Sonic Frontiers

Sonic Frontiers is just over a month away and looks to be SEGA’s next big venture for the series. The game is a more open-world format rather than linear levels this time around and has been getting lots of news coverage from conventions and even here at Wccftech, so let’s break down what we know about the game.

Sonic Frontiers was originally announced at the end of 2021, back at The Game Awards 2021. Touted as having “open-zone freedom”, the game places you in sprawling large worlds as Sonic, waiting for you to explore. At that point, the team at Sega said that more was to come later, and it definitely has.

Release Date, Pricing, Platforms

Sonic Frontiers will be released on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on November 8th, 2022 (Epic will release at a later date. Visiting the game’s website will allow you to pre-order for any one of those platforms except for Epic Games.

Pre-ordering the game comes in one of two versions. Players who pre-order the Standard Edition (priced at $59.99) will get access to:

• the Sonic Frontiers base game
• access to THE ADVENTURER’S TREASURE BOX, which includes
  • Skill Points
  • Red Seeds of Power
  • Blue Seeds of Defense

Meanwhile, if you pre-order the Digital Deluxe Edition (priced at $69.99), you’ll receive:

• Sonic Frontiers base game
• Access to THE ADVENTURER’S TREASURE BOX, which includes
  • Skill Points
  • Red Seeds of Power
  • Blue Seeds of Defense
• The Explorer’s Treasure Box, which includes
  • Amy’s Memory Tokens
  • a Portal Gear
  • Chaos Emerald Vault Keys
  • Additional Gloves & Shoes for Sonic
• Digital art book with a 25-track digital mini soundtrack

PC System Requirements

Steam and Epic Games Store buyers will want to pay attention here because Sonic Frontiers’ PC specifications are now public knowledge. If you want to even run the game at 720p Low Settings @ 30 FPS, you’ll need the following:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Core i5-3470 or AMD Ryzen 5 1400
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660, 2 GB or AMD Radeon HD 7870, 2 GB
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 30 GB available space

The recommended specs are as follows. It should be worth noting that these specs will give you 1080p High @ 60 FPS. It also requires a CPU that supports the AVX and SSE4 instruction set.

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Core i5-6600 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600
• Memory: 12 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070, 8 GB or AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, 8 GB
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 30 GB available space

Gameplay Mechanics

Sonic Frontiers’ open worlds have lots to do outside of sightseeing; you’ll be fighting off enemies, tackling large-scale bosses, and exploring the vast landscapes of locations like Ares Island. Some minigames can also be found within the game, like fishing spots.

Though, on the topic of release dates, SEGA decided not to delay the game, despite player feedback suggesting that they should. That notion doesn’t exactly bode well for the game.

Sometime later, the developers of Sonic Frontiers released new gameplay footage through IGN, which showcased a fair chunk of the game’s traversal and landscapes. A few months ago, the title also saw some gameplay details revealed. Outside of the sprawling worlds, you’ll be able to explore, you’ll have to solve puzzles to access more parts of the map, and combat actually serves a purpose. Killing enemies will grant Sonic XP, allowing him to unlock new moves and level up.

The game is going to be far longer than other Sonic titles, clocking in at around 20 to 30 hours to finish a playthrough and a hundred hours to find and unlock everything. Comparatively, you could theoretically beat a Sonic game in a few hours if you put enough effort into it. Sonic Frontiers will also include classic stages known as Cyberspace stages (datamined from another Sonic project, Sonic Origins), meant to play like levels from past games.

Ares Island was shown off in footage from last month, giving players a glimpse of what to expect when they purchase the game itself. Some minigames will be available to players, like a fishing minigame.

Setting

The Starfall Islands are home to an ancient civilization long abandoned. The Chaos Emeralds have disappeared, and Sonic, Tails, and Amy travel to the Islands to find out why. After being separated from Tails and Amy, Sonic finds himself in Cyber Space, which takes the form of Green Hill Zone. After escaping, he’s now alone on Kronos Island, his friends nowhere to be seen.

An AI calls to him soon after, and after cryptically guiding Sonic towards rescuing his friends, destroying the “Titans” (which will probably be elaborated on later), and then “tear down the walls between dimensions” From there, the game kicks off and allows you to explore Kronos Island as you see fit.

Sonic Frontiers’ story comes from a trailer at Gamescom Opening Night Live. The studio mentioned that the game wouldn’t be going into its traditional heroes vs. villain plotlines that form the vast majority of Sonic games’ storylines. Despite this, Dr. Eggman is still making an appearance in-game, though what role he plays exactly is largely unknown (if the Story trailer is anything to go off of).

Trailers and Gameplay Videos

Sonic Frontiers has gotten a bunch of trailers between its 2021 Game Awards announcement and now, and you can watch them below.

The Game Awards 2021 announcement trailer.

May 2022 gameplay teaser.

IGN Gameplay Reveal from June 2022.

GameXplain teaser from June 2022.

Nintendo Direct Mini trailer from late June 2022.

IGN Japan footage from August 2022.

September 2022 Overview trailer.

Gamescom 2022 fishing minigame footage.