Sonic had a big evening during The Game Awards on Thursday night. After unveiling the trailer for his new movie, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, it wasn’t long until another trailer was announced starring the blue blur. This time it was for his upcoming game also set to come out in 2022.
The trailer opened in a way we’re used to when it comes to Sonic. He was running extremely fast away from a pack of enemies, but where things got weird is what happened after Sonic managed to elude his pursuers. He turns around and has a confused look on his face almost as if he’s in a place he doesn’t recognize. The trailer then cuts to what looks very similar to an open world environment and it certainly seems like a safe bet to say Sonic Frontiers, his next game, is going to be an open world game.
This was honestly a big surprise. Sonic has always been a franchise about going from Point A to Point B in an incredibly quick amount of time. There have been slight changes to that formula here and there, but that’s always been what we can expect out of Sonic. So finding out that he’s going to be exploring an open world instead was a surprise out of nowhere that we aren’t entirely sure how to comprehend yet.
On one hand, Sonic in that type of environment could be really fun if handled correctly. His trademark speed can be put on display as he travels, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be a traditional linear section here and there. On the other hand, Sonic has a rather rocky history when it comes to trying new gameplay styles. Either way, we’re excited to see what this means next for our favorite hedgehog.