We’ve noted many times before that Sonic Frontiers has a ton of pressure upon it. It’s fair to say that more than any previous title featuring Sonic in the past several years, this game has a ton of pressure to succeed critically and sell millions among the fans. Why is that? There are multiple reasons. First, Sonic Team has been hyping this game up as the next “big step” for the franchise. So they don’t want egg on their face. Two, they’ve again ignored fan requests for a more “classic” title with the blue blur to “enact their vision.” So if they fail, it shows the fans that they were “right” again. Finally, Sonic is doing well in other media right now, so the games need to be just as quality.
The review embargo for Sonic Frontiers has officially dropped, revealing a mixed reaction, to say the least. Currently, the score on Metacritic is 74 across 43 critic reviews. More reviews will likely pile in over the next few days, so the overall score can go up or down depending on what they say.
The tweets below showcase a wide range of outlets with their scores; as noted, it’s divisive.
Some higher-scoring reviews praise it as the “best 3D Sonic game ever made” and thank SEGA and Sonic Team for going all out with the new mechanics, open world, etc. Many also praised the shift in the gameplay and said that the variety helped it out.
However, many reviews called out Sonic Team for being a bit too “experimental” at times and noted many flaws and unpolished elements that stuck out. Some people didn’t like the combat, nor did they want some of the “gimmicks” that were there. The visuals were also called into question by some reviewers who felt Sonic Team should’ve worked more on those.
Ironically, the one thing that just about everyone agreed on is the soundtrack for the game is incredible. So if nothing else, you’ll have that.
What can we take away from this wide range of reviews? Well, the same thing we take away every time. To see them, read some of them, and then decide if you want to get the game now or later. A 7.4/10 is a good review score to have overall. It might just be that Sonic Frontiers is a good and fun game, but not one that “sets the bar high” as was promised.
Source: Twitter