The blue blur called Sonic the Hedgehog has had a long and storied history in the video game industry. Earning his claim to fame on the Sega Genesis in the heights of 16-bit gaming, his transition into the 3D era has been a bit rocky to say the least. While titles like Sonic Adventure were generally praised, the 2014 title Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric was an absolute disaster. Despite this, fans have patiently awaited a solid new entry, and the recent TGA trailer for Sonic Frontiers seems to be the most ambitious game in the series thus far.
An open world Sonic game is a first for the franchise, and the epic scale of the environments and battles seem like an unprecedented achievement for the series. There is some concern as to just how well Sonic Frontiers can pull this off, though, especially considering the shaky history of 3D entries in the series. The open world concept is an interesting idea, but the genre lends itself to exploration and careful pacing, something which may be difficult to achieve for a character that can blast through these areas at light speed. To strike a careful balance, the studio should take a look at how Forspoken is approaching its open world traversal, and how it appears to deftly mix speed and discovery.
Sonic’s Speed and the Open World Game Structure
The Sonic series is known, above all, for its sense of speed. Level design, mechanics, and overall sense of style are generally all centered around just how quickly that Sonic can run through an area. In the 2D games, this was achieved beautifully, as games would only scroll from left to right - allowing for one direction in which the momentum would flow. In a 3D space, this is harder to convey, as the player can now move in any direction they choose.
Developers can’t just make these areas flat surfaces, as that would be boring both visually and in terms of interaction. However, the problem arises that placing geometry within these 3D areas is at odds with Sonic’s speed. He can reach extremely fast levels of movement, something which would be hindered from constantly smacking into walls, rocks or other objects. The immediate solution may be to slow the character down, but that would conradict the main appeal of Sonic in the first place, and make it no different than any other 3D open world experience.
Forspoken’s Approach to Exploration
With that established, enter Forspoken, an upcoming timed exclusive for the PS5. The trailers for the game show a fast paced, exciting new approach to open world navigation, with the main character being able to run at a rapid pace and vault over any obstacle that she comes across. This creates a seamless flow to traversal, without sacrificing an open environment that still has a varied enough landscape. Of course, Forspoken’s protagonist doesn’t run nearly as fast as Sonic can, but the general idea is still there.
For the open world in Sonic Frontiers to work, both its design and Sonic’s movement need to work in tandem with one another. The environment can’t be littered with objects for Sonic to bump into, but it can’t be a barren wasteland either. Forspoken seems to be striking a good balance between speed and platforming, and if Sonic Frontiers can tap into a bit of that potential and then infuse it with its own set of ideas, it could be a home run for Sega. Little is known in regards to the overall plan for Sonic Frontiers, but with a release date set for next year, hopefully the wait to see how the open world exploration is shaping up isn’t long.
Sonic Frontiers is currently in development.
