I appreciate how blunt he is: the series is already a mess with continuity, so he just accepts Chronicles ideas cool despite the game being non-canon.
To win, you need to adapt, and to adapt, you need to be able to laugh away all the restraints. Everything holding you back.So this is something I said on Twitter in regards to why Frontiers is taking the direction it is:
This is a game that I’m most likely gonna get anyways but I don’t know if the main core gameplay loop is gonna be appealing to me. It seems like Sonic’s core design in this game is trying to appeal to the mainstream audience.
And the core design of most Sonic games is only able to appeal to those like us who are willing to replay the games over and over again to become better at them.
And that design isn’t gonna appeal to a lot of modern gamers because of the syntax of game design being different in 2022 than it was in 1991.
In addition to the major console games not having reviewed well after 2001. This is purely because of Sega leaving the hardware business and the critics reviewing games for the big three not being attuned well to the arcade design mentality Sega and especially Sonic have.
AAAAUUUUGGGHHHH!!!!I feel like the reception to Frontiers is going to be very split, just based on how different the game is in style and gameplay loop. My prediction:
- People who aren't really fans of Sonic or who are just casual fans are going to love the game, praising it as the best 3D Sonic game ever.
- Hardcore Sonic fans are going to hate the game, saying it deviated too much from the "Sonic formula" and that it's not even a Sonic game anymore.
I'd say that the term "hardcore" would be even split in that regard between those who accept the change because it brings more variety for the franchise and those who don't like you said.
"Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It's unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don't have to try."I had a dream where Nack, Ray, and Knuckles were added to a remake of Sonic Spinball as playable. And it had a really deep storyline for some reason.
The Protomen enhanced my life.
*6 Yay, more combat spotlights.
Like, don’t get me wrong. It looks amazing. I get why they’re proud of it. But, we really need to see more of the game outside of that.
People have been talking on here about how the gameplay doesn’t quite feel like Sonic, and I think part of that feeling is that we haven’t really gotten to see much of it. The demo was just part of one area, and there isn’t much more to look at.
Are there going to be places and ways the game will let the player revel in Sonic’s speed, without being setpieces? Is that just going to be limited to the flashback levels? Also, there’s placement puzzles and such, but are we going to see fun things with momentum? How much is the player going to be able to cut loose and explore the open landscape should they not want to do a fight or a puzzle right now - a lot, or is just going to be “go from encounter to encounter” in design?
We have little info for how the game is meant to feel outside of combat and puzzle encounters, so the answer for all of that is “I dunno.” But hey, here’s the third trailer/info release in a row making sure we know that Sonic can do a ki attack now. Neat.
Edited by KnownUnknown on Oct 13th 2022 at 12:15:36 PM
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I’m also talking about how the port of SA 2 reviewed worse than the Dreamcast version, in part because of it coming out after big hits that pushed the medium forward (Halo, MGS 2, and GTA III). Yes the meandering quality is a thing, but SA 2 is overall considered to be good. Yes it’s divisive but leans positive.
But even Colors and Generations weren’t getting higher than 8/10 scores. It says something when Mania is the highest rated game since 2001.
But the point still stands that the core design of Sonic isn’t gonna appeal to a lot of modern gamers, regardless of quality.
Edited by powerpuffbats on Oct 13th 2022 at 2:16:40 PM
AAAAUUUUGGGHHHH!!!!We didn't have enough footage of how the combat wouldn't be repetitive...
So despite the amount of it there was, this is still necessary.
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.![]()
I posted one last night even. I find his opinions refreshing.
@Known Unknown: I'm fairly certain we've basically seen the entire gameplay loop and what it has to offer.
So fans looking for a more "traditional" Sonic gameplay will just have to settle for the Cyberspace levels. The open world and combat are the main draws here and that's been very apparent for a long time.
So if anything you've seen from Frontiers hasn't hooked you yet, then I doubt anything besides the story will hook you.
For my part...eh. I don't think this game will be bad by any means, but its definitely not what I want from my Sonic games lol. Imma still get it cuz it doesn't bore me at least but man, Sega really just do not want to make a 3D platformer lol.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.Frontiers is an interesting beast at this point because its clearly appealing to Adventure era fans in seemingly every sense except gameplay. A more somber tone, a seemingly serious story, a soundtrack very much calling back to the style of the aughts, and so on. That's why the gameplay loop will be an interesting test. While I've seen many 2000s era fans willing to be open minded about that (see the embracing of many of the series experiments circa 1998-2008), stuff like the open world and combat emphasis may or may not be too much for fans otherwise enthusiastic about the rest of the game.
So fans looking for a more "traditional" Sonic gameplay will just have to settle for the Cyberspace levels.
I'm not sure you read me correctly, as that's... not at all what I said. I didn't say anything about the game having traditional Sonic game design.
I said "is the traversal of this game going to capture speed or momentum" (and, after all, it's not like the game has to play like a traditional Sonic game to feel fast), and "are the puzzles in this game going to offer a wider range of options than what we've seen," and "is exploration of the game world going to be encouraged in the hub level design, versus popping from objective to objective."
These are all important questions about the traversal of the game that we certainly haven't seen much information about yet, no.
We've only really seen that in bits of a demo that only gave us part of the introductory area of the game with only the basic stuff included, designed by nature to be small but simplistic sampling. We don't know what the level design of the hubs past the first world look like (or even what more we can expect out of the first world), and we've barely gotten any information about what it looks or feels like to just... travel that world in itself.
In an open world game, traversal is extremely important. How traversal functions, what engaging with the game world feels like, and how the game feels unique in the way the player can move within is arguably way more important to whether people are going to enjoy the overall experience, because it's 80% of the game.
You're going to have a lot of combat, but most of the time you're going to be going from Point A to Point B. So it better be fun. And if this game is going to stand out in a market where you can pick up a game an awful lot like this for free, it better feel unique. So we need to know what Sonic's take on the open world exploration adventure genre brings to the table. For the most part, the answer Sonic Team has given to that has been "uhh... well, here's more combat."
But - like - we already know the combat looks good. How about some other stuff?
Edited by KnownUnknown on Oct 13th 2022 at 4:39:42 AM

Thought that too can be owed to years of experience and creativity