SEGA showcases first gameplay for Sonic Frontiers: Release date, platforms, and more

sportskeeda.com:

If there is one franchise that has always been at the top of SEGA's list, it is undoubtedly Sonic. The Japanese publisher has released several installments and spin-offs in the iconic platformer series. Some have seen success, while others were doomed to epic failure.

Fans have been cautiously optimistic about the upcoming Sonic Frontiers with these thoughts in mind. It was announced last year with a cinematic teaser of the popular blue hedgehog blazing through a forest, and it finally received new gameplay.

The initial barely-a-minute-long tidbit on the media's official account showcases snippets of a little bit of everything. The vast open world, the sprinkled grind-rails, and combat with enemies.

A lot of it seems promising at the very least, especially the enemy design and bash-based combat. However, much of the footage is taken from IGN's exclusive First gameplay debut, which covers four minutes of full gameplay.

For one, it showcases Sonic's moveset well. He can walk, run, grind, dash and bounce - as is usual for the hero. But it seems like he also has a ground pound or stomp move, or at least something that looks akin to one.

Otherwise, the map is expansive and littered with towering monoliths and designated rails/bounce pads with rings and coins to collect. There also seem to be destroyable structures.

While the extensive gameplay does not showcase combat, it does depict activities around the map. Some seem active, while others are disabled or waiting to be kindled. These include puzzles to solve (like changing an atatue's position or walking across pads in a pattern).

Completing them seems to unlock some collectible, the purpose of which is not yet known. Looking at how the concept is handheld in collect-a-thon 3D