Update [Tue 28th Jun, 2022 17:30 BST]: More details have been shared by Sega following the Direct on Sonic Frontiers (thanks, Nintendo Everything!). This includes new abilities, specific enemy types, and a brand new character called Sage.

We've also got more confirmation that Tails and Amy will be involved in some way!

Here's all of the new info from Sega:

Story
Sonic’s new journey begins when him and his friends – Amy and Tails – head to the Starfall Islands in search of Chaos Emeralds. As they approach the islands, sudden trouble hits their plane, and they are sucked into a dimensional portal. Sonic then finds himself separated from his friends and awakens in a strange, digital world – Cyber Space. He miraculously escapes Cyber Space and arrives on Kronos Island, one of the Starfall Islands, full of ancient ruins where strange enemies roam. It is then up to Sonic to explore the Starfall Islands, find his lost friends and uncover the mysteries around him.

Starfall Islands
The first island Sonic explores is Kronos Island. Its terrain and climate see frequent rain, large waterfalls, lush forests, mountains and floating towers in the air. The ruins scattered around the island appear to be the homes of ancient inhabitants – the Koco.

Cyber Space
Entrances to Cyber Space made by the ancient civilization of Starfall Islands can be found all throughout the map. Sonic fans will solve puzzles and complete challenges to earn Portal Gears to unlock these entrances access Cyber Space levels featuring the traditional, fast-paced, speed running action platforming. They’ll need to complete the challenges in each Cyber Space level to receive Vault Keys to progress further in the game.

Open-zone platforming
Players can enjoy high-speed, open-zone gameplay and interact with various activities on the island however and wherever they choose. Experience exhilarating combat, puzzles, side quests, Cyber Space and conversations with characters across the island in any order you’d like to match your play style.

Game World
Sonic Frontiers expands what fans know and love about traditional Sonic games, combining both linear-level gameplay and open-zone platforming into a new, action-filled Sonic adventure. The world map is bigger than ever before, giving Sonic more room to run and explore his surroundings, enabling him to evolve the land around him as he ventures deeper into the mysteries of Starfall Islands.

Battle System
Sonic’s combat style is more exhilarating and fluid than ever before. Players can use various button controls to fight strategically, combining moves such as dodges, parries, counters and more in various combos to show off battle skills unlocked throughout the game. If you prefer more straightforward gameplay, the game also has an Auto Mode where various attack combos can be executed with a single button. All Sonic fans can easily enjoy the fast and fluid combat system.

New Cyloop Ability
Sonic learns a new ability called “Cyloop,” creating a band of light mirroring Sonic’s tracks. Surround enemies, items and areas to uncover its various effects and unlock the secrets of the Starfall Islands.

Puzzles
There are various puzzles to solve throughout the ancient ruins of Starfall Islands. Completing each puzzle can grant items to increase Sonic’s power and defense, reveal hidden parts of the map and unlock new ways to navigate the island at fast speeds.

Gameplay Styles
When you first start the game, you can choose between two player control styles – Action Style and High Speed Style. Action Style helps with more accurate platforming, great for players new to Sonic games. High Speed Style offers more speed, great for players used to Sonic titles.

Characters
Sonic the Hedgehog
The world’s fastest supersonic hedgehog. Sonic’s adventure begins on the Starfall Islands in pursuit of the Chaos Emeralds and his lost friends. He is also guided by a strange voice along the way.

Sage
A mysterious girl that appears across the Starfall Islands. Throughout the story, she cautions Sonic to leave the Starfall Islands despite his mission to find and save his friends.

Enemies
The Starfall Islands are home to strange creatures Sonic has never encountered before. Players will need to make use of the all-new battle system and abilities to take down these strange new foes.

SOLDIER: This enemy spawns in groups and attacks in jabbing motions with both hands.
CYCLONE: A floating enemy causing damage with attacks that appear as electric tornados.

BANGER: A wheel-like enemy that rushes towards Sonic once he is detected and attacks at high speeds if provoked.

SHELL: An enemy protected by a hard shell that attacks at a distance with a boomerang-type move. Sonic’s attacks cannot penetrate the hard shell, but other methods such as Cyloop can catch this enemy off-guard.
B
UBBLE: An enemy formed by a group of spheres that attacks Sonic with electricity.

Bosses
NINJA: An enemy with high-speed attacks reminiscent of the fighting style of its namesake. Can block incoming attacks and strike with shadows of itself.
TOWER: An enemy composed of various stacked parts. Its weakness is at the top of its head, so Sonic will need to figure out how to destroy each stack to get to it.
ASURA: A large enemy that looks like a tall building. Run up the arm it throws down to find its weakness at the top and attack.


Original article[Tue 28th Jun, 2022 15:00 BST]: We've already had a ton of speedy Sonic Frontiers trailers this month, but today's Nintendo Direct Mini gave us an extra taste of what to expect from the blue blur's open zone game.

Today's trailer gave us a first look at the game running on Switch, and it looks surprisingly smooth! While the new trailer didn't show off much new stuff otherwise, we did get a glimpse at some of the weather effects, more combat, and more of Sonic just running around some vast, open fields, collecting rings and climbing up towers.

There was also a hint of Eggman's presence, with what looks like a mechanical building with the nefarious doctor's logo plastered on the side.

The biggest reveal is a new area called 'Cyber Space' which will hide away challenges for you to complete. Some of the levels in this area look like they're based on levels from Sonic's history, with a Green Hill-based area and something that looks like Metal Harbour from Sonic Adventure 2. Here you'll unlock keys that will help you progress even further — whether that's in the main story, or just to unlock more challenges, we'll have to wait and see.

Sonic Frontiers is due to launch later this year on the Switch. Were you impressed by today's trailer? Speed on down to the comments!