Heart Machine’s Solar Ash released last year, whilst not truly open world, is a great example of a seemingly large-scale biome intricately designed to funnel players towards linear paths. Heck, it even sounds like Sonic Adventure’s combination of hub areas with action stage offshoots, albeit hopefully without loading screens. Is Frontiers simply a case of muddled marketing? Does the adage don’t judge a book by its cover apply?Ī point of contention is that Sonic Team are touting Open Zone design as revolutionary, when in fact its description resembles the free-roaming nature of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury. But on the other hand, it’s heartening they have absolute belief in the project, and that play testers are reportedly loving the Open Zone experience thus far.

Sure, it quells hype when a game’s creatives need to bolster its defence months before release. To help us understand this point, Sonic Team are proposing a new gameplay genre, an interpretation of open world game design they’re coining ‘Open Zone.’ As Kishimoto explains, the footage we’re privy to thus far depicts an explorable overworld – essentially, a playable world map – with linear ‘stage-like elements’ discoverable within. It’s meant to be wide-open to best take advantage of Sonic’s speedy skills. And secondly, the sparsity in Frontiers’ Starfall Islands open world is by design. Firstly, the footage shared is from an early build of the game, and consequently any technical shortcomings currently present will be glossed over come Frontiers’ release at the tail-end of 2022. Sonic Team head developer Takashi Iizuka and Frontiers game director Morio Kishimoto have come out swinging in defence of their latest attempt at a solid 3D Sonic experience, not least in their defiance of the gracefully short-lived #DelaySonicFrontiers campaign, but in providing responses that directly address the growing disquiet surrounding the gameplay reveal. After all, they’re pinning their hopes on Sonic Frontiers setting a new benchmark for the Blue Blur in 3D, his first foray into open world a conceptual shift as seismic as 1998’s Sonic Adventure, a redemptive sunrise for Sega’s beleaguered mascot. To put it bluntly, reception was mixed complaints including visual pop-in and sparse open world design blight what should have been a triumphant month for Sonic Team.

Even the most ardent Sonic the Hedgehog fanatic should agree that Frontiers’ gameplay footage revealed at the start of June 2022 was a tad rough around the edges.

Sonic frontiers fan art