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[Draugoth]

Will be available later today at 5pm Pacific

The Sonic Frontiers: The Final Horizon Update will be available later today at 5pm Pacific! Rewrite your destiny with a new story, new playable characters, new challenges, and more in the climactic final content update...all for free!

 

[DanielG165]

And this is free too. That’s insane.

 

[Togh]

Holy fuck I can't stand this overly dramatic US dub. Amy yelling "I won't give up!" like she was trying to win a oscar. Also fuck this music, it doesn't fits Sonic games at all.

Then again, it's a free update, which is a great surprise, coming from the same SEGA who tried to charge for a Super Sonic DLC on Sonic Forces. Knuckles gameplay seems fun, I look forward to try it.

 

[analog_future]

I had a great time with this game. Best Sonic game since Sonic Adventure IMO.

 

[Punished Miku]

I had a great time with this game. Best Sonic game since Sonic Adventure IMO.

Best 3D Sonic game ever, without much contest.

 

[analog_future]

Best 3D Sonic game ever, without much contest.

Yeah, Frontiers is clearly better than Adventure, but I think Adventure was better in it's time.

 

[cireza]

Also fuck this music

Yeah no. Soundtrack is stellar, but this is a constant with Sonic games anyway.

 

[DeVeAn]

This update was good and bad. It’s so damn hard it had me cursing a storm. Adding the other characters was really fun. Ending was awesome.

Some of the towers and trails were BRUTAL. Really threw me off because the main game was a breeze.

 

[Zuzu]

Best 3D Sonic ever. I hope they can push it to an even higher level with a sequel.

 

[cireza]

Started the new content and I have to say, this game aged really badly (not that this is a surprise). It certainly wasn't very good to begin with, but the complete absence of any structure to it, and the increased focus on climbing shit makes for an unbelievably poor experience. Knuckles controls like shit as well.

I am still having a blast playing Unleashed 15 years later, but Frontiers is good for the garbage bin as soon as it is completed once.

 

[Unknown?]

Glad they've been able to redeem themselves after Forces.

 

[Spukc]

And this is free too. That’s insane.

And i still won’t get it
Insane

 

[SportsFan581]

Is there a certain version that this update is free with or can it be any of them?

Pricing isn't bad on the base version, might pick it up if that one is getting the updates too.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Just another week till Sonic Superstars. It's a Sonic month.

 

[Gambit2483]

Did they fix the smeared Vaseline graphics on Switch yet?

 

[DanielG165]

I’m an avid Ninja Gaiden fan and player, but I’d be lying if I said this update wasn’t hard as nails. The stuff with Tails, Knuckles, and Amy is pretty standard, and once you’ve unlocked some moves for them and tweak the deceleration (they seem to not like whatever you had it set on for Sonic), they’re all very fun to play as. However, once you get to Sonic, the DLC takes a massive upturn in difficulty and is fairly unforgiving, from the platforming, combat trials, and having to perfect parry now.

It’s legitimately some of the best 3D Sonic gameplay that the series has had in quite some time, but damn is it unbelievably tough. The director really took the “game is too easy” comments to heart here.

 

[sigmaZ]

Holy fuck I can't stand this overly dramatic US dub. Amy yelling "I won't give up!" like she was trying to win a oscar. Also fuck this music, this not fits Sonic games at all.

Then again, it's a free update, which is a great surprise, coming from the same SEGA who tried to charge for a Super Sonic DLC on Sonic Forces. Knuckles gameplay seems fun, I look forward to try it.

The crappy voice acting is only surpassed by the horrendous audio editing.

 

[dreamstation]

Jumped in to have a quick look. The pop in is still as bad as ever. Can't believe they never improved it My biggest gripe with the game.

 

[cireza]

I’m an avid Ninja Gaiden fan and player, but I’d be lying if I said this update wasn’t hard as nails. The stuff with Tails, Knuckles, and Amy is pretty standard, and once you’ve unlocked some moves for them and tweak the deceleration (they seem to not like whatever you had it set on for Sonic), they’re all very fun to play as. However, once you get to Sonic, the DLC takes a massive upturn in difficulty and is fairly unforgiving, from the platforming, combat trials, and having to perfect parry now.

It’s legitimately some of the best 3D Sonic gameplay that the series has had in quite some time, but damn is it unbelievably tough. The director really took the “game is too easy” comments to heart here.

I love Ninja Gaiden as well, and Sonic Frontiers doesn't have the super tight controls, camera and lock-on required for such demanding gameplay sections.

 

[Little Chicken]

Best 3D Sonic game ever, without much contest.

I had people here trying to tell me that Sonic wouldn't work in an open world sandbox...hehehe.

Open world is ideal for Sonic gameplay, the world just needs to be crafted well.

I never did get around to finishing this, I got so caught up on trying to collect everything in the second desert world that I got bored and gave up. It's a legit good game though.

 

[Whitecrow]

Fun? Yes.
Best 3D Sonic game? Not even close.

 

[MagnesD3]

So did they improve the pop in? Or am I gonna need a mod? I plan to play this next year but Id prefer to not mod.

 

[DanielG165]

So did they improve the pop in? Or am I gonna need a mod? I plan to play this next year but Id prefer to not mod.

No. The pop in has something to do with them using the Switch port I believe?

 

[Togh]

I was watching this Knuckles playthrough:




2:12 there's the typical sonic team collision problems, motherfuckers can't handle a slope since Sonic 2006.

12:25 what a DISGRACE is this level design?? It looks like a son of a bitch was playing with Unreal Engine and went putting a bunch of random objects in the air to test the physics of the game, like those place holder scenarios that people always make in those fan game demos that never are never finished

Also, Sonic Stadium posted their review of the DLC: https://www.sonicstadium.org/news/features/reviews/tss-review-sonic-frontiers-final-horizon-r1625/

Some highlights:

Knuckles… is weird. I have no earthly idea how they managed to nerf the Master Emerald guardian so much in this. The first thing I did when I assumed control of him was try to glide towards a laser puzzle. I immediately died (and I immediately laughed) because for some inexplicable reason he has a second-long “priming” animation before he actually glides anywhere. When you’re being asked to engage in some pretty difficult platforming challenges, immediate character responsiveness is an absolute must, and this design decision instantly makes Knuckles a complete dump to play.

Even crazier is that the red porcupine on the block with the buff chest can’t climb on any surface that’s not specifically cyber-coloured in red. That has caused some hilarity when falling towards the ocean and your only tactic is to keep gliding in vain against a nearby cliff, unable to latch on but still slowly descending towards your imminent doom. But it's just another gameplay choice that takes you out of the experience - not that the climbing is any good when you are able to grab on to something, as Knuckles constantly clips off of surfaces and spins out from walls at the most inconvenient moments.

The third strike against Knuckles’ gameplay here is his sheer inability to fight any of the Guardians that loiter about the island. To be fair, all three characters here have this problem - you’ll never be strong enough to make a dent on most foes - but with Knuckles it’s especially outrageous given that his fighting proficiency is a defining character trait. Instead, combat with Amy, Tails or Knuckles is an utterly miserable experience and is best avoided.

I should be absolutely clear at this point, that the problem with Sonic Frontiers: Final Horizon is not that it is ‘difficult’. There's nothing inherently wrong with an increased challenge. The problem is that the increased challenge has amplified all of the worst facets of Sonic Frontiers, bringing to the fore all of its control and gameplay flaws, while failing to inform you of the new twists and gimmicks that are key to success. Almost every activity is a total chore to accomplish.

Unfortunately, at the end of the day, you are still just dealing with Sonic Frontiers' excessively janky physics and camera, all of which is present and incorrect - from the wonky inertia and the crooked jumps, to the unpredictable turning circles and lack of perspective that prevents you from landing your leaps correctly.

As a result, these otherwise well-designed sections often become a source of intense frustration and unnecessary risk, as you constantly try to course-correct your trajectory mid-air using erratic double jumps and desperately-deployed boosts.

Instead of being exhilarating, it's just anxiety-inducing - if you fall, you have to start all over again from the bottom. Checkpoints could have easily taken the edge off of this, but incredibly Sonic Team chose not to include these at any point during the expansion, even on Easy mode.

The same balancing issues are prominent throughout the new combat challenges and Cyberspace stages as well. Already the two worst and forgettable parts of Sonic Frontiers, we really didn’t need any more focus on these - but here they are, back with a vengeance. And Sonic Team even had the stones to make all of the combat stuff mandatory, so there’s no way around it.

Enemies are stronger, faster, cheaper. On higher difficulty modes, you are given no time to respond to telegraphed attacks, and you spend most of your time flying onto the ground spilling rings. The first combat challenge - unlocked when you eventually manage to scale one of the towers as Sonic - is especially brutal, with no chance of completing a Cyloop to break one enemy's defences without another one scuttling over and beating you senseless. It’s downright insufferable to play and you will be forgiven for wanting to just delete the game and forget about ever completing it.

Perhaps the most criminal things here are the new “ultra-hard” Cyberspace stages. As I mentioned in my original review, Cyberspace was just dire - a series of monotonous late-stage ‘Boost Era’ challenges based on broken Sonic Forces-style mechanics, only made passable by being mercifully short and “easy” to complete. But this time, Sonic Team took both of those saving graces away, making these new action stages longer, less forgiving and more complex, with several collectibles and side-objectives distracting you while the stage throws incredibly tedious curveballs at you in the name of “difficulty”. All of which are Not Very Good Things.

In just one of the Cyberspace stages I played, 4-B, I had a weird ghost-Tails racing against me, five moon coins littered about an early glitchy part of the level, three animals to rescue (which suddenly removes Sonic of his ability to perform any moves other than a single jump - that’s fun to discover when plummeting down a pit) AND five numbered gates to run through in order - all happening while having to survive a series of falling platform challenges that became more ridiculous as the stage went on; the dickhead camera insisting that I had no chance of seeing where I was jumping and where I was about to land. Talk about sensory overload!

Oh, and if you die (and you will die), you have to do the entire thing all over again - no checkpoints.

Direction is a problem in Sonic Frontiers: Final Horizon. Whereas the base game assumed you knew nothing, bombarding you with hints on which button makes you jump, Final Horizon assumes you know everything - offering absolutely no guidance on the chaotic tornado of new gimmicks, key items or combat strategies that are suddenly thrown at you.

It's in combat where the lack of guidance becomes the most fatal issue. If you fail a combat trial one too many times, you are asked if you'd like to draw down the difficulty level. But this is no comfort to players who are struggling to understand exactly what they are doing wrong (or not doing right). Being politely called a dumbass when you're completely unaware of the existence of things like perfectly-timed parries - a concept that is only explained in vague terms during the final trial - is a little bit insulting.

Even when I swotted up on the combat skills suite, I was not making good time. I should not have to research online to figure out how to do a boss battle on the simplest difficulty mode!
Once you fight through the insanely unbalanced Towers and Combat Trials as Sonic, you’re finally given the opportunity to take on the new endgame boss. And while it is quite the spectacle (and thankfully offers the right level of difficulty in general, in spite of some camera-hogging trees!), the lack of any clear targets, indicators or suggested strategy means that you’ll be spending more time than necessary wondering exactly what to do. And that is a heartbreakingly frustrating experience to have on such an important set-piece as this.

In spite of this, I was able to enjoy Supreme/The End anyway because by that point, after all that I had been through, I suspected that some kind of obtuse nonsense was going to happen so I looked up a guide (and I’ll link it here in case you’re curious too). I don't usually spoil games for myself when playing for the first time, but the situation definitely called for it, and I can say now that I made the right choice. I don’t want to spoil anything here, but suffice to say that if I had not known the strategy going into that final fight, I might have actually thrown myself into a wall in sheer despair.

Sadly, Sonic Frontiers: Final Horizon is an unbalanced and frustrating affair in the gameplay department, amplifying the very worst elements of the game's original release while offering little in reward. As a story, it bumbles along but it does offer a delightfully fantastic set-piece for the final boss. That payoff is almost not worth taking the tedious, unbalanced and frankly unfinished ride to get there, though. Your mileage, ultimately, may vary.

Die-hard speed runners, and those who masochistically enjoy Kaizo-style games, may find enjoyment here, but for anyone else I would recommend you watch the final boss and ending on YouTube. Think of it as an animated comic, and you'll get everything you need from it.

Here's the Final Boss' guide he mentioned, it's fucking hilarious lmao https://steamcommunity.com/app/1237320/discussions/0/3887226396795181992/

 

[Geometric-Crusher]

Fun? Yes.
Best 3D Sonic game? Not even close.

Feel free to tell us which Sonic 3D did better, in your opinion.