New round of Sonic Frontiers info reveals new gameplay details and more

We found out earlier this week that Sonic Frontiers was the cover game for the latest issue of Game Informer, and that issue has now made its way out to subscribers. With that issue comes a new feature on Sonic Frontiers, and it offers up some fresh details and insight. You can see a compilation of the info shared below. Please note that some of these details can be considered spoilers.

• controls were described as “smooth and fast but not unwieldy”
• “Jumping is precise”
• game starts with a Cyber Space level based on Green Hill Zone
• after this Cyber Space level, you reach the Open Zone gameplay
• Cyber Space levels are numbered traditionally (1-1, 1-2, ect.)
• the first Cyber Space level is pretty much a tutorial that you can finish in a minute
• 1-2 is “Unleashed inspired” and 1-3 is “Metropolitan”
• other levels are inspired by Green Hill and Chemical Plant
• Sonic Team listened to the criticism of the past few games being too short
• Sonic Team thinks that Frontiers is a significant improvement in terms of length
• Kronos Island is said to be quite large
• the gameplay loop involves getting Portal Gears by defeating bosses, using them to unlock Cyber Space levels, getting Vault Keys by finishing the Cyber Space level challenges, using them to unlock vaults containing the Chaos Emeralds
• you can increase Sonic’s strength and defense by collecting seeds and giving them to the Hermit Koco
• you can increase Sonic’s top speed and ring limit by returning lost Kocos to the Elder Kocos
• you can fast travel to the Kocos once you’ve met them
• Big the Cat teaches you a fishing mini-game
• Big grants tokens, which let you buy items like Amy’s heart collectables, Portal Gear fragments, Voice Diaries, and Vault Keys
• Amy gives you quests when you hit different milestones for collecting her hearts, and these center on helping Kocos
• Sonic spots Amy in the Open Zone, but she’s trapped in Cyber Space
• Sonic realizes he needs to gather items related to characters in order to free them from Cyber Space
• another cut-scene shows Eggman trapped in Cyber Space
• one task involves leading several lost Kocos back to their mother while avoiding explosions
• the Flyer boss fight was one of Game Informer’s favorite moments in the game
• Game Informer’s writer says Sonic Frontiers “shows more potential than I can recall for any 3D Sonic game”
• abilities like Sonic Boom, Wild Crash, and Accel Rush can be unlocked
• click the analog stick to activate lightspeed dash
• your HUD includes a permanent waypoint and directional navigation system in addition to the game’s map
• when Sonic spots a Titan, a childlike character appears and tells him not to attack
• Sonic attacks anyway, which causes him to get tossed far away from the Titan
• Sonic realizes he needs to get the Chaos Emeralds to stand a chance
• Eggman arrives on an isolated island and discovers a mysterious artifact, which he uploads to his AI using a device
• the Island’s protection system activates, absorbing Eggman
• an early scene shows Sonic, Amy, and Tails flying in towards Starfall Islands
• Tails loses control of his plane in a tornado, which sends him flying into a wormhole
• Sonic wakes up in an area like Green Hill Zone
• after completing this area, Sonic wakes up alone to a disembodied voice telling him to collect the Chaos Emeralds and defeat the Titans