New open-world Sonic game revealed

At Nintendo Direct last night, Sega revealed new details and gameplay for its upcoming game Sonic Frontiers, including first looks at the Cyber Space areas of the game and the Titan boss. 

Sonic Frontiers is an action-adventure game featuring open-world platforming where Sonic can use his trademark speed to freely explore the Starfall Islands. Sonic’s new adventure in a mysterious civilization is available globally toward the end of 2022 on PC and console.

Sonic’s new journey begins when him and his friends – Amy and Tails – head to the Starfall Islands in search of Chaos Emeralds. As they approach the islands, sudden trouble hits their plane, and they are sucked into a dimensional portal. Sonic then finds himself separated from his friends and awakens in a strange, digital world – Cyber Space. He miraculously escapes Cyber Space and arrives on Kronos Island, one of the Starfall Islands, full of  ancient ruins where strange enemies roam.  It is then up to Sonic to explore the Starfall Islands, find his lost friends and uncover the mysteries around him.

Sega provided the following information on features:

Starfall Islands 

The first island Sonic explores is Kronos Island. Its terrain and climate see frequent rain, large waterfalls, lush forests, mountains and floating towers in the air. The ruins scattered around the island appear to be the homes of ancient inhabitants – the Koco.

Cyber Space

Entrances to Cyber Space made by the ancient civilization of Starfall Islands can be found all throughout the map. Sonic fans will solve puzzles and complete challenges to earn Portal Gears to unlock these entrances access Cyber Space levels featuring the traditional, fast-paced, speed running action platforming. They’ll need to complete the challenges in each Cyber Space level to receive Vault Keys to progress further in the game.

Open-zone platforming

Players can enjoy high-speed, open-zone gameplay and interact with various activities on the island however and wherever they choose. Experience exhilarating combat, puzzles, side quests, Cyber Space and conversations with characters across the island in any order you’d like to match your play style.

Game World

Sonic Frontiers expands what fans know and love about traditional Sonic games, combining both linear-level gameplay and open-zone platforming into a new, action-filled Sonic adventure. The world map is bigger than ever before, giving Sonic more room to run and explore his surroundings, enabling him to evolve the land around him as he ventures deeper into the mysteries of Starfall Islands.

Battle System

Sonic’s combat style is more exhilarating and fluid than ever before. Players can use various button controls to fight strategically, combining moves such as dodges, parries, counters and more in various combos to show off battle skills unlocked throughout the game. If you prefer more straightforward gameplay, the game also has an Auto Mode where various attack combos can be executed with a single button. All Sonic fans can easily enjoy the fast and fluid combat system.

Other titles released at Nintendo Direct include:

• Harvestella: Farm, fight and forge friendships in a new fantasy world. Welcome to Lethe, a peaceful village where seasons brightly color the environment. Your story begins here in this new life-simulation RPG. Farm, craft items and collect materials as you go about your everyday life, meeting townsfolk along the way. The seasons gently flow from spring, summer, fall and winter. However, they’ll eventually give way to the season of death, Quietus. The fate of the village depends on you stopping the Death Season from wreaking havoc. Begin your new life in Harvestella, launching on Nintendo Switch on 4 November.
• Persona 5 Royal / Persona 4 Golden / Persona 3 Portable: Persona has awoken – three iconic Persona games are coming to Nintendo Switch! Save others from distorted desires by donning the mask of a Phantom Thief in the critically acclaimed, genre-defining story of Persona 5 Royal, with previously released downloadable content included. Plus, there’s an urban legend that your soulmate might appear if you stare into a Nintendo Switch system on a rainy night … in Persona 4 Golden. Unfamiliar stillness swallows the city, people turn into eerie coffins and otherworldly monsters called Shadows swarm in Persona 3 Portable, which also features alternate protagonist routes! All three games offer English and Japanese voice acting, full-HD graphics and are sold separately. Persona 5 Royal launches on Nintendo Switch on 21 October, and more information about Persona 4 Golden and Persona 3 Portable is coming soon. Get ready … the midnight hour approaches!
• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope: The motley team of Mario, his friends and the heroic Rabbids – now joined by Bowser – blast off for a galactic adventure in the latest Mario + Rabbids game! The galaxy is in a universe of trouble when a dark entity, Cursa, wants to absorb all its energy. In doing so, it will try to capture the Sparks, creatures born from the merging of Lumas and Rabbids, and drain them of their energy, too. Now, the team must travel the cosmos to save the Sparks from Cursa’s grasp and fight back in tactical, dynamic battles. Lead a team of three heroes and use a variety of tools to navigate the battlefield, flank your foes and find opportunities to thwart them. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope rockets onto the Nintendo Switch system on 20 October. Pre-orders begin today in Nintendo eShop and in the My Nintendo Store on Nintendo.com.
• Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak: In addition to a new storyline, this monstrous new expansion for Monster Hunter Rise will introduce new monsters, new combat options, new locales, the Master Rank quest difficulty and other exciting features! Journey across the sea to Elgado Outpost, where you’ll investigate powerful creatures known as the Three Lords – the hulking beast Garangolm, the icy wolf wyvern Lunagaron and the expansion’s flagship Elder Dragon, the vampiric Malzeno. Alongside the Three Lords, Sunbreak will also introduce numerous other monsters and even fan-favorite species from previous Monster Hunter games! Play solo, hunt with anyone via a local connection or join up to three other hunters in online co-op play! Rise again and join the hunt when the game launches for Nintendo Switch on 30 June. Pre-orders are available now in Nintendo eShop and in the My Nintendo Store on Nintendo.com.
• Portal: Companion Collection: Award-winning gameplay, dark humor and groundbreaking exploration come to Nintendo Switch. Break the laws of spatial physics in ways you never thought possible with a highly experimental portal device. Solve mind-bendingly bizarre puzzles and face off against a lethally inventive, power-mad A.I. named GLaDOS. Meet an expanded cast of characters as you think your way through dangerous, never-before-seen areas of the laboratories and a wider variety of portal puzzles. Plus, Portal 2 includes a co-operative game mode with local, split screen, and online multiplayer, so you and a friend can act and think cooperatively. The friendly cubes and deadly turrets of Portal and Portal 2 are hurtling your way in the Portal: Companion Collection now on Nintendo Switch.
• Minecraft Legends: The world of Minecraft meets action-strategy gameplay in Minecraft Legends. A beautiful land surrounded by rich nature is invaded by enemies from another dimension! Team up with allies and fight against this monstrous force threatening the world. What secrets await in this new, yet familiar universe? Minecraft Legends launches on the Nintendo Switch system in 2023.
• Blanc: A fawn and a wolf cub must work together to find a way home across the snowy wilderness in the hand-crafted world of Blanc. In this emotional adventure, these unlikely friends must coordinate and use their individual strengths to overcome environmental obstacles and navigate through the frigid wilds. Blanc is a completely text-free story with local and online co-op play, making it inviting for everyone to enjoy. Forge an unexpected bond in Blanc, launching as a console exclusive on Nintendo Switch in February 2023.
• Return to Monkey Island: Arrr! A swashbuckling adventure returns! Return to Monkey Island is an unexpected, thrilling return of series creator Ron Gilbert that continues the story of the legendary adventure games The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge. Intrepid pirates will solve puzzles and explore the islands with a clever evolution of classic point-and-click gameplay. Monkey around in Return to Monkey Island, launching first for consoles on Nintendo Switch later this year.

Disney Dreamlight Valley: Live magically alongside your Disney and Pixar friends in this life-simulation game. Dreamlight Valley was once an idyllic land, where Disney and Pixar characters lived in harmony until The Forgetting turned this dream into a nightmare. Now, it’s up to you to bring the magic back to Dreamlight Valley. Explore this land’s diverse realms and forge lasting friendships with heroes and villains alike in a world where you are free to customize your avatar to be whoever you dream yourself to be. Disney Dreamlight Valley launches for Nintendo Switch on 6 September in Early Access.