If nothing else, the new gameplay preview for Sega’s upcoming Sonic Frontiers proves Sonic mania is indeed in full effect.
The short teaser is the first time we’ve actually seen the blue blur interacting in what looks to be the expansive world in the game coming to most major consoles this Holiday season. The quill-covered mammal can be seen running through a flower-filled meadow, attacking enemies with heat-seeking strikes, grinding on rails, and battling a giant robot.
Fans of the beloved videogame mascot were quick to revel in the sheer deluge of Sonic content we’ve gotten recently, including the movie Sonic the Hedgehog 2, a trailer for the game collection Sonic Origins, a teaser for the upcoming animated Netflix show Sonic Prime, and the redemption of Ugly Sonic through a cameo in the Disney Plus film Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers, all within a span of just six months.
There was obviously a lot of hype among fans for the new game alone, as evidenced by some admiring fan art.
However, another Twitter user cautioned, taking the proverbial Shadow’s advocate role, by urging more gameplay, soundtrack samples, and proof the game won’t be a buggy mess is needed before they can really get excited about it.
However, another fan retweeted a post by Jeffrey Vega, an IGN writer who has actually played a little bit of the game, and says he “can’t wait for everyone to see the FULL gameplay reveal trailer.”
“This is definitive proof that we should wait until tomorrow before we judge the gameplay and this is coming from someone who’s ACTUALLY played it,” the Twitter user wrote.
Another fan gave a measured response to the teaser, saying it looked cool for the most part, but raised an eyebrow over a certain “weird spin air animation thing,” and we can’t say we disagree that it looks somewhat questionable.
Another user cautioned, “Let’s not let the Sonic cycle happen” by not being vocal enough when it comes to campaigning the developers to take their time to iron out any rough aspects. Let’s just say Sonic fans have put up with a lot of undercooked projects being released to the masses over the years (see: Sonic ’06).
We’ll all collectively find out together whether the Sonic Frontiers gameplay lives up to the hype when a more extended preview is expected to be published by IGN Wednesday.
