Sonic Frontiers is one of the weirdest games I’ve ever played

digitaltrends.com:

Ever since Sonic Frontiers was first revealed, it’s been a bit of a question mark for fans. The Breath of the Wild-like “open zone” gameplay certainly looked like a bold new direction for the franchise, but you can never expect a surefire win when it comes to Sonic and its eclectic history. I personally had no idea what to expect when I sat down for the game for a demo as part of Summer Game Fest; it could have been revolutionary or terrible.

After playing a 30-minute slice of it, I still have no idea what to think. All I can confidently say for now is that Sonic Frontiers is one of the weirdest AAA video games I’ve ever played.

My demo started right at the top of the game. Sonic wakes up in a grassy field after some unexplained occurrence separates him from Tails and Amy Rose. After a brief second of exposition, it was off to the races. I was dropped into a more linear introduction where I learned the basics of how to move, use my homing attack, and solve simple world puzzles. Soon after that, the world opened up and I was free to do whatever I wanted before my demo timer ran out.

In terms of pure game feel, my short experience was a bit mixed. On one hand, the open-zone formula is a refreshing change of pace. Previous Sonic games feel a bit like a rollercoaster with linear levels that feel guided. Here, it’s more of an amusement park. The world is dotted with disconnected micro-puzzles and platforming sections to jump between. At one point of interest, I’d race vertically up a tower to grab a collectible. At another, I’d homing-attack three stone structures to create a series of climbable platforms.

The design philosophy has already caused a point of confusion for fans who noted that assets like bumpers just kind of