Sonic Frontiers

Ah, Sonic Frontiers. The open world adventure has endured a rough few weeks, with debut gameplay footage having been heavily criticised across the internet. Many fans have since called for a delay, which would in theory allow Sonic Team to further polish the game ahead of its Q4 2022 release window.

However, in a new interview with VGC, head developer Takashi Iizuka says that the studio has no plans to delay Sonic Frontiers as a result of fan feedback. In fact, the Sonic Team boss is confident that people will enjoy the game once they actually play it: "We realise a lot of people are watching the videos online and making assumptions, but we do feel confident based on the playtest results from the target demographic that are coming in and playing the game start to finish, they really like the game and we’re confident that we’re making a game that will be satisfying."

Iizuka basically says that assumptions are being made about Sonic Frontiers based on the aforementioned footage, and that having people play it for themselves should make the game's concept easier to "understand".

"If people come to Gamescom or Tokyo Game Show, [they can] get that hands-on experience to play the game and understand what the game is. Because right now we’re just kind of watching videos of people reacting to what they believe the game to be," says Iizuka.

And Iizuka is right, at least to some degree; it's obviously impossible to fully judge a game based on footage alone. That said, we'd argue that it's also perfectly possible to spot a potential stinker on the horizon — why else would Frontiers be met with so much criticism in the first place?

"We really feel confident in the playtest results that we’re getting. A lot of people are saying they had a lot of fun, they really enjoyed the game," Iizuka continues. We're willing to give Sonic Team the benefit of the doubt for now — especially since new previews are painting the game in a more positive light, like this one from Eurogamer — but as always, the proof will be in the pudding.

Do you think Sonic Frontiers will end up being a hit, or are you unconvinced? Spot a blue blur in the comments section below.

[source videogameschronicle.com]