Sonic Frontiers gameplay footage shows off Sonic’s new moves

By Cristina Alexander May 31, 2022

Sega seems to be kicking off Summer Games Fest pretty early by giving us a first look at the gameplay for its highly anticipated Sonic game, Sonic Frontiers.

Sega tweeted the latest teaser trailer as an IGN First exclusive on Tuesday, and it shows Sonic sprinting through the lush fields of Starfall Island, running on a cybernetic hamster wheel to send some sort of signal, grinding rails around skyscraper ruins, and kicking enemies around like Deku in My Hero Academia. Alongside the gameplay, we also get a look at the new Sonic Frontiers logo, which sports a blue eye for the “o” in the fragmented latter word.

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Enjoy this small preview of Sonic Frontiers, and tune in all June long for the @IGN First cover story for more world-exclusive reveals! pic.twitter.com/iZhaFtSwio

— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) May 31, 2022

The trailer brings back the blue mystical trail emitting behind Sonic, which was first seen in the teaser trailer from last year and appears to be a new gameplay element. When Sonic runs a circle around a geometric rune-like enemy, the blue circle acts as a barrier that subdues the enemy before Sonic attacks it.

Speaking of which, the Blue Blur has now incorporated kicking attacks to his repertoire, which is a rarity that was only seen in cutscenes from past Sonic games or in other media like Sonic X. And not only is Sonic kicking the native enemies and robot bosses forward, but he appears to be kicking them in upward spins as well.

The gameplay trailer is the first in a series of Sonic Frontiers content that IGN will reveal throughout the month of June, which just happens to be Sonic’s birthday month. More information about its gameplay will be revealed tomorrow.

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Gaming

Sonic Frontiers and Monster Hunter cross over with free DLC

Sonic, wearing Rathalos Armor, lifts grilled barbeque meat in the air.

Sega announced that Sonic Frontiers will be getting some free Monster Hunter DLC as part of a collaboration with Capcom. It's a costume and item set that looks equal parts stylish and delicious.

The free Monster Hunter DLC will be released at 5 PM on November 14 and gives Sonic two costumes modeled after Rathalos, one of the series' most iconic beasts. The original Rathalos armor covers Sonic from head to toe with scales and horns, while the Felyne Rathalos Armor removes the mouthpiece and scaly trousers. Capcom and Sega released artwork of Sonic wearing the Felyne armor.

Gaming

Sega is putting all of its chips on the table with Sonic Frontiers

Sonic grinding on a rail.

Back in May, I wrote about how Sonic Frontiers miraculously avoided the controversial Sonic Cycle by keeping updates dry between its first teaser trailer and its official announcement trailer at The Game Awards last year. Now the game is less than two months away from release, and with the reveal of four more trailers, two alternative rock songs taking us back to 2007 (Vandalize by One OK Rock and I'm Here by To Octavia's Merry Kirk-Holmes), and Super Sonic making his triumphant return at the Tokyo Game Show, Sega seems confident that it will be a big deal for the franchise. Hell, I'm feeling more confident about this game than I ever felt for some of its predecessors. And that's saying something.

In fact, Sega is so sure about Sonic Frontiers that it's pricing the game at $60 -- or in the case of the Digital Deluxe Edition, $70 -- and putting it in direct competition with God of War: Ragnarok and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet in November. It's a big gamble to go all in on, but also a sore point for some Sonic fans. Most current-gen AAA games are priced between $60 and $70 due to enhanced graphics, controls, and the engines they run on, but some have balked at Frontiers’ price tag not only because it's "too expensive," but because they can't remember the last time a Sonic game cost that much.

Gaming

Yes, Sonic Frontiers intentionally reuses levels from previous games

sonic frontiers reusing levels cyberspace

During Gamescom, fans shared footage of the Cyberspace levels in Sonic Frontiers that featured similarities to levels from previous Sonic titles, such as the Windmill Isle in Sonic Unleashed. Now, Takashi Iizuka, head of Sonic Team, has confirmed that the similarities between Cyberspace and those classic levels are intentional.

In an interview with Eurogamer, Iizuka said that the Cyberspace levels are "digital expressions of the worlds in the memories of Sonic the Hedgehog." In other words, they're recreations of the memories of places that Sonic visited throughout his 30-year history, such as Green Hill Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog, Sky Sanctuary in Sonic 3, and even Radical Highway from Sonic Adventure 2. He even noted that some of those levels may get mixed together, as the Green Hill Zone Cyberspace level has the same level design as the Windmill Isle tutorial level from Unleashed.