The positive hype around Sonic Frontiers continues with the release of the latest gameplay trailer demonstrating combat and improvements.
Coming to PS5, Xbox Series X | S and Nintendo Switch on November 8, Sonic Frontiers won’t be a straightforward leap from A to B across the Starfall Islands. Along the way, Sonic will face many alien-like enemies. Fortunately, the latest trailer for the game shows our boyfriend is prepared to face them with a new and improved arsenal of attacks and skills.
Moreover, the new additions look really fun to use. The trailer shows moves like an improved homing attack and drop, along with all-new additions like Phantom Rush, where Sonic leaves afterimages as he dazzles enemies with a wave of punches and kicks. Then there’s Sonic Boom. A brazen reference, but also an attack with Sonic firing a string of arched missiles that will make Guile Street Fighter 6 blush.
After disastrous early disclosure, each trailer did a little to bring back the Sonic Frontier look. As a longtime Sonic fan, I’m starting to feel comfortable with this game, and I think it could be pretty good.
Combat puzzles
So fighting at Sonic Frontiers looks like it doesn’t suck. But why is it such a big deal? Well, simply because combat is something that Sonic games rarely – if ever – succeed.
Shadow the Hedgehog completely missed the point as its bulky (and horribly sharp) emphasis on firearm combat. Sonic and the Black Knight, a game that is fairly underrated in my opinion, has been disappointed by its insistence on Wii-based fencing. Sonic Unleashed got close to the Werehog fight section and an almost combat moveset but felt the game was slow and undercooked.
Sonic Frontiers represents a huge change because this is the first time I saw combat in a Sonic game and I thought, “Yeah, this really looks really good.” Of course, we won’t find out what these new skills and their improvements will look like until we have the game in our hands. But compared even to the relatively recent Sonic Forces, Frontiers overall looks a lot more polished.