Is Sonic Frontiers Worth It? The Reviews Are In!

Sonic Frontiers is finally here. This quasi-open-world, sandbox, platforming, the action-adventure game is a stark departure from anything we've seen from the blue blur yet. Sonic has dipped his toe in most gaming genres over the years, from fighting games to turn-based RPGs, but this is the first open-world game featuring everyone's favorite hedgehog. 

So, now that the reviews are in for Sonic Frontiers, we can see whether or not this innovative idea paid off. Is this one small step for a hedgehog, one giant leap for hedgehog kind? Or is this yet another painfully shoehorned gimmick designed to make Sonic Team a quick buck? Let's find out!

Review Roundup: Is Sonic Frontiers Worth Buying?

At the time of writing this, Sonic Frontiers has a Metacritic score of 73/100. Not a terrible rating by any means (especially when looking at some of the other games in the Sonic catalog), but still not as high as we would like to have seen for such an ambitious project. 

IGN: 7/10

"Sonic Frontiers is a delightfully weird and experimental evolution of the Sonic games so many of us grew up with. Its series of open-world islands are filled with so much variety and pieces of Sonic history, from classic platforming stages to silly minigames, that they’re enjoyable to explore even when awful graphical pop-in is a constant hedgehog spine in your side."

Gamespot: 7/10

"Sonic Adventure set the template for the last 24 years of 3D Sonic games, and I'm hopeful Frontiers will do the same for the next generation. It has its flaws, and there's definite room for improvement, but the spiky mascot is finally moving in the right direction."

GameInformer: 7.75/10

"Though it’s rough around the edges, Sonic Frontiers is the best 3D Sonic game in years. This first attempt at the open-zone concept is an admirable effort, and I can’t wait to see how Sonic Team iterates on this formula in future entries, but it’s obvious this is not the formula’s final form. For now, Sonic Frontiers stands as a solid first foray into a brave new world for Sega’s speedy mascot."

Polygon: No Score

"As frustrating as Sonic Frontiers can be, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy this new, more flexible take on the timeworn series. Sure, the story, while intriguing at times, didn’t do much to keep me hooked aside from some unexpectedly funny deliveries from Sonic (who constantly brushes off lore dumps from other characters by saying he’s either gone through worse or he’s just here to save his friends). What’s more, the game often felt more like a checklist than, well, a game. I completed more minigames than I could count." 

And that's what some of the most noteworthy gaming critics have to say about Sonic Frontiers.

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