Sonic Frontiers was originally released on PlayStation 4|5, Xbox One, Xbox X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC in 2022, which saw great success, as the Blue Blur was long overdue and helped him get back on his feet after a run of mostly bad games.

Along with an ongoing comic series by IDW that’s approaching its 100th issue, a successful movie franchise, a live symphony touring the world, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds becoming the new premier kart racer, and most importantly, the dedicated fanbase, everyone’s favourite hedgehog has been riding a new wave of success ever since, with no signs of slowing down. To celebrate Sonic’s 35th Anniversary, SEGA and Sonic Team are bringing Sonic Frontiers – Definitive Edition, featuring all DLC and adding enhanced graphics and performance to Nintendo Switch 2.

The game’s story was written by Ian Flynn, the former head writer for the Sonic comic series at IDW, which has seen huge success since issue #1 in 2018, as well as various spinoff miniseries. He has since moved on to write for other Sonic projects, but he is still involved with the comic series, and his reputation certainly speaks for itself.

While investigating the mystery behind the Chaos Emeralds being drawn to the Starfall Islands, Sonic, Tails, and Amy Rose get pulled into a wormhole to a digital realm called Cyber Space, and only Sonic is lucky to escape. He is then approached by Sage, an artificial intelligence created by Dr Eggman to control the ancient technology found on the islands. Sonic must find a way to save his friends by exploring the large islands, filled with ancient ruins and home to surviving Koco. They’ve been overrun by evil robotic Titans, which come in various shapes and sizes, providing whole new and bigger challenges Sonic has never faced before.

This is actually Sonic’s first real foray into open-world gaming and makes great use of his abilities. After the opening cutscene, players get thrown into a Cyber Space level at Super Sonic Speed, which sets the tone for the adrenaline-filled adventure that awaits. The beginning of the game is focused on exploring the island and learning Sonic’s new moves, with helpful tutorials for players to live and learn. From the moment players start exploring their new surroundings, it becomes clear that this is a Sonic game unlike any other.

The controls feel incredibly responsive and are a major step up from previous games. Running around vast open lands and grinding on rails at high speeds has never felt so good. The sound effects, visuals, and animations are done so well that you could almost feel the wind flowing through Sonic’s quills. Players have even more control than ever over how and in which direction they run, giving them a real sense of freedom that fans have been requesting for years.

There are 5 different islands for players to explore, collect various items for upgrades and find the Chaos Emeralds to progress the story. Players will also encounter a wide variety of new enemies, small, big and gigantic that will really push Sonic to his limits. Battling these enemies isn’t as simple as spin-dashing into them repeatedly. Sonic now has a wide array of attacks that utilise his speed and hit with huge impact at high velocity.

Adding to his established moveset, he can now create mini tornadoes around enemies, shoot projectiles, and more. Each enemy requires a different approach to take them down, keeping players on their toes. The bigger enemies act like mini-bosses and require more effort to defeat, but are always a ton of fun, and slaying each one has an incredibly satisfying feeling.

The gigantic boss battles are truly something to behold. Sonic must run to the top and grab the last Chaos Emerald to transform into Super Sonic. His Super form gives him the power he needs to take on these colossal titans. They can fly around so fast and charge straight into the bosses at such high velocity that players can feel the power resonating through them. It’s safe to say that the boss battles in Sonic games have reached an entirely new level.

The graphics on the Nintendo Switch version were a downgrade compared to its PlayStation, Xbox and PC counterparts, but the Nintendo Switch 2 version, while still not as good as the more powerful platforms, is still a big improvement. This also depends on whether players choose to play with the graphic settings prioritising gameplay or performance.

Prioritising gameplay will keep the game running at a smooth 60fps by lowering graphics quality, while prioritising performance will enhance graphics but reduce the frame rate to 30fps. The game looks best in docked mode, but in handheld mode, it’s a noticeable downgrade, though it still looks impressive for what it is. It’s up to individual players how they prefer to play Sonic’s latest adventure.

There are still a lot of environmental pieces in the distance that pop in, feeling like the game struggles to keep up with Sonic’s speed, having to constantly load in parts of the island as he blitzes across. This can be a little problematic when players are trying to work out how to reach certain platforms and can’t see the rails or other platforms to get there. As in most adventure games, the camera can be a real issue, obscuring the player’s view, but it is also designed to provide dynamic camera angles to showcase the action. Fortunately, these are only minor issues and don’t affect the overall enjoyment of the game.

Exploring the islands does somewhat feel like a faster version of Breath of the Wild, but some of the boss battles actually feel like a faster version of Shadow of the Colossus. While running up giant enemies, players now have more control than before. You actually are controlling Sonic the whole way, instead of it being a shortcut scene or quick-time event.

The Cyber Space levels add a nice touch of nostalgia, with their designs paying homage to past Sonic games. They’re much like some recent Sonic games, switching between 2D and 3D platforming with simplified controls. Even though they’re not as exciting as they could’ve been, they are still fun to play by completing all the tasks, getting that S rank and receiving more Vault Keys.

One thing that Sonic games have always done incredibly well is the soundtrack, and Sonic Frontiers has even more of that. Exploring the island’s features more sombre music that perfectly fits the calming atmosphere, while fast-paced techno dominates the Cyber Space levels. The hard rock music for the gigantic boss battles was performed by Kellin Quinn from the American band Sleeping with Sirens. These tracks will really get your blood pumping because, from the moment they hit, you know the battle is on!

The songs “Vandalize” by One Ok Rock and the main theme “I’m Here” by Merry Kirk-Holmes of Australian band, to Octaviahave have been used a lot for all the promotional materials, are also absolute bangers to listen to as well. Sonic Frontiers – Definitive Edition adds a playlist featuring various Sonic music from past games, which players can listen to anytime during gameplay and listen to their favourite tracks.

The Sonic franchise has a whole world full of diverse characters with distinctive personalities, and Sonic Frontiers – Definitive Edition has its best-known voice actors reprising their iconic roles. Roger Craig Smith voices Sonic, Colleen O’Shaughnessey is back as Tails, Cindy Robinson voices Amy Rose, Dave B Mitchell voices Knuckles, and Mike Pollock voices Dr Eggman.