anything that has come before in the series. Instead of driving rock or electronic compositions, simple piano chill tunes are constantly heard. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with this, however, I VERY much hope that at least in combat or in bossfights the music will give at least some adrenaline.
Just a little wish of mine…
Leveling system and EXP ingame
If anyone had any doubts about the presence of the progression system in Sonic Frontiers so far, it has now been officially confirmed. Sonic Frontiers will feature a skills tree, where you will be able to acquire abilities for the points you get for defeating your enemies. While there are few details about this system, however, it has been almost obvious for a long time.
The last time the progression system was present in a big game was in Sonic Unleashed, and for a daytime Sonic it was weak to say the least. Let’s see how they do now.
Linear Stages and the Chaos Emeralds
The mechanic of Chaos Emeralds search has been clarified. According to the reviewer, after defeating giant minibosses that resemble Shadow of the Colossus in their mechanics, you will receive portal gears, which allow you to open a portal to a linear stage, in the style of a classic 3D platformer. For completing the stage, you will receive a vault key, which “are needed to unlock the coveted Chaos Emeralds”.
The fallout from the defeated miniboss of portal gear.
New boss revealed
In Sonic Central, some kind of flying road-spawning thing was shown as a boss in Sonic Frontiers. It’s wildly reminiscent of the Rukh Birds from Sonic and the Secret Rings, though it’s more complex. Overall, it looks dynamic and interesting, although details are scarce.
Chasing after the “Rukh”.
The bossfight itself.