Combat gets an Upgrade in a New Sonic Frontiers Trailer

Sonic’s Moveset Vastly Expands with Series’ First Skill Tree

We’re speeding towards the release of Sonic Frontiers and SEGA has shared new details with a brand new gameplay trailer, this time focusing on the game’s combat system. It’s been clear for a while now that Frontiers will have a higher emphasis on combat than prior entries, but this trailer reveals just how far the developers have gone. For the first time in the series, Sonic will have a skill tree of abilities to unlock throughout the adventure. Core options like the homing attack and drop dash will be available from the start, but to keep up with the game’s villainous cast Sonic will need to up his game.

Being open-zone, enemies in Frontiers aren’t always gonna stand directly in Sonic’s path, so to incentivize combat enemies will now drop skill pieces that can be redeemed for upgrades. These pieces, along with the new stat-boosting seeds of power and defense, can also be found through exploration of the Starfall Islands. 

The showcased abilities include Phantom Rush: a flashy boost to Sonic’s attack power, Sonic Boom: a long-ranged flurry of kicks, Wild Rush: an attack that turns Sonic into a zig-zagging missile, and Cyloop: A circling attack that can break shields and digs up buried rings. Sonic’s defense has also been given an upgrade with a new parry system to punish aggressive attacks. While these options are powerful on their own, Frontiers’ combo system seems to reward creative and observant strategies to take down more powerful foes. 

These systems are yet another shake-up that Sonic Frontiers is bringing to the franchise’s formula. While Sonic has never strayed away from experimentation, Frontiers is clearly the result of SEGA taking things all the way back to the drawing board.

Sonic Frontiers releases on November 8th on all major platforms. More information can be found on the official website. Image courtesy of official press materials.