‘Sonic Frontiers’ is a “global playtest” as director admits “we still have a long way to go”

Sonic Frontiers director Morio Kishimoto has responded to feedback from fans and critics, calling the game a “global playtest” and implying that Sonic Team still has some work to do on the franchise.

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The comments come from Kishimoto’s Twitter account (via VGC), his first Tweet since Sonic Frontiers launched on November 8.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you because I’ve been busy since the release date,” reads a translated version of Kishimoto’s Tweet. “I’m relieved that the release date has arrived and that it seems to have reached everyone safely.

“We are checking the opinions of the critics and everyone. As you pointed out, we still have a long way to go, and we take this seriously as a global playtest.”

Kishimoto’s previous Tweet, which was posted the day before Frontiers’ release date, promised that the game would “change the Sonic game” and be a “major milestone” for the franchise. It seems instead, however, that Sonic Team is responding to some of the more critical responses to Sonic’s latest adventure.

While Sonic Frontiers has reviewed better than many of the blue hedgehog’s previous 3D outings, critics are still somewhat mixed on Sonic’s latest. That’s reflected in Andy Brown’s three star review for NME, who described the game’s world as “nothing more than a hunting ground for mindless currencies.”

While Brown praised the enemy design in the game, he criticised Frontier’s combat system, describing it as “repeatedly mashing just one button” in the game’s opening hours. While he notes that fighting the roaming mini-bosses is an improvement over the regular enemies, they are nonetheless a “mixed bag,” with the camera struggling to keep track of Sonic during some battles.

Despite these criticisms, Brown heaped praise on Sonic Frontier’s story, which “plumbs surprising emotional depth” while also giving series antagonist Eggman a “quieter, humanising story.”

In other gaming news, No Man’s Sky’s PSVR2 update will release in February next year.