New Sonic Frontiers Trailer Finally Showcases The Combat, And It's A Lot To Take In

Wait… didn't Sonic had a skill tree in Sonic & the Secret Rings?

It looks a bit over complicated. Boss battles are always my least favourite bit of any Sonic game so I'm a little concerned about the emphasis on them over platform action stages which seem to be extremely short, possibly even moreso than Forces.

Looks like a good amount of fun. Seems simple on the surface, but I appreciate how much emphasis there seems to be on platforming elements like rail grinding and homing attack chains for the fights here. It's more in-depth than normal, but mobile enough to still feel "Sonic-y" in a way that the combat in games like Heroes and Unleashed really weren't. Good stuff.

We only have a few more weeks to see if we have Sonic '22 on our hands? YouTubers are hoping this burns so they can make "What happened" videos for a decade

The pop-up must be severe in this game if the pre-release trailers still feature it (see the 58" mark).

I’m so hyped for this game, I don’t really have any worries anymore, what it’s going to be what it’s going to be, if it sucks it sucks, if it’s good it’s good.

Wow that’s ALOT to remember to do…complicated gameplay can take away from the fun….why can’t we just do loops and jump on springs and run from killer whales like in the good old days…

Seems a bit overly complex for a Sonic game. My 4 year old is Sonic mad at the moment and loves playing the games, in particular the 2D ones. Was considering trying him with for a bit of variation, but I think this will overwhelm him

Well enemies have now been confirmed to increase in difficulty over time, that’s another win for the fans and another loss for the haters who said the game wouldn’t get harder.
The combat seems pretty easy to grasp with more complex options available if you’re willing to learn them, the moves you can pull off look really cool too.

Im still optimistic, they’ve put thought into this and are trying to evolve the Sonic games

@Snatcher Feel exactly the same way, looking forward to it!

This is looking good. Must keep expectations in check but I’m failing miserably.

Haven't bought a 3d sonic game since generations, let's see if this one will break the trend.

@RareFan And in Sonic Boom on Wii U, no?

Looks over complicated, this game does not feel like a sonic game, I played sonic when he first came out on the genesis and those genesis games have beautiful levels and memorable great music

@fox_mattcloud If anything, it'll be easier for the kids because they won't overthink it like we will 😅

Spam Sonic Boom

This isn't that complicated... just multiple options to attack. One option to break shields.

I would say it is no more complicated as any other exploring and fighting game, like Darksiders, Breath of the Wild, Monster Hunter, Etc

I see the moving and the shooting and the circling everything, but I’m not feeling the fun..

wowwwww this looks so good!!

It looks good to me. I doubt it would be too complex, if you can read the information carefully in the game, or gain the experience by playing. Am sure the online guides will also help and be clear enough, if it is still complex. It's because it's a video.

The game looks good to me, and I hope it is, but I'm planning to wait for the reviews and also what it is like on the Switch. Just to be sure.

Sega does make good Sonic games, and in the past they have too, but unfortunately they've made some really bad ones too. I don't think this will be a bad game, but it's my guess for now, I just hope I'm right on that guess.

I fail to see how this looks too complicated or "a lot to take in". Simple upgradable moves, but definitely adds variety to the fighting. Looking good to me!

This looks so cool! Admittedly I'm no critic, I had a decent amount of fun with games like Sonic boom and Sonic forces so, I think I'll enjoy this too. The combat looks epic and I really like that they're giving Sonic more powers like that.
Around 2:18.. Sonic eyes light up neon blue, I wonder if they took this from the movie? That's pretty cool

I just don't know which version to get. Xbox or switch 🤔

Looks like a fun game. I've definitely played more "complex" games before.

Watching the Sonic model move around in the video is giving me the impression that the model simply floats through the environment; even basic animations seem to move Sonic around so quickly that it doesn't feel very grounded or connected to its environment.

Visually, your character is supposed to feel palpable by its relationship with the environment. This is why clipping through the ground in a game like Xenoblade 3 feels like a bigger deal than it is, even pointed out by DigitalFoundry; it's a clear example of immersion breaking, because your brain is trying to suspend disbelief, and believe that your avatar is a real character traveling across a landscape.

The more your character visually reacts to each step taken and movement made within the environment, the more immersive it feels to play.

The writing/presentation was weirdly stilted (an awkward mix of dry, technical explanation and chatty bro-speak) but the content itself didn’t seem too overwhelming.

Sonic levels up. You can gain experience by battling and exploring. He has a combo meter. He can parry. Enemies get stronger as the game progresses. Etc.

As a guy who loves character action games, the combat here looks really bad. There's no weight, animations are too jittery, and most moves just put you into a cutscene. Considering this comes out a week or so after Bayo 3 and the same day as GOW, I have a feeling it's going to get less than stellar remarks in regards to that

@Hemibear because the "good ol days" were never good. Yeah everyone will praise Sonic 2, despite it not being a good game in any way. The biggest problem with Sonic games have always been the Sonic fanbase; you never know what you want. They release two identical games and you'll praise one while degrading the other, then complain about how they can't make a good modern game. The only fanbase as close to delusional as the Sonic fanbase is the Pokemon one! For once in his entire franchise Sonic looks to have an amazing game releasing.

So sick of bad design: run right so fast you can't see the next hazard, get hit, lose rings, scramble to get 1 ring, run again and not see a single thing in the stage, finish. The best thing to happen to Sonic has always been leaving his traditional game design behind.

@Sora181 the combat here looks great, 100x better than anything in a Sonic game before and looks like a good mix of speed (which the delusional fanbase thinks his games need) and actual substance. This will be a great game.

@Baler Don't ever support Xbox. Worst company in gaming without question.

I'm not a Sonic fan by any means (I liked Sonic 2 & 3 well enough, and 3D Blast is lame but I have a nostalgic attachment) so take that as you will, but Frontiers looks like an attempt to copy the open-world aspects of games like Horizon and BotW without giving much thought about how to synthesize the gameplay between Sonic and open worlds. For example the rails, jump pads, etc just randomly pop up in the middle of the world with no visual logic. It's a jarring contrast.

@Snatcher

nicely said, after watching that video I'm right where you are.

@fox_mattcloud

I completely agree.

sonic is maybe the best one-button platformer ever (eh, gang?) and GENERALLY the more they add the less fun I have.

however, Sonic Adventure was the damn HYPE in 99 and I ate it up. I have no idea how it aged but boy did I live in that game for a while there.
This game now has Sonic Adventure '99 vibes for me, and I'm excited. 👍 super glad I watched the video. ty NL!

@RobynAlecksys
I would love to see you explain how the combat looks good. Just because it looks better then combat in other Sonic games, doesn't make it good.

@RobynAlecksys

"speed (which the delusional fanbase thinks his games need)"

r/unpopularopinion

@Sora181

you don't have to like the combat 👍

@-wc- The games aged just about as poorly as Mario 64, if you played around the time you will enjoy it, if your trying it for the first time, yeah it might not play great, but I love sonic ad 2!

@RobynAlecksys

"Yeah everyone will praise Sonic 2, despite it not being a good game in any way."

in ANY way? not memorable characters, smooth scrolling, fast action, excellent, catchy music, brilliant colorful graphics, fun and challenging half pipe bonus game?

come on, you lose credibility when you use lazy hyperbole/troll right out of the gate. you seem like a thoughtful person.

I kinda like what I'm seeing so far, looks promising as long as it doesn't end up repetitive.

@RareFan: I have to double check but I think Secret Rings' skill feature wasn't an actual skill tree, just something that mainly gave your existing moves different elemental quirks.

@-wc-
Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast has aged extremely well. Lots of people argue that adventure fans have this thought just because of nostalgia bias, but I literally played it for the very first time last year and it was an absolute blast with no real issues.
The rereleases do have a lot of issues, which didn’t help with it’s reputation.

Sonic Frontiers is definitely giving off adventure vibes to me as well, it’s really shaping up to be a very good game.

@RobynAlecksys
“So sick of bad design: run right so fast you can't see the next hazard, get hit, lose rings, scramble to get 1 ring, run again and not see a single thing in the stage, finish.”
My eyes are slow at seeing and even I’ve never had this issue in Sonic 2 (or 3). If you’re actually trying to play the game then you should definitely have enough time to jump over or spin through enemies/obstacles in the way, especially on the current widescreen versions.
Sonic isn’t even that fast when running on a flat surface, and running should be replaced with spinning whenever possible (such as going down hills) so you don’t just run into an enemy and take damage. The game also doesn’t force you to go fast all the time, and when it does you simply roll up to dash through oncoming enemies.

Sonic 2 is a great game that’s just fun to run through in an afternoon, my group loves racing to see who can finish first. Before you say we’re nostalgia blind, we’re not, I’ve only had the game for 5 years and my friends have only had it for a few months.

@RobynAlecksys
I can agree that most Sonic fans don’t even know what they want in a game, but they still know a good game when they play it.
I don’t know of any two identical Sonic games that were released where one was degraded and the other was praised, most games don’t even share a gimmick with each other let alone be identical to each other.

@-wc- I know, but when that's one of the main selling points of the game, I'm going to judge it

Looks pretty horrible. The pacing of platformers always tends to be dragged to a dull halt when you introduce enemies with health.

Like does the enemies made vulnerable by the cyloop, the trailer says to "deal as much damage to them until their shield goes back up" ...but then what? do the cyloop again? Should a standard enemy in a platformer really need multiple cycles of the same kind of attacks to beat?

Every Sonic game looks “amazing!”, “promising!”, and “refreshing!”, until you play it…

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 2742957299474 times, shame on my dumb-butt.

@RobynAlecksys no worse than the rest

isn't this how you kill angels in Evangelion?

@RobynAlecksys I can't agree more, this combat looks so good! It reminds me of the combat and the awesome stuff you could do in Sonic Heroes (Too bad it looks like Sonic is alone in this one, though). Can't wait to get it!