I'm in a position where I've enjoyed a lot of Sonic games. I liked the 2D era, of which CD was my favourite with its cleverly-designed, open levels. I loved Advetnure, I thought Sonic Unleashed was rad, I had a fun time with Sonic Colors, I dug the Sonic Boom cartoon, I could even see how appealing Sonic Forces would be to kids wih that OC creator so—from a position of empathy—I chose not to ♥♥♥♥ on a game kids would like.

Where does that leave me with Sonic Frontiers?

To answer that, I want to point out that I've been playing video games for a very long time. I cut my teeth on the ZX Spectrum, which is a really weird thing to say because why does one cut their teeth? That era was experimental to its core. No one knew what a video game was, could be, or was supposed to be. That meant that a video gaem could be absolutely anything.

By the time the 16-bit era, there was a division on that. A video game was a polished experience that shared verisimilitude to other games, where the focus should be on polish and perfect mechanics. Or, the holdouts of the experimental era where we're still not sure yet and there's a vibe that we haven't really plumbed the depths of what can be done with interactive entertainment. The Amiga was a fantastic font for off-kilter gaming, but so was SEGA.

Nintendo gave us The Legned of Zelda: A Link to the Past. That was a brilliant, perfectly made, mechanically expert, polished video game where nothing was done wrong. Except it was also predictable. SEGA gave us Landstalker, which had odd puzzles, riddles, unusual isometric platforming harking back to the home computer days, a weird story that wasn't about saving the world, and jank. This division has existed ever since, where a developer has to decide whether they want to try to make the same thing again but better (as was the case with Sonic GEnerations), or whether they want to go balls-to-the-walls crazy.

Sonic Frontiers wears its inspirations on its sleeve. It's clear that they were looking at Breath of the Wild, Saints Row, and others when they were putting together the DNA for this title in design documents. By remixing that DNA though with an extremely experimental direction? They made it their own. What I'm saying is that this is SEGA doing what I've always liked best about SEGA. This is why SEGA gave us the likes of Landstalker, Burning Rangers, and Sonic Adventure. Sonic Frontiers is weird!

The weird is back. That means, for me, Sonic is back.

It doesn't mean that I haven't enjoyed the games of the preceding years. Like I said, I even saw the positive aspects of Forces. No, it's just that those games were exactly what they thought they were supposed to be, if that makes sense. They were incredibly safe games. There was a little bit of that experimental soul present there in gimmicks like the OC creator, wisps, the werehog, and so on but it didn't really embrace the weird as Sonic Frontiers has.

You could say that Sonic Frontiers is a bit like a lot of things, but it absolutely at the same time is like nothing else you've ever played. It's unique. It's a set of imaginative, clever, and fun playgrounds that celebrate teh physics and speed of Sonic the Hedgehog. This game isn't afraid to profess its love for speedsters and parkour, and it's cpatured the feeling of that more than any other game I've played. It really does make you feel the superpower of speed, and I've played so many superhero games and Sonic games that haven't come close.

This was SEGA doing what they do best, going back to the drawing board and starting over to see what they can come up with that's just different than anything they've done. And at the same itme, what they could do to capture the ethos, the spirit of whatever it is they're working with. Frontiers is great at making you feel fast, and clever. It'll sometimes go about as fast as you're able to react and the thrill is real. It's an exploration and a celebration.

This is important. I'll try to articulate it.

It's an exploration and a celebration in that the world isn't ending, those stories are so tired now and I'm fed up with them. No, this is a mystery, it's something to be unpacked and poured over, there's so much about it to consider and ruminate about. And it isn't just in the lore and the world, either but what it means to be a speedster as well. Am I going to wax lyrical about "Gotta go fast?" Well. Yes. I kind of am. I don't know why you're still reading this either.

The thing is is that not being a speedster, it's kind of hard to imagine how that would feel. Is it just that time would slow down? Would you be moving through treacle? What you experience the speed? If you're rying to capture the experience of being a speedster, then yuo need to answer these questions, but more, you need to provide the means to explore being a speedster. Frontiers is a playground where they set out to try to tackle what it feels like to be a speedster. It isn't about saving the world, it's about going fast for the sake of going fast, and doing what only a speedster can do.

And in the spectacle of it all, it's a celebration of that sensation, of the experience. In this way, it reminds me most of Saints Row IV, which also revelled in questions regarding super powers. Just like SR4, it's a virtual world so don't concern yourself too much with how all of these rails literring the sky got there. It's a virtual world! It's fine! Instead of being constrained by reality, see what you can do to provide a fun experience for a speedster, for that power set.

And it works! It feels great! Does that mean that Sonic Frontiers is my favourite Sonic game? Hm. That's a tough question. I don't know. I have a special place in my heart for Sonic Adventure. What I will say though is that no other Sonic game has come quite this close to being my favourite, and that's because of how experimental it is, and how it wants to explore and celebrate what it means to be Sonic the Hedgehog.

I'm in a position where I've enjoyed a lot of Sonic games. I liked the 2D era, of which CD was my favourite with its cleverly-designed, open levels. I loved Advetnure, I thought Sonic Unleashed was rad, I had a fun time with Sonic Colors, I dug the Sonic Boom cartoon, I could even see how appealing Sonic Forces would be to kids wih that OC creator so—from a position of empathy—I chose not to shit on a game kids would like. Where does that leave me with Sonic Frontiers? To answer that, I want to point out that I've been playing video games for a very long time. I cut my teeth on the ZX Spectrum, which is a really weird thing to say because why does one cut their teeth? That era was experimental to its core. No one knew what a video game was, could be, or was supposed to be. That meant that a video gaem could be absolutely anything. By the time the 16-bit era, there was a division on that. A video game was a polished experience that shared verisimilitude to other games, where the focus should be on polish and perfect mechanics. Or, the holdouts of the experimental era where we're still not sure yet and there's a vibe that we haven't really plumbed the depths of what can be done with interactive entertainment. The Amiga was a fantastic font for off-kilter gaming, but so was SEGA. Nintendo gave us The Legned of Zelda: A Link to the Past. That was a brilliant, perfectly made, mechanically expert, polished video game where nothing was done wrong. Except it was also predictable. SEGA gave us Landstalker, which had odd puzzles, riddles, unusual isometric platforming harking back to the home computer days, a weird story that wasn't about saving the world, and jank. This division has existed ever since, where a developer has to decide whether they want to try to make the same thing again but better (as was the case with Sonic GEnerations), or whether they want to go balls-to-the-walls crazy. Sonic Frontiers wears its inspirations on its sleeve. It's clear that they were looking at Breath of the Wild, Saints Row, and others when they were putting together the DNA for this title in design documents. By remixing that DNA though with an extremely experimental direction? They made it their own. What I'm saying is that this is SEGA doing what I've always liked best about SEGA. This is why SEGA gave us the likes of Landstalker, Burning Rangers, and Sonic Adventure. Sonic Frontiers is weird! The weird is back. That means, for me, Sonic is back. It doesn't mean that I haven't enjoyed the games of the preceding years. Like I said, I even saw the positive aspects of Forces. No, it's just that those games were exactly what they thought they were supposed to be, if that makes sense. They were incredibly safe games. There was a little bit of that experimental soul present there in gimmicks like the OC creator, wisps, the werehog, and so on but it didn't really embrace the weird as Sonic Frontiers has. You could say that Sonic Frontiers is a bit like a lot of things, but it absolutely at the same time is like nothing else you've ever played. It's unique. It's a set of imaginative, clever, and fun playgrounds that celebrate teh physics and speed of Sonic the Hedgehog. This game isn't afraid to profess its love for speedsters and parkour, and it's cpatured the feeling of that more than any other game I've played. It really does make you feel the superpower of speed, and I've played so many superhero games and Sonic games that haven't come close. This was SEGA doing what they do best, going back to the drawing board and starting over to see what they can come up with that's just different than anything they've done. And at the same itme, what they could do to capture the ethos, the spirit of whatever it is they're working with. Frontiers is great at making you feel fast, and clever. It'll sometimes go about as fast as you're able to react and the thrill is real. It's an exploration and a celebration. This is important. I'll try to articulate it. It's an exploration and a celebration in that the world isn't ending, those stories are so tired now and I'm fed up with them. No, this is a mystery, it's something to be unpacked and poured over, there's so much about it to consider and ruminate about. And it isn't just in the lore and the world, either but what it means to be a speedster as well. Am I going to wax lyrical about "Gotta go fast?" Well. Yes. I kind of am. I don't know why you're still reading this either. The thing is is that not being a speedster, it's kind of hard to imagine how that would feel. Is it just that time would slow down? Would you be moving through treacle? What you experience the speed? If you're rying to capture the experience of being a speedster, then yuo need to answer these questions, but more, you need to provide the means to explore being a speedster. Frontiers is a playground where they set out to try to tackle what it feels like to be a speedster. It isn't about saving the world, it's about going fast for the sake of going fast, and doing what only a speedster can do. And in the spectacle of it all, it's a celebration of that sensation, of the experience. In this way, it reminds me most of Saints Row IV, which also revelled in questions regarding super powers. Just like SR4, it's a virtual world so don't concern yourself too much with how all of these rails literring the sky got there. It's a virtual world! It's fine! Instead of being constrained by reality, see what you can do to provide a fun experience for a speedster, for that power set. And it works! It feels great! Does that mean that Sonic Frontiers is my favourite Sonic game? Hm. That's a tough question. I don't know. I have a special place in my heart for Sonic Adventure. What I will say though is that no other Sonic game has come quite this close to being my favourite, and that's because of how experimental it is, and how it wants to explore and celebrate what it means to be Sonic the Hedgehog.