Great. I can't wait to hear him to count the instances of frame pacing issues imperceptible to most people, telling me that it's "not perfectly smewth" and "not quite good enough". I also wouldn't be caught dead playing a 3D Sonic game... so I will just see myself out.
1:15 Part 1 - The Design 7:06 Part 2 - The Visuals 12:22 Part 3 - Console Testing 21:34 Part 3.1 - Nintendo Switch 26:03 Part 3.2 - PC 29:17 Part 4 - The Soundtrack 33:34 Final Thoughts Excellent review and report from John here. You always do great work, props!
Update: 60fps mode just got patched in to the Series S version a few days ago! Not sure of resolution and Sega claimed it was a bug that caused the lack of access to the performance mode on Series S (according to the patch notes anyways).
I honestly feel these are both true. It's the first Sonic game in a very long time where they seem to have any actual vision for where to take the series that isn't either *just* trend-chasing or meaningless nostalgic callbacks. At the same time, it's absolutely jank as fuck and unless you're an existing Sonic Pervert, I find it *really* hard to recommend. If they can build and iterate on this game like they did with Unleashed->Colors->Gens when "boost sonic" was the core idea, I think they could make a banger of game but as it stands, I think "fundamentally pretty bad but very promising as a way forward" is my take on it
What Sonic Team does after Frontiers is in some ways more important than the Frontiers itself. Half of the work of making something good is actually recognizing that you've got something good on your hands. They must iterate from now on. Seize the good, polish it up and throw away the rest.
I really hope this will be the case here. What they have here right now is an unpolished gem, all they have to do is fixing the kinks and it’ll be a good sequel. It would be mind-blowing to see the open world sections with all the platforms, without LoD issues or pop-ins.
This is SEGA we're talking about here. They've been stiffing Sonic studios on budget and resources for over twenty years. The people developing these games couldn't produce a AAA product if they wanted to. Look no further than the disastrous production of Sonic Boom, the failure of which rests squarely on SEGA placing unreasonable demands on the developer.
@@GrimJackal Yeah, that's the concern. SEGA didn't cheap out on the marketing for Frontiers, you got banners in Times Square and stuff, but then you look at the game and It's so underproduced in many aspects. Have no idea if it's a budget issue or if they simply don't have the talent. Probably both. I mean, someone DID make all those great in-game animations for Unleashed and Generations back then. Where are those people? If the next game is just Frontiers 2.0, that will be a huge disappointment. Well-written character interactions and some cool songs won't be enough.
@@GrimJackal it wasn't even about "unreasonable demands", it was straight up sabotaging the developers. Like - why would you force the dev team to take their game, which was planned to be a multi-platform release for next-gen consoles, and tell them to downgrade it to the wii u, partway through development??? WHO DOES THAT?
OK, except that this game costs $60, ($92 for full DD edition in my country) and the next game will also cost $60. If they put this out as a tech demo your comment would be reasonable
It’s pretty baffling that for all the crazy cyber-glitchy visuals going on in the game (and the fact that it’s such a core element in the story), the devs didn’t implement some kinda digital pop-in effect for assets. Would’ve easily made it look better, as obvious as the solution is
It's funny that some of the older Assassins Creed games got it right and did exactly what you're saying with NPC pop in, since those games are technically VR simulations and as such the Animus being prone to glitches.
the gameplay loop really rewards exploration in a satisfying way, which unfortunately is what draws even further attention to the pop-in,when you're searching for the next chunk of platform challenges.
That and all the times when your sonic who's running at the speed of light, goes from 1 million km/h to 0 in an instant because a single polygon in the ground disagreed
If there was a way to fix or better mitigate the pop-in on at least current platforms. It be a nice update, though given the technical issues I don't expect that as even a possibility. So PC given time by fan mods fixing is likely the only longterm solution. Mind if a older gamer you can more likely ignore the aspects... I say that due to past games with bad pop-in from way back. Brain can eventually get use to it and ignore it to a degree...
I gotta say, this game exceeded my expectations. This style of gameplay was meant for sonic, if they keep building upon the foundation laid for frontiers I am confident Sonic will once again rise to prominence.
I agree, I just hope they’d mix the innovations with more classic Sonic character, style, & wackiness present in earlier games. Sonic Mania captured those later elements so well.
I'm sure that's what a lot of fans thought after Sonic Generations released but of course we ended up getting Sonic Lost World instead so we really can't make an educated guess since Sonic Team keeps changing things up when we least expect them to.
Agreed 100%. I've been seeing a lot of 7 out of 10 reviews where the description makes it sound more like an 8 or 9. It's easily a 9 or 9.5 out of 10 for me so far and I'm not even a Sonic fan.
@@LeonSKennedy7777 Mania and Generations are in my top ten Sonic games and this game is definitely in that as well with nostalgia in playability and soundtrack giving me feels of being a kid again in early 90's on Genesis to as a teen in the 2000's playing on Dreamcast.
The Steam Deck version is probably the way to play it on a handheld (over Switch). And it seems the desktop PC version is the way to play it on a tv/monitor as well (over consoles, especially over old consoles). And as a bonus, you don't have to buy the game again for PC and can use the same progress.
@@thingsiplay Do you know how to fix the fps and texture flickering problem on the Steam Deck? I really want to enjoy it there as well but those issues make it really difficult.
Glad your comment reminded me about the mods. I'm enjoying it on PC now, and the pop-in hasn't been a distraction at all for me. I do want to check out the 120 fps and pop-in mods when they're ready though.
Dude this is the best sonic frontiers review I've seen yet! I'm really excited to play this game when I have the money for it and your review got me so pumped for it! Also thank you so much for giving us a taste of the soundtrack. I was wondering what kind of vibes it would have and the answer is all of them!😆
@@clemente3 He's just trolling. He's replying to a bunch of comments on the video making fun of sonic fans because he has nothing better to do. Just ignore him.
@@alfo2804 agreed but I think it will be possible. A lot of these limitations can be lifted in games that get modded for VR play. It's all about letting the engine know what to draw. As long this engine doesn't tie other things to the draw it should just tax systems more. Fingers crossed!!
@@SevendashGaming Yeah, hopefully. But I wouldn't put it past Sonic Team to have it turn out to be that object render distance is hardcoded or something. This is an open-world game, built on a boost game, built on a Mario 3D World clone. With that many layers of retooling and changing things, it's not impossible to believe that the engine is an unoptimised mess of spaghetti code.
Pop-in usually bothers me too, but it hasn't been a problem or a distraction for me at all on PC in the first two worlds. Still looking forward to the mods for pop-in and 120 fps though.
@@drumjod that's great to hear! I really appreciate you letting us know. I'm very tempted to give it a try but unfortunately the new Pokémon games are out next week to reset my graphic snob standards.
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27:03 Alex's optimized settings section sure was hilarious.
@@GuerilleroX is it a gimmick? Would it still be a gimmick if it was in the Xbox controller? I find it adds a lot to some games especially when added to the controllers internal speaker.
Absolutely loved your review John! I always prefer your videos because you tend to focus on the history of games and their lineage to be able to point out what makes these games good - controls, platforming, music, speed, stage design etc. And you're the only one who always focuses on the Music aspect of games. Sonic Frontier's Soundtrack is a real banger from the Kronos Island theme's calm sombre tone to the boss battle's heavy metal soundtrack! I have never been more excited for Sonic's future. They seem to have finally cracked it. A blueprint for future Sonic games. I just hope it doesn't take another 5 years for the next game (it probably won't tho). From the great Sonic Movies to this flawed but good (great compared to previous sonic titles) game, we're officially in the Sonic Renaissance! Being a Sonic fan is just a rollercoaster of emotions
An absolutely great review for a game that many other outlets might have written off. I appreciate how the development team took a chance with this title, and hope it acts as a solid foundation for future Sonic games.
I was really noticing the Bowser's Fury comparisons as I played it, too! Really interesting way to incorporate classic platforming into an open area, and I like how both pull it off (BF is more polished maybe but its also basically a short tech demo and not a full 25 hour game)
This is the first Sonic game that has actually grabbed me. I’ve been playing it on my Steam Deck and I’ve really been enjoying it. Needs some patches to fix some bugs and performance, but otherwise it’s great. I’m looking forward to playing it on my home PC when I am able.
This feels like a perfect game for cloud gaming tbh. Shame it’s not on Xcloud or anything. It’s more racing game of anticipating timing, vs an action game of reacting quickly, so latency is predictable and tolerable
@@joejoe2658 Do people work for SkillUp or something? Everytime someone says they like the game, there's some guy going UHM WATCH SKILLUPS VIDEO GAEM BAD
Not for presentation (artstyle and music). Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 still are special to this day, Sonic Adventure's controls still are unmatched combined with the Sonic level design. This game is better than Forces, approaching Generations, far away from the legends that are Adventure 1 and 2.
@@saricubra2867 okay gotta correct you on one thing, the level design can be pretty scuffed in the old games. You're not wrong, it just feels like you're giving it a tad too much praise
This is the first Sonic I’ve played since Sonic adventure 2 and I’m really loving it. I’m absolutely shocked at how much I enjoy this game especially after the skillup review had me ready to skip it.
Similar experience for me as Sonic Adventure was the only one I loved, except I occasionally dabbled in a few other Sonic titles, but didn't play for long. This game is an absolute blast and, surprisingly, I keep look forward to playing it much more than GoW: Ragnarok.
18:30 "I mean, how many people have a Series X and a One X, and have them both hooked up?" lmao that's exactly me. recently got a Series S and I love it, but I still use the One X for X-enhanced games that don't have FPS boost on current gen systems. or games like Halo MCC that are a solid 4K60 on One X, and a lower resolution on Series S. anyways I'm sad that none of my consoles will run this at 60. what a strange choice to leave Series S stuck at 30
I actually got a big boost in performance after setting shadows to low, while the visual difference is very minor. Might be due to my ageing CPU (7700K)
John, your videos are masterclass quality for this type of content. Tell Rich you need a raise. DF wouldn't be the same without you. Keep up the great content.
I'm not normally that fussed on Sonic games but this one has piqued my interest. I like the idea of the skilled traversal around bigger levels. Might pick this one up down the road when it's a bit cheaper.
If they take the lessons from this game and actually give the sequel a budget and the time to reach it's full potential it's going to be something special.
That heavy pop-in is infuriating. It even happens on current-gen consoles with super-fast SSD's, and they shouldn't have any kinds of bottlenecks with streaming assets.
@@helloguy8934 that is why you use LOD levels, and SSD allows you to have greater numbers of LOD levels because you can streaming assets more fast to the GPU memory from "disc". They simply don't have any LOD levels as stated in the video. This probably is about they being a smaller team with less resources (Destroy All Humans 2 Reprobed has similar issues with pop-up but in cutscenes every time the camera change viewpoint, and the loading times are atrocious by PS5 standards given the small size of the maps of the world need to load) or SEGA rushing it to come out before christimas.
yea i been playing it on series x i absolutely ADORE this game but the pop in is defintely my biggest critique tech wise but i can look past it as i love this game so much
@@ramonandrajo6348 The fact that you replied the eat you did to an emoji just tells everyone here that you were the one pretty salty, yourself.. But that shouldn't really surprise anyone uwu
Haven't watched the video yet, but im glad they covered this game and I've been using CheatEngine to unlock 120 fps and widescreen. IF they would just fix those limitations and allow less pop in for stronger PCs it would be a beautiful product. It already is a beautiful game.
I own a strong PC and can play on Ultra all day ($3000 2 & a half years) but, even slightly un-strong ones should still play frontiers better than console 🤫
UPDATE ON THE SERIES S! We got a patch for the game to run at 60fps. It's still not perfect but there's a noticeable difference. This made me really happy since I got the game on sale and was a little bummed out about the series S only being 30fps when it can run games like Forza 5 no problem. Again it's not perfect but better than before for sure.
I always look forward to these videos whenever a new Sonic game releases! They've become a nice tradition for me ever since Sonic Forces, which happened to be my first Sonic game in several years.
Pretty sure the 60fps mode on Series S not being here is gonna be fix pretty soon like for most Series S games. It sucks they didn't put it in from the get go though.
right. honestly that's the only reason I haven't bought it yet. I only have a series s and I heard it was 30fps. once it's patched I'll definitely dive in
You can make it 60fps on the series s, change your display settings to 1080p on the console itself an it unlocks the 60fps. Don’t know why they have a work around for that though.
Any time DF starts focusing on "inconsistent frame pacing", I stop watching the frame time graph and start focusing only on the the game play footage to see if I can see it. Unfortunately, like most times this comes up, I just can't see it myself, and to be honest, I'm glad. As long as I'm not getting hard micro stutters or shader cache compilation, I really don't notice it. Obviously playing at 60 fps vs 30 is night and day, but for me, playing at 30 fps @ 33 ms vs 30 fps with incorrect frame pacing is a minor difference at best.
People hate what they don't understand. That's just a fact of life. If you understand what playing a Sonic game is about you will love this game, if you don't understand what's appealing about Sonic you won't like this game. Simple as that. I'm 43 years old and loved the originals as a kid, skipped most Sonic games after the Adventures games, but really fell in love with this game. I think it really captures the allure of playing as a fast-moving character. It's a hard game to review because you have to take points away for the technological hiccups but it's honestly more exciting and fun to me than games that review higher because they are technically more sound. At the end of the day what matters is the fun factor and I think the game is a ton of fun. Kudos to Sonic Team, hopefully they can patch some things in the next couple of months.
@@nashoke23 lol clever thinking but I’m SO so glad I’m not like these Adventure fanboys being trapped and stuck only liking Adventure games and Pixel game forever. (I like em to but not only those heck I love 06 a lot).
Thank you so much, Digital Foundry! Your analysis is the best, you analyze everything in a very technical and professional way! It's definitely the best review I've watched, and it shows how cool Sonic Frontiers is. Guys, on STEAM the game has 94% of positive reviews, the guys are enjoying the game! 💙
I'm totally shocked that the kind of lunatic who buys a new Sonic game at launch has the opinion that SONIC GOOD. I'd also wager than 94% of the people who've reviewed the game three days after launch (somehow managing to form concrete and considered opinions on its merits in that short time) have written Sonic fanfiction and/or have created a Sonic-styled self-insert. Now, if you don't mind, I'm off to read an ACTUAL unbiased review from IGN reporter Coldsteel the Hedgeheg.
i feel like the unfinished aspect of this is a positive, as i feel like this is just a playground for us to play and explore on, test sonic's gameplay in an open zone, so hopefully in the future will improve on this.
The switch version improves visually and plays better when your switch internal video output is set to 720 and motion blur off and if you have a Mclassic it also improves how the game looks on switch, the devs in my opinion did an amazing job on the switch considering the hardware, I play on a 100 inch screen and with these settings it looks gorgeous for a switch sonic game and another plus it's all on the cartridge. I thinks it's kind of hard to judge switch ports when you dont keep your expectations low, we all know it's not going to look as good as the big boys and shouldn't be judge that way I'm happy these ports come out all.
Sonic Frontiers is an AMAZING game that does not get enough credit. I played it and now my teenage daughter is playing it and watching her play just reminds me how amazing this game is. From the beautiful graphics, amazing gameplay and outstanding OST, seriously, I don't know why people don't talk about it more because it is obvious a lot of passion was put into this game. I have it for the Steam Deck and it plays great docked and undocked. I decided to get it for the Steam Deck over the Switch because I knew there would have to be some cut backs to get it to play on the Switch but if that is the only system you have, get it so you don't miss out on this underrated game. I really hope we one day get a sequel.
I had absolutely zero interest in getting this game until I saw this video, now I’m for sure getting it….it actually look, despite the pop in, really fun. Thanks John for this very in-depth review.
Thanks for being the first to make this video! Seems like I'll just go with the standard Xbox One version since all versions seems to have frame drops anyways..
There are entire chunks of gameplay footage in this video where you don't play at all, the game just plays itself. It looks incredibly dead from a gameplay perspective.
Fantastic review as always, John. I am absolutely loving Sonic Frontiers on PC. Not a huge Sonic fan in general, but I haven't enjoyed a Sonic Game this much since the original Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast, which was state of the art and incredibly impressive at the time it came out. Pop-in hasn't been a distraction in my experience of the first two worlds so far, fortunately. I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys platformers and a bit of adventure. There are still the occasional trademark Sonic janky moments and camera issues, but it seems to be greatly improved compared to recent Sonic games. Replaying the last 30 seconds or so and knowing how to approach the section quickly resolves any death caused by jankyness or camera, and the game is very forgiving. Like John said, most of the game isn't too challenging (so far, except maybe a few bosses) and the greatest challenge comes in trying to master each level, which is a joy. PS: Alex's optimized settings section was absolutely hilarious 😂 Well done sir, you made my day.
I really want you guys at DF to start doing more Steam Deck comparisons and more Steam Deck Content in general. It should be considered a platform at this point.
@@NoonDragoon Why doesn't he just get one, then? It's clear that buying one would be beneficial to the show, and you don't have to go on the waiting list anymore, there's no reason for him to not get one.
Metal Gear Rising, the Persona series, are clear examples how the music can carry the overall gaming enjoyment. Also the Mitzuguchi games like Tetris Effect and Rez. It could be the first Sonic game since Heroes that I want to try soon.
I was waiting for this video to see how they pulled it off. Besides the pop in, the game is gorgeous. I've really been enjoying it a lot. I would never play it on the Switch though lol.
What the hell. John you completely sold me this game. It wasn't even under my radar as a Sonic enthusiast but now I'm truly considering to get it. Popping could be an issue but I've red they're commited to solve a lot of issues. I think i'm getting this for christmas :)
I’ve been playing the Switch version and I kind of love it. I haven’t really enjoyed a Sonic platformer since Sonic 2 but this one has been pretty engaging so far.
Generations is the best modern Sonic game hands down. A joy to play. My only gripe with the game is tge Colors stages in Generations is too long and infuriatingly restrictive.
@@UWG3 I did enjoy bits and pieces of Generations but I really hated the weird level select area and all the little challenges you had to do to unlock keys and stuff. I kind of just wanted to play through the levels so I never managed to finish it.
This video finally sold me on getting this game. I especially love the focus on the soundtrack at the end. Way to highlight the entire package. At first the pre release shit talking and post release pop in talk had me hesitant, but it seems to have a cool vibe and your enthusiasm kinda got me hyped up. The pop in is still ridiculous but whatever game looks cool. Thanks for the hard work!
I truly wish there was more music during general traversal of the world. All the music that's in is so good i wanted more smh. Thanks for your great work again!
@John I’m surprised at your review on this one. Your opinions generally mirror my own in just about every way (a large part of the reason I really trust your recommendations), but we differ on this one. I thought the cyberspace sections were considerably more appealing than the other open zone areas, but you evidently feel the opposite.
Excellent review John.... I'll leave the Switch version and get the Ps5 version . Do you think Sega could alleviate some of the pop up issues with a patch maybe ?👍👍
Even if parts of the game are objectively not that great, this is honestly the most fun I've had with a 3d Sonic game in a really long time. Here's hoping Sonic Team can further refine and iterate on this formula because I think they're definitely on to something here.
"You can always count on a good Sonic soundtrack" doesn't even begin to describe how much of an absolute banger Frontier's OST is. The moment I went Super Sonic for the first time and those drums started rapidly pounding in my ears, I knew without a Shadow (see what I did there?) of a doubt that this was my new favorite platformer of all time and probably one of my new favorite games. And I grew up on the classic Sonic trilogy, so I'm not even blinded by nostalgia like a lot of the comments I've seen thus far.
Legend has it, if you close your eyes and say "today I'm joined by my good friend and colleague, John Linneman", he'll appear before you.
I tried it but instead of him showing up a homeless person named John Linneman showed up instead and now he won't leave my home :(
Sounds like he's no longer homeless...
You have to do it at midnight in front of a mirror
Great. I can't wait to hear him to count the instances of frame pacing issues imperceptible to most people, telling me that it's "not perfectly smewth" and "not quite good enough". I also wouldn't be caught dead playing a 3D Sonic game... so I will just see myself out.
@@M_LittleRivers DON'T !!!
1:15 Part 1 - The Design
7:06 Part 2 - The Visuals
12:22 Part 3 - Console Testing
21:34 Part 3.1 - Nintendo Switch
26:03 Part 3.2 - PC
29:17 Part 4 - The Soundtrack
33:34 Final Thoughts
Excellent review and report from John here. You always do great work,
props!
THANK YOU SO MUCH
Thank you for doing the lords work 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Update: 60fps mode just got patched in to the Series S version a few days ago! Not sure of resolution and Sega claimed it was a bug that caused the lack of access to the performance mode on Series S (according to the patch notes anyways).
I’m pretty sure it was a glitch but they probably said that to cover themselves because they didn’t implement the 60FPS mode
It’s fascinating how opinions vary on this game, from “this is Sonic’s return to form” to “this game is an unfinished mess”.
I can’t recall a game that has divided people like this in a while. And it’s not about story choices
I honestly feel these are both true. It's the first Sonic game in a very long time where they seem to have any actual vision for where to take the series that isn't either *just* trend-chasing or meaningless nostalgic callbacks. At the same time, it's absolutely jank as fuck and unless you're an existing Sonic Pervert, I find it *really* hard to recommend.
If they can build and iterate on this game like they did with Unleashed->Colors->Gens when "boost sonic" was the core idea, I think they could make a banger of game but as it stands, I think "fundamentally pretty bad but very promising as a way forward" is my take on it
I think Skillup does a good job of explaining that difference of opinion. And I expected MVG. And John to like it. Glad to see I was right about John.
People living in delusion vs People living here in reality, more like
^ Some people just want to watch the world burn.
i love how john always goes above and beyond for sonic reviews
He’s a man of culture.
He’s a man that I’d have a beer with, and I don’t even drink.
What Sonic Team does after Frontiers is in some ways more important than the Frontiers itself. Half of the work of making something good is actually recognizing that you've got something good on your hands. They must iterate from now on. Seize the good, polish it up and throw away the rest.
I really hope this will be the case here. What they have here right now is an unpolished gem, all they have to do is fixing the kinks and it’ll be a good sequel. It would be mind-blowing to see the open world sections with all the platforms, without LoD issues or pop-ins.
This is SEGA we're talking about here. They've been stiffing Sonic studios on budget and resources for over twenty years. The people developing these games couldn't produce a AAA product if they wanted to. Look no further than the disastrous production of Sonic Boom, the failure of which rests squarely on SEGA placing unreasonable demands on the developer.
@@GrimJackal Yeah, that's the concern. SEGA didn't cheap out on the marketing for Frontiers, you got banners in Times Square and stuff, but then you look at the game and It's so underproduced in many aspects.
Have no idea if it's a budget issue or if they simply don't have the talent. Probably both. I mean, someone DID make all those great in-game animations for Unleashed and Generations back then. Where are those people?
If the next game is just Frontiers 2.0, that will be a huge disappointment. Well-written character interactions and some cool songs won't be enough.
@@GrimJackal it wasn't even about "unreasonable demands", it was straight up sabotaging the developers. Like - why would you force the dev team to take their game, which was planned to be a multi-platform release for next-gen consoles, and tell them to downgrade it to the wii u, partway through development??? WHO DOES THAT?
OK, except that this game costs $60, ($92 for full DD edition in my country) and the next game will also cost $60. If they put this out as a tech demo your comment would be reasonable
It’s pretty baffling that for all the crazy cyber-glitchy visuals going on in the game (and the fact that it’s such a core element in the story), the devs didn’t implement some kinda digital pop-in effect for assets. Would’ve easily made it look better, as obvious as the solution is
It's funny that some of the older Assassins Creed games got it right and did exactly what you're saying with NPC pop in, since those games are technically VR simulations and as such the Animus being prone to glitches.
I was thinking this as well.
the gameplay loop really rewards exploration in a satisfying way, which unfortunately is what draws even further attention to the pop-in,when you're searching for the next chunk of platform challenges.
It was funny how as he's praising the game, the cracks were showing in so many clips.
This game makes me want to play Sonic Adventure for the XYth time.
@@Ayoul Exactly, at 4:48 I'm like ok ok oooof omg what was that pop-in. Then he addresses it later and I'm like thank you.
That and all the times when your sonic who's running at the speed of light, goes from 1 million km/h to 0 in an instant because a single polygon in the ground disagreed
If there was a way to fix or better mitigate the pop-in on at least current platforms. It be a nice update, though given the technical issues I don't expect that as even a possibility. So PC given time by fan mods fixing is likely the only longterm solution.
Mind if a older gamer you can more likely ignore the aspects... I say that due to past games with bad pop-in from way back. Brain can eventually get use to it and ignore it to a degree...
I gotta say, this game exceeded my expectations. This style of gameplay was meant for sonic, if they keep building upon the foundation laid for frontiers I am confident Sonic will once again rise to prominence.
I agree, I just hope they’d mix the innovations with more classic Sonic character, style, & wackiness present in earlier games. Sonic Mania captured those later elements so well.
I'm sure that's what a lot of fans thought after Sonic Generations released but of course we ended up getting Sonic Lost World instead so we really can't make an educated guess since Sonic Team keeps changing things up when we least expect them to.
Agreed 100%. I've been seeing a lot of 7 out of 10 reviews where the description makes it sound more like an 8 or 9. It's easily a 9 or 9.5 out of 10 for me so far and I'm not even a Sonic fan.
Ehhh
@@LeonSKennedy7777 Mania and Generations are in my top ten Sonic games and this game is definitely in that as well with nostalgia in playability and soundtrack giving me feels of being a kid again in early 90's on Genesis to as a teen in the 2000's playing on Dreamcast.
Alex's optimized settings section was incredible.
Remember kids, Get High!
already there *coughs* 😎
Smoking that good stuff, puff puff 💨💨 I swear it's just for my arthritis!!!
I was gonna play my Sonic Front, but then I got High...
Thanks for talking a bit about the PC version. I'll be keeping my eyes on the mods and wait to pick this up. The Alex cameo was excellent 😄
The Steam Deck version is probably the way to play it on a handheld (over Switch). And it seems the desktop PC version is the way to play it on a tv/monitor as well (over consoles, especially over old consoles). And as a bonus, you don't have to buy the game again for PC and can use the same progress.
@@thingsiplay Do you know how to fix the fps and texture flickering problem on the Steam Deck? I really want to enjoy it there as well but those issues make it really difficult.
@@IllusiveDev I don't purchased the game yet. Maybe look at ProtonDB and search for user reports there.
Glad your comment reminded me about the mods. I'm enjoying it on PC now, and the pop-in hasn't been a distraction at all for me. I do want to check out the 120 fps and pop-in mods when they're ready though.
@@IllusiveDev a lot of the times you just need to try different proton versions. ive had the most luck with ProtonGE builds
Award for best cameo in a DF video goes to DF's own, Alex Battaglia! Get High!
I might have to play this just for the soundtrack alone. What was highlighted in this video is incredible.
Dude this is the best sonic frontiers review I've seen yet! I'm really excited to play this game when I have the money for it and your review got me so pumped for it!
Also thank you so much for giving us a taste of the soundtrack. I was wondering what kind of vibes it would have and the answer is all of them!😆
@@ramonandrajo6348 pardon?
@@clemente3 He's just trolling. He's replying to a bunch of comments on the video making fun of sonic fans because he has nothing better to do. Just ignore him.
I was able to grab the Xbox version for $30 from Wal-Mart
@@senatormarrero great deal! I almost got the series S version but I saw that it doesn't do 60fps :(
Alex's bit is hilarious with the music, airhorns and jokes! Ofcourse the whole review is beyond excellent as always!
Can't wait to see if fans mod in a solution for the pop-in on PC. It's definitely something that would affect me.
Even if it's not possible to increase the rendering distance, hopefully they could at least add fade-in, so it's less noticeable.
@@alfo2804 agreed but I think it will be possible. A lot of these limitations can be lifted in games that get modded for VR play. It's all about letting the engine know what to draw. As long this engine doesn't tie other things to the draw it should just tax systems more. Fingers crossed!!
@@SevendashGaming Yeah, hopefully.
But I wouldn't put it past Sonic Team to have it turn out to be that object render distance is hardcoded or something. This is an open-world game, built on a boost game, built on a Mario 3D World clone. With that many layers of retooling and changing things, it's not impossible to believe that the engine is an unoptimised mess of spaghetti code.
Pop-in usually bothers me too, but it hasn't been a problem or a distraction for me at all on PC in the first two worlds. Still looking forward to the mods for pop-in and 120 fps though.
@@drumjod that's great to hear! I really appreciate you letting us know. I'm very tempted to give it a try but unfortunately the new Pokémon games are out next week to reset my graphic snob standards.
27:03 Alex's optimized settings section sure was hilarious.
Get High!
John nailed this one and Alex’s cameo was spot on 👌👏
Shame John didn’t say more about the Haptics on PS5 as I expect it could be really decent.
Gimmick
@@GuerilleroX if you enjoy something, is it still a gimmick?
@@GuerilleroX is it a gimmick? Would it still be a gimmick if it was in the Xbox controller? I find it adds a lot to some games especially when added to the controllers internal speaker.
@@amnril it was so dope in Returnal and Ratchet and Clank
I absolutely love the dual sense but sadly they aren't used much in this game
Absolutely loved your review John! I always prefer your videos because you tend to focus on the history of games and their lineage to be able to point out what makes these games good - controls, platforming, music, speed, stage design etc. And you're the only one who always focuses on the Music aspect of games. Sonic Frontier's Soundtrack is a real banger from the Kronos Island theme's calm sombre tone to the boss battle's heavy metal soundtrack!
I have never been more excited for Sonic's future. They seem to have finally cracked it. A blueprint for future Sonic games. I just hope it doesn't take another 5 years for the next game (it probably won't tho). From the great Sonic Movies to this flawed but good (great compared to previous sonic titles) game, we're officially in the Sonic Renaissance! Being a Sonic fan is just a rollercoaster of emotions
An absolutely great review for a game that many other outlets might have written off. I appreciate how the development team took a chance with this title, and hope it acts as a solid foundation for future Sonic games.
So happy that music examples were included here: I'd heard so much about the music and here I got a perfect taste.
Johns videos are always absurdly high in quality, informative and entertaining. Love it
Appreciate you highlighting the OST .. may be an all time great for the franchise (at least in the 3D space).
I was really noticing the Bowser's Fury comparisons as I played it, too! Really interesting way to incorporate classic platforming into an open area, and I like how both pull it off (BF is more polished maybe but its also basically a short tech demo and not a full 25 hour game)
“60fps? My eyes can’t see more than that” I spat out my pizza 😂
This is the first Sonic game that has actually grabbed me. I’ve been playing it on my Steam Deck and I’ve really been enjoying it. Needs some patches to fix some bugs and performance, but otherwise it’s great. I’m looking forward to playing it on my home PC when I am able.
WATCH SKILLUP'S VIDEO ON IT. IT IS A LAZY, AWFUL DUMPSTER FIRE. AVOID!!!
@@joejoe2658 WTF lol. If they enjoy it then they don't care about Skill Up's opinion 🤣
This feels like a perfect game for cloud gaming tbh. Shame it’s not on Xcloud or anything. It’s more racing game of anticipating timing, vs an action game of reacting quickly, so latency is predictable and tolerable
@@joejoe2658 Do people work for SkillUp or something?
Everytime someone says they like the game, there's some guy going UHM WATCH SKILLUPS VIDEO GAEM BAD
@@joejoe2658 ah yes, you should totally believe ShillUp reviews, heh.
Those last two music tracks you played are absolutely amazing. I'm a huge fan of that genre of that music.
Soundtrack sounds absolutely God tier. Might purchase just based off that.
Really enjoying this game. Feels like an evolution of Sonic Adventure 1 and 2
Not for presentation (artstyle and music). Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 still are special to this day, Sonic Adventure's controls still are unmatched combined with the Sonic level design.
This game is better than Forces, approaching Generations, far away from the legends that are Adventure 1 and 2.
Its nothing like those games though
@@saricubra2867 okay gotta correct you on one thing, the level design can be pretty scuffed in the old games. You're not wrong, it just feels like you're giving it a tad too much praise
@@DanielFerreira-ez8qd Nope. I also hate the lack of spindash for frontiers
@@saricubra2867 A spin dash is kinda mechanically redundant when you have both the boost and the dropdash there tho
This is the first Sonic I’ve played since Sonic adventure 2 and I’m really loving it. I’m absolutely shocked at how much I enjoy this game especially after the skillup review had me ready to skip it.
It’s crazy how many people were taking that review as gospel. People need to learn how to be able to form their own opinions like you have.
After his Lost Judgement review, I learned to not take everything he says seriously LUL.
Between his Sonic Frontiers review and his overly hyperbolic God of War Ragnarok review I think it’ll be a while before I click on one of his videos
Similar experience for me as Sonic Adventure was the only one I loved, except I occasionally dabbled in a few other Sonic titles, but didn't play for long.
This game is an absolute blast and, surprisingly, I keep look forward to playing it much more than GoW: Ragnarok.
After his review of Cyberpunk 2077 and then the game launching, I've lost trust on him and never watched a single video of him anymore
Fantastic review.
Hats off to everybody involved.
I really love the game so far and I'm happy that this is met with relatively positive reactions.
18:30 "I mean, how many people have a Series X and a One X, and have them both hooked up?"
lmao that's exactly me. recently got a Series S and I love it, but I still use the One X for X-enhanced games that don't have FPS boost on current gen systems. or games like Halo MCC that are a solid 4K60 on One X, and a lower resolution on Series S.
anyways I'm sad that none of my consoles will run this at 60. what a strange choice to leave Series S stuck at 30
Great work as always John! I also REALLY enjoyed Alex's Optimized Settings at 27:07
I actually got a big boost in performance after setting shadows to low, while the visual difference is very minor. Might be due to my ageing CPU (7700K)
I'm happy to see yet another one who was originally skeptical enjoying the game
John, your videos are masterclass quality for this type of content. Tell Rich you need a raise. DF wouldn't be the same without you. Keep up the great content.
then he could afford something to stop him touching his glasses every five seconds...... super annoying.
@@joejoe2658 no it wouldnt be the same
He cuts people off and hijacks conversations enough in DF Weekly that he should get a *demotion* - getting replaced by Oliver, if anything.
@@ShadowMKII he does seem to have gotten better recently, i feel he somehow is not aware he does it.
What a fantastic review! I can't thank you enough John for these "in depth" tests. Another masterclass
I'm not normally that fussed on Sonic games but this one has piqued my interest. I like the idea of the skilled traversal around bigger levels. Might pick this one up down the road when it's a bit cheaper.
I was thinking the same, I'll pick it up sooner if they fix that pop in.
Walmart is having it for $30 black friday and target for $40
Skilled traversal around big flowing levels is what Sonic should be all about - glad to see Frontiers gets it! :D
If they take the lessons from this game and actually give the sequel a budget and the time to reach it's full potential it's going to be something special.
Alex's optimized settings were lit AF!
Nice, thank you for the review.
I'm getting the PC version since modding these recent sonic games can pretty much change the way you play the game
Same. I was debating but I think with the modding possibilities, overall perf, and portability aspects will also go PC.
Great review, considering the amount of work invested in testing all the versions. Thx DF
That heavy pop-in is infuriating. It even happens on current-gen consoles with super-fast SSD's, and they shouldn't have any kinds of bottlenecks with streaming assets.
Probably an engine issue more so than a streaming issue. Maybe they can patch it.
Increasing draw distance would increase gpu usage by a lot.
Hardware ain't shit if the competency and talent isn't there to utilize it, always remember that.
@@helloguy8934 that is why you use LOD levels, and SSD allows you to have greater numbers of LOD levels because you can streaming assets more fast to the GPU memory from "disc". They simply don't have any LOD levels as stated in the video. This probably is about they being a smaller team with less resources (Destroy All Humans 2 Reprobed has similar issues with pop-up but in cutscenes every time the camera change viewpoint, and the loading times are atrocious by PS5 standards given the small size of the maps of the world need to load) or SEGA rushing it to come out before christimas.
It's an engine issue. The engine is built to handle linear 2D stages with fixed camera angles, not huge, open environments.
"60fps I can't see anymore than that" cracked me up omg. 🤣
This video single-handedly made me change my mind about Sonic Frontiers and I will buy it when I get the chance. Absolutely stellar tech review.
Thank you I’ve been waiting for this video to know on which console I should buy it.
I hope the pop-in can be fixed with a patch 🤞
yea i been playing it on series x i absolutely ADORE this game but the pop in is defintely my biggest critique tech wise but i can look past it as i love this game so much
It was pointed out months pre release, it still wasn't fixed. I'm guessing it's an engine issue.
@@ramonandrajo6348 🤓
@@ramonandrajo6348
The fact that you replied the eat you did to an emoji just tells everyone here that you were the one pretty salty, yourself..
But that shouldn't really surprise anyone uwu
Alex's optimized settings section was way too funny I was NOT ready.
I'm happy Frontiers turned out to be a "good 7/10". Already bought the Xbox version with a sweet Steelbook, can't wait to play!
Always a pleasure to listen John talking about a Sonic game.
I'm trying to watch a DF analysis of Sonic Frontiers, but the music is making me dance! What gives?!
This review has got me interested in the game. Gonna get it.
DF your coverage never disappoints thank you
@@ramonandrajo6348 ???
Haven't watched the video yet, but im glad they covered this game and I've been using CheatEngine to unlock 120 fps and widescreen. IF they would just fix those limitations and allow less pop in for stronger PCs it would be a beautiful product. It already is a beautiful game.
I own a strong PC and can play on Ultra all day ($3000 2 & a half years) but, even slightly un-strong ones should still play frontiers better than console 🤫
I really like the inclusion of the Music tracks being examined.
Music never gets the praise it deserves.
UPDATE ON THE SERIES S!
We got a patch for the game to run at 60fps. It's still not perfect but there's a noticeable difference.
This made me really happy since I got the game on sale and was a little bummed out about the series S only being 30fps when it can run games like Forza 5 no problem. Again it's not perfect but better than before for sure.
I always look forward to these videos whenever a new Sonic game releases! They've become a nice tradition for me ever since Sonic Forces, which happened to be my first Sonic game in several years.
Pretty sure the 60fps mode on Series S not being here is gonna be fix pretty soon like for most Series S games. It sucks they didn't put it in from the get go though.
right. honestly that's the only reason I haven't bought it yet. I only have a series s and I heard it was 30fps. once it's patched I'll definitely dive in
You can make it 60fps on the series s, change your display settings to 1080p on the console itself an it unlocks the 60fps. Don’t know why they have a work around for that though.
@@TheBean87 I mean he said he tried that in the video and it didn't work. unless they just fixed it very recently.
Who actually has a series L tho?
Any time DF starts focusing on "inconsistent frame pacing", I stop watching the frame time graph and start focusing only on the the game play footage to see if I can see it. Unfortunately, like most times this comes up, I just can't see it myself, and to be honest, I'm glad. As long as I'm not getting hard micro stutters or shader cache compilation, I really don't notice it. Obviously playing at 60 fps vs 30 is night and day, but for me, playing at 30 fps @ 33 ms vs 30 fps with incorrect frame pacing is a minor difference at best.
People hate what they don't understand. That's just a fact of life. If you understand what playing a Sonic game is about you will love this game, if you don't understand what's appealing about Sonic you won't like this game. Simple as that. I'm 43 years old and loved the originals as a kid, skipped most Sonic games after the Adventures games, but really fell in love with this game. I think it really captures the allure of playing as a fast-moving character. It's a hard game to review because you have to take points away for the technological hiccups but it's honestly more exciting and fun to me than games that review higher because they are technically more sound. At the end of the day what matters is the fun factor and I think the game is a ton of fun. Kudos to Sonic Team, hopefully they can patch some things in the next couple of months.
Go forward: the game
@@nashoke23 lol clever thinking but I’m SO so glad I’m not like these Adventure fanboys being trapped and stuck only liking Adventure games and Pixel game forever. (I like em to but not only those heck I love 06 a lot).
Thank you so much, Digital Foundry! Your analysis is the best, you analyze everything in a very technical and professional way! It's definitely the best review I've watched, and it shows how cool Sonic Frontiers is. Guys, on STEAM the game has 94% of positive reviews, the guys are enjoying the game! 💙
I'm totally shocked that the kind of lunatic who buys a new Sonic game at launch has the opinion that SONIC GOOD. I'd also wager than 94% of the people who've reviewed the game three days after launch (somehow managing to form concrete and considered opinions on its merits in that short time) have written Sonic fanfiction and/or have created a Sonic-styled self-insert. Now, if you don't mind, I'm off to read an ACTUAL unbiased review from IGN reporter Coldsteel the Hedgeheg.
@@CaptainKenway Someone is upset
i feel like the unfinished aspect of this is a positive, as i feel like this is just a playground for us to play and explore on, test sonic's gameplay in an open zone, so hopefully in the future will improve on this.
I plan to buy this on PC. My first sonic game since sega genesis! S-E-G-A!
I would highly recommend you purchase Sonic Generations and Sonic Mania.
And I recommend you check out Sonic Adventure 1
Sonic Colors is a good game too
Play sonic rush
The switch version improves visually and plays better when your switch internal video output is set to 720 and motion blur off and if you have a Mclassic it also improves how the game looks on switch, the devs in my opinion did an amazing job on the switch considering the hardware, I play on a 100 inch screen and with these settings it looks gorgeous for a switch sonic game and another plus it's all on the cartridge. I thinks it's kind of hard to judge switch ports when you dont keep your expectations low, we all know it's not going to look as good as the big boys and shouldn't be judge that way I'm happy these ports come out all.
Thank you Alex. With your optimized settings my PC is higher than ever before
I've been 5 minutes in and you seem relatively positive in exposition! This is a big win for Sonic Team!
Sonic Frontiers is an AMAZING game that does not get enough credit. I played it and now my teenage daughter is playing it and watching her play just reminds me how amazing this game is. From the beautiful graphics, amazing gameplay and outstanding OST, seriously, I don't know why people don't talk about it more because it is obvious a lot of passion was put into this game. I have it for the Steam Deck and it plays great docked and undocked. I decided to get it for the Steam Deck over the Switch because I knew there would have to be some cut backs to get it to play on the Switch but if that is the only system you have, get it so you don't miss out on this underrated game. I really hope we one day get a sequel.
I had absolutely zero interest in getting this game until I saw this video, now I’m for sure getting it….it actually look, despite the pop in, really fun. Thanks John for this very in-depth review.
Thanks for being the first to make this video! Seems like I'll just go with the standard Xbox One version since all versions seems to have frame drops anyways..
John: "Some of the worst pop-in I've ever seen"
Gamefreak: Hold my beer....
Loved this review, thx John, Alex and all DF staff!
There are entire chunks of gameplay footage in this video where you don't play at all, the game just plays itself. It looks incredibly dead from a gameplay perspective.
It's not. Trust me, it's really not.
@@paulbell3682 My wife and I are having a blast trading off.
One of your best vids on a new title in a while, John!
Playing this on PS5 and loving it so far.
Fantastic review as always, John.
I am absolutely loving Sonic Frontiers on PC. Not a huge Sonic fan in general, but I haven't enjoyed a Sonic Game this much since the original Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast, which was state of the art and incredibly impressive at the time it came out.
Pop-in hasn't been a distraction in my experience of the first two worlds so far, fortunately. I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys platformers and a bit of adventure. There are still the occasional trademark Sonic janky moments and camera issues, but it seems to be greatly improved compared to recent Sonic games. Replaying the last 30 seconds or so and knowing how to approach the section quickly resolves any death caused by jankyness or camera, and the game is very forgiving. Like John said, most of the game isn't too challenging (so far, except maybe a few bosses) and the greatest challenge comes in trying to master each level, which is a joy.
PS: Alex's optimized settings section was absolutely hilarious 😂 Well done sir, you made my day.
That Alex intervention was gold. Many good quotes in there, quite unexpected hahaha.
Thank you so much for this, John! It feels so good to be excited about a Sonic game and that feeling be shared!
I really want you guys at DF to start doing more Steam Deck comparisons and more Steam Deck Content in general. It should be considered a platform at this point.
John doesn’t have a Steam Deck, he’s stated this multiple times on Twitter.
@@NoonDragoon Why doesn't he just get one, then? It's clear that buying one would be beneficial to the show, and you don't have to go on the waiting list anymore, there's no reason for him to not get one.
Metal Gear Rising, the Persona series, are clear examples how the music can carry the overall gaming enjoyment. Also the Mitzuguchi games like Tetris Effect and Rez. It could be the first Sonic game since Heroes that I want to try soon.
I was waiting for this video to see how they pulled it off. Besides the pop in, the game is gorgeous. I've really been enjoying it a lot. I would never play it on the Switch though lol.
What the hell. John you completely sold me this game. It wasn't even under my radar as a Sonic enthusiast but now I'm truly considering to get it. Popping could be an issue but I've red they're commited to solve a lot of issues. I think i'm getting this for christmas :)
I got used to the pop-in within 20 minutes. The game is great, don't let the people who haven't even played it yet tell you otherwise.
@@brandonnel6905 I'll play it on December. It's freaking expe sive on my country at this moment so I'll wait. Now I'm pretty sure I'll have a blast :)
I’ve been playing the Switch version and I kind of love it. I haven’t really enjoyed a Sonic platformer since Sonic 2 but this one has been pretty engaging so far.
Generations is the best modern Sonic game hands down. A joy to play. My only gripe with the game is tge Colors stages in Generations is too long and infuriatingly restrictive.
@@UWG3 I did enjoy bits and pieces of Generations but I really hated the weird level select area and all the little challenges you had to do to unlock keys and stuff. I kind of just wanted to play through the levels so I never managed to finish it.
@@UWG3 I heavily enjoyed Unleashed and Colors and Black Knight and more!
27:16 The Ferrari F355 Challenge soundtrack here was a really cool throwback for us Sega fans!! 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
Honestly the game would look really good if it wasn't for all of the pop in.
This video finally sold me on getting this game. I especially love the focus on the soundtrack at the end. Way to highlight the entire package. At first the pre release shit talking and post release pop in talk had me hesitant, but it seems to have a cool vibe and your enthusiasm kinda got me hyped up. The pop in is still ridiculous but whatever game looks cool. Thanks for the hard work!
The optimized settings were the bomb!
I truly wish there was more music during general traversal of the world. All the music that's in is so good i wanted more smh.
Thanks for your great work again!
@John I’m surprised at your review on this one. Your opinions generally mirror my own in just about every way (a large part of the reason I really trust your recommendations), but we differ on this one. I thought the cyberspace sections were considerably more appealing than the other open zone areas, but you evidently feel the opposite.
It's impressive how Sonic team has managed to release a game on this many platforms while being the best looking sonic game since Unleashed.
Excellent review John.... I'll leave the Switch version and get the Ps5 version .
Do you think Sega could alleviate some of the pop up issues with a patch maybe ?👍👍
Thanks for touching on the soundtrack. I dig the hardcore boss battle tracks!
This John video sold me the game
Agreed, only once played sonic 6-7 years ago, this game look funn
Alex's optimized settings outro was perfect.
I honestly love this game. Best sonic I've played since sonic adventure 2
The new console badges for the framerate measurements look great. Happy to see that even DF is investing more in its cross gen development.
Even if parts of the game are objectively not that great, this is honestly the most fun I've had with a 3d Sonic game in a really long time. Here's hoping Sonic Team can further refine and iterate on this formula because I think they're definitely on to something here.
It really feels like their sonic unleashed moment. It could be more polished, but the fun moments make up for it in spades imo.
I think the music pushed me off the fence into buying this game. Thanks so much for showcasing it, and for the thorough review.
Ok,the Soundtrack is crazy good
"You can always count on a good Sonic soundtrack" doesn't even begin to describe how much of an absolute banger Frontier's OST is. The moment I went Super Sonic for the first time and those drums started rapidly pounding in my ears, I knew without a Shadow (see what I did there?) of a doubt that this was my new favorite platformer of all time and probably one of my new favorite games. And I grew up on the classic Sonic trilogy, so I'm not even blinded by nostalgia like a lot of the comments I've seen thus far.
Thank you for some positive coverage of this game - it deserves it. As always, thank you for your tireless indespensable tech analysis coverage.
I almost stopped watching after the 3rd part thinking the video was about over. I'm glad I stayed for the music.