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Anyone who’s seen gameplay for Sonic Frontiers so far has referred to the title as an open world game. With Sonic running around absolutely massive landscapes, the open world term seemed fitting. Sonic Team sees things a bit differently.

In an interview with IGN, Sonic Team Head Takashi Iizuka was asked to describe the gameplay of Sonic Frontiers. This is where he shared that the team behind the title has dubbed it an ‘Open Zone’ game, rather than open world.

“Past games in the Sonic series have taken different tones depending on their story and themes. This time, these mysterious islands are the game’s major setting. That’s why our artists have worked hard to create a mysterious mood.

Open world games like Zelda or other AAA games fundamentally have RPG or adventure worlds. For Sonic, the core here is a 3D action game. Our basic idea was to have that take place in an open space. What sets Sonic Frontiers apart is this different approach to an open game world.”

[Sonic Team Head Takashi Iizuka]

Sonic’s history with the word ‘Zone’ makes this new phrase a bit more sensible, but I’m not too sure how many people will describe Sonic Frontier as ‘Open Zone’ going forward. That said, the explanation offered by Iizuka certainly makes a bit of sense.

Lastly, the feature from IGN also includes a new batch of screens. You can check out the gallery here.

[IGN]

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Comments (1)

thegreatking

2y ago

I think zelda clone is a better description