Sonic Frontiers chamou a atenção de críticos e fãs devido ao fato de que o jogo promete ser primeira tentativa de Sonic de emular um mundo aberto. Embora a Sega ainda não tenha divulgado muitas informações sobre o jogo, ficou perfeitamente claro que o Sonic Team está tentando garantir que o próximo jogo principal do Sonic seja impressionante para os fãs. No entanto, uma recente reunião de perguntas e respostas com analistas e investidores revelou que a Sega não visa apenas agradar os fanáticos da série, mas também os críticos.
The first time fans were given a look at just what Sonic Team was working on was during the Sonic Central presentation last year with a short and intriguing teaser trailer. The game’s title and release window were revealed with a longer trailer at the Game Awards last December. Despite Sonic Frontiers showcasing what the game’s location, the Starfall Islands, looks like in-engine at the event, Sega has yet to show the title’s gameplay in action.
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According to Video Games Chronicle, in a recent investors’ meeting, Sega was asked if it aims to have Sonic Frontiers reach a target score on review aggregation sites. CEO of Sega Sammy Haruki Satomi and CFO Koichi Fukazawa have said that good review scores might lead to Frontiers becoming a “must-buy game,” and that good review scores might “possibly generate synergy with sales,” and therefore there are internal targets set regarding the game’s reception with critics.
Isso anda de mãos dadas com o que a Sega disse em reuniões internas anteriores quando questionada sobre o desenvolvimento da Frontiers . No final do ano passado, uma reunião de gerenciamento revelou que o jogo foi propositalmente impedido de ser lançado durante o 30º aniversário do Sonic para garantir que não houvesse “compromissos em termos de qualidade”.
Satomi e Fukazawa também afirmaram que a marca Sonic está atualmente “em alta”, parcialmente devido ao sucesso do filme teatral Sonic the Hedgehog 2 . Além disso, Sonic Frontiers pode fazer parte de um novo futuro brilhante para a série, já que os movimentos recentes da franquia implicam que a Sega pretende estabilizar a marca.
However, due to the series’ previous missteps, critics and plenty of gamers alike tend to think poorly of the Sonic franchise. Sonic Forces, the series’ last big release, ended up with a 57 on Metacritic , among the other low reviews the series has had. As promising as Sonic Frontiers’ development sounds, it may take a truly great game for Sega to reach these lofty goals. Series loyalists should definitely keep an eye out, though, as Frontiers may end up making a rather big impact as a whole.
Sonic Frontiers is set to release in late 2022 on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.