"Sonic Frontier" doesn't deserve to be this fun, this great, this entertaining. If you play this game, you'll find a Viking full of Sonic mechanics, both old and new. The developers seem to have thrown every possible idea at the wall in an attempt to take Sonic in a much-needed new direction. Surprisingly, there have been more hits than failures. Sonic Frontier" is truly a boulder, but it points to a bright future for the franchise.

Anyone who paid attention to the pre-release content of "Sonic Frontiers" will find many of the problems they expected in the final product. It's a visual pop-in. It's the worst I've ever experienced in a game. The visuals are reminiscent of a tech demo remake of a Sonic game. It doesn't feel very good when you actually play it.

But what the trailers and demos fail to convey is how much fun "Sonic Frontiers" is to play. Sonic Frontiers is very rough around the edges, but if you play it half-heartedly, you will find a surprisingly competent 3D Sonic game. It's definitely the best thing since "Sonic Generations. Read the rest of our "Sonic Frontier" review here.

"Sonic Frontier" is absolutely confident in its gameplay. Sonic is all about speed, and despite the fact that speed plays an important role in Sonic games, "Sonic Frontier" is clearly different. How freeing it is to control Sonic in an open-world space. As one might expect, Sonic is extremely fast. But "Sonic Frontier" incorporates this sense of speed into everything from combat to exploration, and that is the true essence of the game.

There are five islands in Sonic Frontier. Each island has a slightly different visual presentation, and each has different enemies and collectibles. In general, each island features the same gameplay loops. First, you look for platforming opportunities by speeding up to a thin piece of steel spaghetti hanging in the air. As you drive around on these thin rails, you pick up the collectibles you need to advance the story. Occasionally, you will need to enter cyberspace (a more traditional sonic level with a unique atmosphere and mission structure).

Whatever you do, "Sonic Frontier" is a good mix of high-speed platforming and exploration. The repertoire of abilities, movement skills, and combat options is truly extensive, and Sonic has never felt so easy to control. Combat unfolds like a hack-and-slash game, with flashy combos and parries, or running (literally) around your enemies. With the Cyrope ability, you can draw lines on the ground while running and close them in a circular pattern to inflict damage and score combos on your enemies. Sonic Frontier could have done more to streamline movement and combat. But what is there, for the most part, works beautifully.

You may wonder why I care about the story of "Sonic Frontiers," but I'm here to say, "Give it a chance." I often don't care what Sonic and his friends are doing in other games, but in "Sonic Frontiers" they are perhaps the deepest, most resonant study of them in over a decade.

Each island is unique in that it is where Sonic's friends are trapped. Tails, Knuckles, and Amy all need to be rescued and work with Sonic in their respective zones. Side quests and cutscenes will show each character's motivations. The villain, Eggman, is more interesting than ever and transcends the typical bearded character by the time the credits roll.

Unfortunately, "Sonic Frontier" features the coarsest visuals of this year's big-budget titles. Not only are the visuals more like "Death Stranding" than Sonic, but the performance is also unsatisfactory: even on PS5, the graphical fidelity is hopelessly low, with blurry assets and oddly wobbly environments.

Texture pop-in is the main culprit. While this is not usually a concern, it is a particular problem in "Sonic Frontier". In a game that requires fast movement, pop-ins go from being annoying to a genuine game-altering bug. The third island in particular is a victim of this. Isolated areas can only be accessed from small, distant grind rails. These rails often do not load until you stand near them, making it almost impossible to figure out a route to proceed.

Graphics are not the only drawback to "Sonic Frontier." The art direction is disjointed throughout, and the cyberspace levels bear little resemblance to an open world. The cartoonish Sonic is in stark contrast to the realistic environments and looks like it was brought from a completely different game. It is unfortunate that the distracting visuals are a barrier to entry. Many players may not look twice at Sonic Frontiers.

After all, "Sonic Frontiers" is new ground for the series. Sonic has roamed vast areas before, but never with such freedom. Sonic Frontiers is a collectathon and feels more like a PlayStation 2 or Dreamcast game than a game from the year 2022. It is a bold new direction and highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of the design approach. The loop of running from point to point and collecting keys, medals, gears and emeralds is largely rewarding and encourages players to explore and experiment.

While the overall formula is generally successful, "Sonic Frontier" is clearly the result of the studio spreading itself too thin. There are many new ideas that never seem to have a definite landing spot. From tower defense to pinball, you'll encounter just about everything during the nearly 20 hours of play in "Sonic Frontiers." For every fresh element, there is an element that negates it. This game needed a little more development time.

As I wrote this review of Sonic Frontiers, I thought about the relentless comparisons to Breath of the Wild that Sega has endured since the game was first released. It would be foolish to deny that the Sonic team drew some inspiration from Zelda.

But playing this game made me think more about another Nintendo Switch game, that of "Pokémon Legends": the Arceus. Like that game, "Sonic Frontiers" swung over the fence and landed on an uneven but necessary experiment that allowed the franchise to move forward. It's not perfect by any means, and many gamers will probably be put off by the visuals alone. But the attempt is undeniably commendable.

As a full-fledged game, "Sonic Frontiers" has its ups and downs. As an experiment, though. Sonic Frontiers is better than it needs to be, and succeeds in paving the way forward for the lovable blue hedgehog.