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Sonic Frontiers Thread - PS4, PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by MykonosFan, May 27, 2021.

  1. Laura

    Laura

    Brightened Eyes Member
    I like mainstream reviews. A lot of people say they only value hardcore fan reviews like those on Youtube. Those are good but appeal to a different demographic. Mainstream reviews are intended to give a broad overview of all games in an easily digestible manner.

    So yeah. I like IGN. Lol. Hot take.
     
  2. Londinium

    Londinium

    People actually read these? Member
    Sonic heresy. You will be burned at the stake in the town centre of Station Square tonight.
     
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  3. Sneasy

    Sneasy

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    (Ironically, IGN was the first of players / previewers to say "Frontiers is actually good.")
     
  4. Blue Blood

    Blue Blood

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    Whilst simultaneously holding the exclusive scoop on the footage that made everyone else say "Frontiers is actually bad". I know it was footage provided by SEGA, but still. What was SEGA even thinking with the footage and trailers they debuted for the game this summer? They were dreadful. They actually seemed to show the game in the worst possible light. I just have no idea how anyone at SEGA watched that footage and said "yes, this is how we want people to see our game".

    Anyway, yeah, mainstream reviews and their scores matter. You don't have to like them, but they're digestible and speak to a much wider audience than hardcore fan reviews or even scoreless reviews from places like Eurogamer. They give a good general outlook. As a pretty hardcore Sonic fan, I know that mainstream reviews aren't likely to really look at the same factors that I'm interested in. But they tell you very clearly how positively people feel about any given game.

    I don't want to guess what scores Frontiers is going to get. I do think that it's looking like it'll going to fall on the positive side of things. Positive would be 70s, very positive would be 80s and unfathomably positive would be 90s.
     
  5. RikohZX

    RikohZX

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    I mean to be fair, IGN handled the Lost World previews and the person in charge was really optimistic about it. Sure, even to many fans the gameplay changes looked iffy, but IGN was being pretty positive on its previews.

    Then they had someone else review it who absolutely loathed the game, failed to use the run button, explicitly committed on-screen suicide deaths for no reason that made the game look worse, and tanked the whole thing's reputation thanks to being the premiere review.
     
  6. Sneasy

    Sneasy

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    IGN, or specifically the previewed who actually played Frontiers, was *also* like "I don't know what the fuck Sega is showing you guys, what I played was significantly better" lmao. They were also surprised by how mediocre the showcase looked.

    Sega hasn't gotten particular better at marketing the game, though it turns out when you understand what Frontiers is, it starts to make more sense.

    Which is also something Iizuka said himself, that people will get to know the game better when they see more and play it.

    So why DID they choose the IGN footage of all things? Even the SGF footage two weeks later looked substantially better.
     
  7. charcoal

    charcoal

    Be Cool, Be Wild, and Be Groovy Member
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    I always thought the whole “IGN has a vendetta against Sonic” was a cope from Sonic fans, but with things like this, their abhorrent Unleashed review, and saying “Sonic was never good” I can’t help but wonder if there’s at least a little truth to it…
     
  8. Kyro

    Kyro

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    IGN isnt just one person. Its totally possible that there are folks who do like sonic at IGN, and folks who dont, and in those instances, the people who dont were just being vocal or just happened to be the ones chosen for said reviews. I also just dont think the "sonic was never good" stuff was intended to be THAT serious (but it was certainly patronizing).
     
  9. charcoal

    charcoal

    Be Cool, Be Wild, and Be Groovy Member
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    I guess that is true, but I feel like it’s a massive video game review publication’s job to have consistent, objective opinions. And with IGN it’s clear that many of the reviews are heavily biased, and that definitely doesn’t just apply to Sonic.
     
  10. SuperSnoopy

    SuperSnoopy

    I like Sonic Advance Member
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    Slice of life visual novel, coming soon...?
    They totally haven't, because it dawned on me today that the only reason Frontiers is getting such a positive reception is because of shaky cam footage of a demo...that Sega didn't even want people to record for the most part.

    While Forces' marketing was dogshit in its own right, nothing, nothing could've prepared us for how they handled Frontiers.
    I've somehow deluded myself into thinking the unauthorised footage and timer exploit are somehow part of the marketing team's master plan, because I just refuse to believe someone can be THIS incompetent.
    ...right?
     
  11. Some more impressions of the EGX demo from our podcast, if you're interested!

     
  12. As far as Sonic and mainstream media is concerned, the series still hasn't shaken off the stigma of 06. I know a lot of hard-core fans will say that's unfair to hold that game over the series given its been over 15 years, but that just establishes how much damage that game did to the general perception of Sonic. To say it poisoned the well would be an understatement. It was a literal plague.

    So until that stigma is gone, Sonic's always gonna have it pretty rough. That said, this is best possible chance to get rid of that stigma between the alternative media. It has been a very long time since Sonic was something to be proud of and if Frontiers sticks the landing, Sonic can be on the track to return to being a franchise worth respecting in the public consciousness.
     
  13. Honestly we might be giving Sega too little credit in how they're marketing Frontiers

    Their marketing seems to be the good old classic "word of mouth" play. Instead of dropping overly detailed spoilery trailers, Frontiers has been playable by the public at just about every major gaming event since July, Kishimoto and Iizuka have been giving very frequent interviews and press releases, and the majority of the reception of the demo from both major gaming journalism sites and random players is that it's fun.

    I expect there to be a bit more stuff straight from Sega next month since it's close to release day now, but aside fun the initial reveal, the marketing's been fine.
     
  14. The drip feed approach has gotten people interested and talking. Sega accomplished the mission whether you agree with their methods or not.
     
  15. MootPoint

    MootPoint

    Clockwork Aquario's Strongest Soldier Member
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    I'm curious about Sonic's relationship with Sage due to how pretty nonchalant their conversation is? Perhaps I'm too used to Lost World/Forces where the writers find the need to snark it up 24/7 with Sonic, lol.

    It's interesting that Sage isn't coming off as outright evil. It helps add way more depth because I wanna know what is her deal. It doesn't seem like she would intentionally hurt Sonic unless she absolutely has to and even then, she gives a warning.
     
  16. RikohZX

    RikohZX

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    A guardian of the islands to a fault. It seems like compared to Eggman and previous antagonists that went out of their way to cause havoc, Sage would be perfectly fine if Sonic and friends left the islands alone and would never bother trying to hunt them down or anything, like an artificial Knuckles with no capability to ever leave her zone. It's just she also took extreme measures to screw the crew over and Sonic will totally wreak his own brand of havoc on her stuff to get them back, so the two get put into contention.
     
  17. Laura

    Laura

    Brightened Eyes Member
    The Sonic was never good video was terrible.

    But I think their reviews of Unleashed and Lost World are pretty much accurate. I mean Lost World isn't even contentious. I'm pretty sure everyone would agree with that one now. It only got backlash because people were really hoping it would be good.
     
  18. MrMechanic

    MrMechanic

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    From the demo I played. This is looking at a 7-8 out of 10 but written as a positive.

    However, I'm not sure it'll be looked back at favourably when it comes to repeat playthroughs.

    I'm just a wee bit concerned about the longevity of this game and especially the titan boss fights (Ninja is awesome, the rest are a bit pants).
     
  19. jubbalub

    jubbalub

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    Someone had a quote at the end of their impressions that went something like: "Frontiers might be a solid 7 or 8, but lots of my favorite games are 7s or 8s." I can't remember what article it was though.
     
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  20. Starduster

    Starduster

    Can bench press at least two Sonic the Hedgehogs Member
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    Fighting my procrastination addiction
    Yeah, looking back, Tower was a bit naff to fight. Lock-on didn’t feel too responsive there and I think allowing it to move around probably wasn’t the right call, given that it already forces you to time your attacks thanks to the spinning blade on its body. That was probably the big time loss in my runs of the demo.