Sonic Frontiers really threw me for a loop when it first released in November of 2022. A game that I’d dabbled in at preview events prior but was somehow still yet to fully understand, the final product proved to be just as bewildering. But, for all of its faults – and there are many – it managed to endear me simply by virtue of how earnestly it tried to re-frame what a 3D Sonic game could be.
Sure, a lot of the platforming stuff in the “open zone” environments was awkward and suffered from a confounding tug-of-war between fully 3D and fixed cameras. And sure, the dissonance between the cartoony Sonic characters and a pseudo-realistic world takes a minute to get past. But there’s also something strangely compelling about Frontiers, especially in how it explores a lot of the franchise’s mainstay characters, and it’s just put together well enough that seeing its best parts is worth suffering through the worst. Unlike some other 3D Sonic entries (you know who you are).
Plus, the major boss themes are straight bangers from beginning to end. Especially the ones featuring Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens fame. Who’d have seen that collab coming?
Which is all well and good, but what we’re here to discuss, more specifically, is the Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game, dubbed the Definitive Edition. And that’s unfortunately a title that pretty much hits the nail on the head – Sonic Frontiers at its core might be a game that’s hard to pin down, but this Switch 2 port is definitively not worth picking up.
To its credit, Sonic Frontiers – Definitive Edition is a much better product than its Switch 1 predecessor, which is to be expected. The extra horsepower of the newer console means this one’s allowed to run in up to 60FPS (which it does alright at maintaining), at slightly higher resolutions with more modern graphical features and more detail on-screen overall. This was never the most performant game, even on the PS5 and Xbox Series machines, and the Switch 2 version still comes in well under those with some pretty intense environmental pop-in and the choice between a painfully-latent 30FPS or an overly-blurry 60FPS. But, if all you knew was the OG Switch game, this one is infinitely more agreeable.
It’s also packing all of the free updates and content that have been added to the game over the years, which isn’t necessarily a value-add of any real kind, but at least makes it feel like some sort of complete package. Though new players might feel extra confused about the included Explorer’s Treasure Box DLC, which basically makes the first chunk of game progression redundant by handing you a plethora of key items.
So it’s a little bit of goodness sprinkled on top of a deeply flawed, deeply weird but somehow still kinda neat game. That sounds okay enough, right? Who’s going to argue with a bit of a boost in graphical fidelity and a tidier round-up of all the free DLC as either a free or heavily subsidised upgrade for all those that already bought the game on the original Switch?
What’s that, you say? There’s absolutely no upgrade path and even those who paid for and own the game, which is already playable on the Switch 2 via backwards compatibility, have to fork out the full $80-90 for it? Oh.
Unfortunately, that’s about where the conversation stops being about the unremarkable yet oddly meritable game, or any of its improvements on Nintendo’s modern handheld, and more about why on earth anyone would cough up nearly 100 bones for a bang-average port of a nearly four-year-old title. It just doesn’t make sense and, aside from a very small potential subsection of hardcore Sonic the Hedgehog fans who haven’t owned a single modern gaming console or capable PC up until investing in a Switch 2, I couldn’t in good faith recommend anyone buy this.
Reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2 | Review copy supplied by publisher
Great
- Looks and runs noticeably better than the Switch 1 version
- A genuinely fascinating 3D Sonic game that fans should play
- Any excuse to replay those boss battles
Not great
- Still quite blurry and full of shocking pop-in
- A full-priced port of a game from 2022 with no upgrade path
- "Fascinating" doesn't always mean good
Born into the world of video games through SEGA, and in particular Sonic the Hedgehog, Kieron’s gaming tastes now consist of the latest, shiny AAA thing, an indie darling or two, and an embarrassing number of hours of Balatro.