Sonic Frontiers
Sonic Frontiers
Développé par Sonic Team et édité par Sega, Sonic Frontiers est sorti le 7 novembre 2022 sur PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One et Xbox Series X|S. Ce titre d'aventure et de plates-formes marque un tournant majeur pour la franchise en inaugurant une structure en « zones ouvertes », une première pour la série, propulsée par le Hedgehog Engine 2 et protégée par le DRM Denuvo.
L'intrigue conduit Sonic et ses amis sur les mystérieuses îles Starfall, attirés par l'intérêt du Dr Eggman pour une civilisation antique. Dès son arrivée, le hérisson bleu est séparé de ses compagnons et confronté à SAGE, une intelligence artificielle chargée de protéger l'archipel. Le joueur doit dès lors explorer cinq îles principales aux biomes variés — forêts denses, cascades, déserts — pour retrouver ses amis, percer les secrets des lieux et collecter les Chaos Emeralds.
Le gameplay repose sur l'exploration libre de ces vastes étendues, ponctuée de défis et de secrets, et introduit un système de combat approfondi. Ce dernier permet d'enchaîner esquives, parades, contres et combos via un arbre de compétences, tout en exploitant la nouvelle capacité « Course-boucle » face à des hordes de robots et des titans colossaux. L'expérience s'est étoffée par la suite avec la campagne « L'Horizon Final », qui rend jouables Tails, Amy et Knuckles avec leurs capacités propres, ainsi que les mises à jour « Fête d'anniversaire de Sonic » et « Paysages, son et vitesse » apportant tenues, musique et défis bonus. L'édition Digital Deluxe propose quant à elle un artbook numérique, une mini-bande-son de 25 morceaux et divers objets d'aide à la progression.
Côté durée de vie, la campagne principale demande environ seize heures et demie, tandis qu'une complétion intégrale approche les vingt-sept heures. Le titre est commercialisé au prix de 13,99 euros.
L'accueil critique s'est montré globalement favorable, avec des scores agrégés de 75 sur Metacritic, 71 sur OpenCritic et une note moyenne de 72,79. La presse a salué une évolution bienvenue : Attack of the Fanboy estime que le jeu « reprend le flambeau là où la série commençait à faiblir », tandis que Shacknews y voit « une merveille dans la façon dont il mélange des éléments appréciés des opus précédents avec de nouvelles idées passionnantes ». En revanche, l'opinion des joueurs se révèle nettement plus contrastée. Si certains apprécient cette nouvelle direction malgré des transitions 2D/3D jugées « bizarres » ou une découverte de la franchise via les films, d'autres qualifient l'expérience de « désastre colossal et injouable » qui « renie totalement l'ADN de Sonic ».
Médias
Avis des critiques et joueurs
Critiques de la Presse (Metacritic)
« Sonic Frontiers really picks up the slack where this franchise started to falter. It’s still a Sonic game at its core and makes sure to stay true to the name even when branching out into other areas unfamiliar to the series. »
« Sonic Frontiers is nothing short of a marvel in how it blends together beloved elements from previous games with exciting new twists and turns to create something wholly unique. »
« Sonic Frontiers marks an ambitious, seismic shift for the series, with a massive open-world adventure that both honors its past and pushes the boundaries of what this franchise can look like moving forward. »
« Overall, Sonic Frontiers takes the lovable blue hedgehog into new open world territory, while staying true to how Sonic should feel in a functional sense. There’s also a lot to unpack here, so don’t take on too much at once and just go with the high-speed flow. »
« With a revelatory open world to zip around and entertaining boss battles alongside the more traditional Cyber Space levels, Sonic Frontiers is the best that Sega’s hedgehog has been for years. »
« Sonic Frontiers is a strange experiment that somehow worked, the mix of open world game mechanics with 3D Sonic gameplay worked out unexpectedly well, with just a little more polish on this idea SEGA could possibly have something really special here. »
« Sonic Frontiers is the best 3D Sonic of the last decade, and it’s easily one of the best platformers I’ve played in recent years. The changes to the classic formula, coupled with some of the best music video games has to offer makes it a real gem, but what made it truly noteworthy is the ambition on display. I believe Sonic Team and Sega have finally made the game they wanted to make ever since the failure of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) and we now have a worthy successor to Sonic Adventure. »
« Sonic Frontiers was definitely a risk, but SEGA and Sonic Team are no strangers to rolling the dice and operating on pure ambition. If we are honest with ourselves, for too long, Sonic has come up short on the execution. But this time the iconic speedster has truly delivered. Open world games might be a dime a dozen, and they have not reinvented the wheel here. Instead, they've successfully transported Sonic to an intriguing new world that is a pleasure to explore, while maintaining some retro flare and an engaging story that will make fans happy. Put simply, Sonic Frontiers is the best 3D Sonic game ever made, and a fantastic step in the right direction that bodes very well for the future of everybody's favourite blue hedgehog. »
Avis des Joueurs (Metacritic)
« I would give it a 7/10 but this site description for a seven doesn't match mine. It's a fun direction for the Sonic series, however it is rough around the edges with it looking a bit worse for wear and some pop in issues. The music is phenomenal with the Island themes and titan boss fights having some of my favourite pieces of music. »
« Sonic Frontiers is a colossal, unplayable disaster that represents the absolute nadir of the entire franchise. The game completely discards Sonic's signature, tightly crafted momentum-based platforming for a bleak, depressingly empty "open-zone" world that feels entirely corporate, lifeless, and utterly unfinished. Running through the jagged landscapes is a technical nightmare, plagued by agonizingly severe, constant texture pop-in where platforms and rails just materialize out of thin air inches in front of your face. The camera routinely loses its mind during basic exploration, fighting you for control, while the combat boils down to mindlessly mashing a single button against clunky, generic robot designs. With a completely somber, depressing soundtrack that **** away any remaining shred of classic Sega energy and a glitch-ridden physics engine that constantly shoots you through geometry into instant-death pits, the game is an agonizing, broken chore devoid of a single redeeming quality. It is an unmitigated, offensive 0 out of 10. the ONLY good thing about this is the songs for the Titans. »
« i would give it a 7, but on this site it calls it mixed, which i dont agree. its pretty good, like a 7.5/10, but an 8 is fine too only issue is the jank »
« Positives +Smooth Controls +3D Cyberspace levels are mostly good +Music player is a nice addition Negatives -Bland Visuals -2D levels in Cyberspace are a lot worse than 3D -Things not appearing until you really close -Game being bad at telling you how to do something -Skill tree isn’t needed »
« Good good so good good so good very good I have nothing to say and bye guys have a great time its good »
« not a masterpiece **** but still a fun experience with enjoyable combat and moments, its a fun game with good moments but certainly not life changing »
« Sonic Frontiers is a great game with epic scenes, an incredible soundtrack, and many things going for it. It's probably one of the best games in the franchise since Forces, although it does have some problems. First, the map is quite empty, being an open world, and it really looks like a map with random things scattered around. Second, the Cyberspace levels feel unnecessary; they last about a minute and aren't anything special, or they end just when they seem to be getting interesting. They don't add much, but on the positive side, playing with Sonic in an open world is quite interesting. Experimenting with speed and the mini-bosses in the worlds is quite adrenaline-pumping, and the boss fights are quite entertaining. As for the story, it's very interesting. Personally, I love Sage's introduction to the game series; she's a very memorable character, and I hope she's used in future games. I also like the deeper story in the game without it being unnecessarily edgy at the same time. If you have the chance to play it, I totally recommend it! It's a different way of looking at Sonic games and you'll really have a good time playing it. (I really love this game, but I tried to be as objective as possible to review it for an English assignment.) »
« [SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.] »
