Ended up picking this up after getting increasingly curious and interested in it. I have to say.. as someone who has found Sonic games pretty contradictory (i.e. speed through a level, but also pick up collectibles), and not really getting on with the ones I've tried in the past for multiple reasons, (e.g. wanting to go one way, but the speed and momentum takes me another way to the point where I feel I'm not reallying playing the game and just watching Sonic blaze through the level), Frontiers I am at least enjoying and doesn't have a lot of the issues I've had with past sonic games and played enough to finish the first world, which is more than I can say for past Sonic games since... Sonic Heroes being the last Sonic I remember liking enough to play much of.
Can get the S ranks with a little effort, maybe another run or two to get the red rings, but as they're fairly short levels, I don't really mind. Maybe Neon White, which I've also been playing a lot recently, has trained me into doing multiple runs, one speed focused, one item finding focused, I think it works for short levels, but some levels for Sonic games in the past have been longer to the point where I don't think I'd stomach that idea as much.
It's certainly by no means perfect though. Combat is just.. there I'm finding. Just finished Giganto, which should have been an epic moment and still kinda was, but somewhat ruined that I kept running out of time and didn't understand how and what I was doing wrong. Then learnt I had to avoid being attacked and learnt about parrying, which I literally never had to do before now and wasn't warned. Giganto would also attack off camera JUST as I came back after being hit away which didn't help, so that was a shame to ruin that moment somewhat. Combat is what's mostly frustrating me atm, I also had some enemies that turned into cylinders, which I did know I had to do a quick cyclone to break it, but then as soon as I do, another attacks me just as I finish, don't know what I could have done there.
Had some platforming awkwardness too where Sonic just won't run up wall like I want, or sometimes even just drop through a wall, but not finding it as big of a problem as combat so far, thankfully not so much of it, other than for gangs of enemies, and bosses so far, and in levels just die with one hit so that's fine there.
Otherwise, so far I like just going round the world getting collectibles, solving mini puzzles, nice soundtrack and I'm looking forward to more bosses, but judging from the last, hoping they won't have quirks that ruin the moment. Weird to block fast travelling until all levels complete though? Or getting scrolls from fishing to fast travel to elders.
Feeling there's potential here for me anyway, but many Sonic's in the past have had that and been thrown in the trash to try something else, so guess we'll see what happens next time. They've done well to keep me playing this long anyway.
