‘Sonic Frontiers’’ open-zone style is the “future” of ‘Sonic The Hedgehog’

Sonic Team has shared that Sonic Frontiers lays the foundations for the “future” of the franchise, with its open-zone format  set to become a permanent addition.

Speaking to Sector, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka said that Sonic Frontiers marks “another defining moment for the franchise” with the game’s open-zone, which allowed players to roam large segments of the map and explore it in their own time. He went on to say that the last defining moment was “bringing Sonic fully into the 3D world with Sonic Adventure,” in 1998.

Iizuka continued: “Sonic Frontiers is the franchise’s first open-zone platforming experience, which is a massive leap for the Blue Blur”.

“Our goal was to evolve the linear, stage-clearing 3D action that began with Sonic Adventure in 1998 into a new action-packed adventure game where players have the freedom to explore the environment around them,” he explained. “We know many players love exploring expansive worlds with no predetermined path and that’s what we set out to achieve with our new open-zone platforming concept.”

“I am very excited for Sonic to join this revolutionary step in immersive gaming worlds. Our goal for Sonic Frontiers was to create a game that would be the cornerstone of future Sonic games.”

Earlier this year, Iizuka said that Frontiers was the “next step for the next ten years” and revealed that he already knows what Sonic game comes next.

However, following the release of the game earlier this month, Sonic Frontiers director Morio Kishimoto responded to feedback from fans and critics before calling the game a “global playtest” and implying that Sonic Team still has some work to do on the title.

In a three-star review, NME said: “A game caught between ideas, Sonic Frontiers is bland and unfulfilling. Despite an emotional story and thrilling Portal stages, Sega’s open-world format falls flat due to repetitive grinding and a lack of substance.”

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