#Sonic Frontiers is a weird ass game

[felix-krain]

I love Sonic Frontiers guys!

[misterbaritone]

Wild to me that Sonic Dream Team, a game for phones and shit, looks more polished and fun than a whole ass console game like Frontiers

[cat-of-starlight]

Sonic Frontiers (Base Game): hiiiii gamer <3 There’s a few moments of difficulty in here, but that’s ok!! Have fun and explore!! ☺️

Me: oh wow sure- it’s nice to chill out in here!

Sonic Frontiers (DLC): -beating me to death without hesitation or remorse-

Me, already having “Kingdom Valley” and “Eggmanland” flashbacks as I fall to my death 400 times: Yep. Alright. That’s the difficulty I remember <3

Me in the new Sonic Frontiers DLC like

[tacorerooster]

If Amy doesn’t appear in the 3rd Sonic Movie, these line are gonna ring extra hollow. Makes it more of a very late April Fools joke on Amy fans.

You had her finally be playable in a mainline game after 17 years with Sonic Frontiers, her finally getting to be Playable in the Classic games, then be part of the main cast in Sonic Superstars. Making it seem like Sega finally see her as important as Tails and Knuckles, the whole year of Amy, only for it to get overshadowed multiple times. She gets a Stand Alone idw comic that’s 1 issue. Fang the hunter a obscure side character, gets a whole 4 part mini series, which Amy isn’t even in. Amy gets a game about her birthday, with arguably the best writing for a Sonic game. Shadow gets a whole ass rerelease with a full ass DLC just for him with his name in the title.

And people just don’t seem to care about Amy if she is in the movie or not. I’ve seen more people asking about Rouge at this point.

It’s just so weird feeling to do this whole push for her then go nowhere with it.

[randomthefox]

The guy who made this tweet later said he was joking, but you wouldn't be able to tell since there are a lot of Sonic fans who say this stuff sincerely. They'll turn on a game within days of its release and say they "realized it sucks". So after playing it for a week and loving it, the controls suddenly became terrible? Either way, this "joke" pretty much confirms Sonic "fans" like shitting on Sonic games and making the franchise they claim to love look worse just for the hell of it. I don't know why, as a Sonic fan, you would want to make a game look bad, even though it's not. We all should how people on the internet treat Sonic. If you say a Sonic game is bad and don't clarify that you're joking, most will take your words at face value and just run with it.

There's also the problem of Sonic fans feeling the need to shit on one Sonic game to prop up their favorite. Whenever people compliment a Sonic game, it's never just "This game is awesome, it controls well, I love the story, etc". It's always "This game is awesome and way better than garbage like [insert Sonic game here]! Too bad Sega doesn't make stories and gameplay like this anymore."

I've seen Sonic Unleashed fans on Metacritic give Sonic Colors low scores simply because its story was more comedic and simplistic. Why do Sonic fans feel the need to make Sonic games look bad, especially Sonic Colors, a great game that critics generally liked? Putting down one Sonic game to make your fave look better isn't gonna draw people to the franchise, y'know?

Thank you for sending a screenshot off of anon, instead of sending a url to twitter under anon. Sincerely.

I'm sure the only reason he said he was joking was because he got blowback. He made the mistake of having an actual opinion instead of just following the herd off a cliff.

It's really just the inverse of the way everyone talks about Sonic Forces. People decided before the game even came out that Sonic Forces would be bad. And so after it came out that was the only acceptable opinion to have about it. People decided that Shadow Generations would be the best shit ever and a return to form for Sonic. So now after it's come out that is the only acceptable opinion to have about it.

People make up what their opinion about a Sonic game is before they even fucking play it. If they ever actually play it.

So when someone DOES actually bother playing it themselves, and they realize "hey this isn't like what everyone was saying it is like" they get mobbed and browbeaten into conformity. Which is annoying. I do not agree with unleash_yt's opinion, but it disgusts me that people basically punished him for expressing it and forced him into compliance with the accepted majority consensus.

I think it's perfectly reasonable for someone to get swept up in the hype train for a game, play it themselves, and realize "wait this actually blows ass." It happens all the time. Look at No Mans Sky. Look at Duke Nukem Forever. Look at Daikatana. It is a routine happenstance in the video game industry. And people really should learn by now to NOT get swept up in the hype machine. I was extremely critical of the hype machine around Shadow Generations for this very reason. I was saying at the time that Shadow Gens is just going to be a short little expansion pack for an existing Sonic game that was already short on its own, and while it would sustain ME a hyper Sonic fan, it would NOT sustain people who are more casual.

And. Like. I was right =P but because the majority consensus had already been decided about Shadow Generations before it came out, now nobody is allowed to deviate from it lest they suffer the retribution of Being An Individual. Like, I think his complaints are weird and dumb and wrong. The controls are just exactly the same as Sonic Frontiers. And the level design is no different from the level design of any other Boost era Sonic game. But he's allowed to just not like the game. At least in my book he's allowed. Obviously in the book of the Sonic """""fans""""" he's not allowed to have an independent opinion, he MUST conform to the majority consensus OR ELSE.

>There's also the problem of Sonic fans feeling the need to shit on one Sonic game to prop up their favorite. Whenever people compliment a Sonic game, it's never just "This game is awesome, it controls well, I love the story, etc". It's always "This game is awesome and way better than garbage like [insert Sonic game here]! Too bad Sega doesn't make stories and gameplay like this anymore."

Yeah I can't fucking stand that shit. You can't convince me your wife is beautiful by telling me how ugly every other woman at the bar is. At best it's just going to make me hate YOU, and at worst it's going to make me start thinking your wife is a bloated cow. Sonic fans have an EXTREMELY bad habit of this and it's completely idiotic because it can ONLY possibly appeal to people who already share that opinion. If the basis of your glazing up Sonic Unleashed is "SONIC FORCES SURE DOES SUCK ASS DOESN'T IT LOL" then only people who already like Sonic Unleashed and dislike Sonic Forces are going to agree with it. People who like Sonic Forces and don't like Sonic Unleashed are just going to be alienated. And people who think both games suck are just going to think you're a dumbass for thinking there's a difference when they're both the same garbage.

People need to go to the store and buy some fucking self esteem and figure out how to talk positively about the things they like entirely on their own merits without senselessly bringing up other pieces of media to compare them against for no reason.

[hyper-cryptic]

⟢ Heart of Chaos AU: The Masterpost!

❛❛ Oh, great Master Emerald, please, I wish for a brave hero who is the balance between Chaos and Peace. One who never backs down in the face of danger, who doesn't stop fighting for their friends and what is right! Might a brave equidna warrior be their fiercely loyal friend, let them fight alongside as if they were kin. Seal this evil away, amending the horrors done by my tribe...❜❜ — Tikal The Equidna.

Welcome to the HoC masterpost! Here I'll give the bullet points on each arc and get down the basics of this AU!

Originally posted: 15/11/24 | Last edited: 15/11/24

◊—› So, what's Heart of Chaos about? . . .

In a nutshell, what if Sonic was The Master Emerald? We get Dark Sonic back and also, I am obsessed with werehog, so we get a redo of that as well as every single arc rewritten, for the most part (there's some I don't have enough knowledge about some of the spin off games heheo). There's a lot of themes of generational trauma, self-worth, losing the sense of yourself and finding it again, etc.

↳ Basic navigation . . . Heart of Chaos Tag | Heart of Chaos Bsky tag | Toyhouse folder ↳ Cast's tags . . . Patch The Painted Dog | Maple The Sable | Oakley The Opposum And yes the canon cast don't have tags because I thought it would be redundant since its all I draw...just search their canon names in my blog!

Below are the arc bullet points.

Soon to be added: Illustrated timeline, trivia, and more!

"Origins" segment

Spikes Toodlerhood arc.

- Basically spikes being raised by Tikal and creatures of Angel Island. Tikal seals herself and Chaos in a pond next in Spikes' birthplace.

Ecoterrorism arc.

- Basically the events of Origins. Spikes gets civilized by Miles and Ames. Spikes meets Knux and then Ignis.

House arrest arc.

- SA 1 happens and Spikes feels forced to stay in Angel Island after being revealed to him that Dark Spikes is a thing. He spends the time there training his ass off with Knux. Predictably so, Spikes doesnt like staying in one place, so he and Miles sneak off to mainland, which is where he meets the babylon rogues for the first time.

- SA2 happens. Shade <3

- Sonic heroes happens. Spikes is super excited to have Shade back, he tries to bond with him... Pretty succesfully so.

"Godhood" segment

Speeding ticket arc

- This is basically the Sonjet, or how I like to call em, Speeding Ticket arc. Funnily enough, this is also where Spikes begins to realize he's aroace but not yet. I havent changed a lot bc I rlly like the riders games.

Dimensional travels arc.

- This is where all the weird shit happens with Rings and Black Knight. And also Snoutman. Snoutman is canon to the Heart of Chaos universe. Black Knight is the most focused on, it's more of an open world game, but in the same way frontiers is.

S2HT arc.

- ShTH happens. Eclipse The Darkling is in ShTH events and is presumed dead by the end of it. Sonic 06 happens and we discover what happens when The Master Emerald itself dies. There is Sonalise, this is where Spikes fully realizes he's aroace and only experiences queerplatonic attraction.

Sonic Colors happens after Sonic 06 and is where Spikes has is birthday.

"Happy birthday" segment.

Werehog arc.

- This is A Lot, but basically this is the arc where Spikes is given a wake up call and slap down to his ego. This arc is pretty grim, but it has a lot of good moments too. It spans for more than a couple months while they try to fix Mobius again.

Generations arc.

- After losing Chip and going through the horrors, Spikes begins travelling a lot and finding comfort in his friendnship with Shade. Then crazy shit starts happening, there is no classic spikes or anything, but Mephiles does come back as the Time Eater. More Sonelise and Milkshake moments and actually also Shadlise, YEAH YOU DIDNT SEE THAT COMIN DID YA-

Forces arc.

- Oh god. Well, lets start at the beginning. This is where my oc Patch The Painted Dog, "Sky's Spark", gets introduced. With him there is oc x canon with Howlite (Silver). He's also childhood friends with Tangle and Jewel. We also half meet Whisper during this arc.

- Spikes gets kidnapped by Infinite to power Eggmans invasion with Spikes' chaos energy aka, his life source. Spike is kept chained and restrained without the abiity to move his arms and legs for the majority of his stay there, so much that he loses the ability to walk which he realizes once he's being rescued. This is also where the frienemy-eggdad situation completely breaks as we learn that Spikes is inmortal, because Eggman attempts to kill him when he realizes that he doesn't need his power anymore and he can just create more Phantom Rubies to power his war.

- Pretty much the whole tone switches. During the war, a lot of the characters are forced to grow up, like Ames and Miles. Miles has almost a complete 180 from the cheerful kid he was before as he takes an important role in the war as the one who arms The Resistance. Knux basically makes him man up.

"Humbled" segment.

Post-war arc.

- Basically physical therapy arc for Spikes, he had to rush this slow progress for the sake of the war.

- We meet Whisper fully. Spikes and Whisper ond over being traumatized by war so much so that they feel they are no longer themselves.

- Mr. Tinker is a thing and Spikes has to deal with that. He ends up leaving Shade and The Chaotix on charge of watching him.

- Metal kidnaps Spikes bc he wants his awful dad back. She ends up running off after she realizes Eggman is gone.

- Starline happens.

Zombot arc.

- Pain, pain and pain! Spikes is not coping with this well at all. This arc is grim as hell. Shade sacrifices himself to save the few refuges left + Team Dark, he's one of the first ones gone. Spikes doesnt have his emotional attack dog anymore and he's always so close to losing it.

Milkshake & Co arc.

- Shade is back and now Spikes is codependent /j, he finally gets properly taught how to use his chaos energy in a productive way as well as help manage it.

- We meet Maple The Sable and Oakley The Opposum. Maple has a oc x canon going on with Cream!

Surge arc.

- Spikes gets a break? Too bad, let's break his peace. Starline's back.

- I dont have a lot written but basically, Surge and Kit are around for about 4-5 months. Starline gets fried and drowned by Surge and Kit before escaping.

- Surge and Kit are out to get Spikes & Miles.

- Kit and Miles do get in a fight. Kit loses, miserably.

- Surge is pissed the fuck off about it bc they kidnapped drippy and she's alone...with her thoughts.

- She attacks Spikes at night after following him, planning to kill him. They get in a fight, Surge "kills" Spikes but he's able to finish her in his Shattered form. She's dead for a while before she wakes up again.

- She tries killing Miles and Spikes again, Shade is fed up with her shit for trying to kill his weirdo and atom bombs her pretty much. Now she's gone forever.

- Kit and Miles actually do bond.

Generational trauma arc. - Knux and Spikes' beef finally hits the fan. Knux has been stressing about Spikes being almost killed again and he's just been being the worst pretty much. Spikes and Knux fight each other like dogs.

"Moonlight" segment.

Eclipse arc.

- To be added

Milkshake 2.0 arc.

- To be added

Crown of Thorns arc.

- To be added

[hishighnesstheprincess]

MY HATER POST

literally made a hater post just to talk about stuff in the sonic series that I dont like ❤️ if you don't like this post then fuck you block and/or blow me. this is disorganized as fuck btw and i dont care

sonic frontiers was the best mainline sonic game in over a decade but thats really not saying much

i think tangle is kinda boring and whispangle is kinda boring by proxy. whispers cool tho

surge is the best rival sonic character since blaze and the only thing dragging her down is that sonic in the idw comics kinda sucks as a character

its great that we are getting more female characters in idw and the games but quite a lot of them are kinda boring and we still need more female villains

metal sonic is basically nothing but a jobber in idw rn and its really depressing

idw please treat the babylon rogues better, theyre goofy characters with serious storylines just like basically every other sonic character, stop making them NOTHING but a joke

lanolin is an interesting character, yall just cant handle women who are even SLIGHTLY rude to a fan favorite character

the worst part of idw is that its tied to game canon because they cant shake up the status quo too much or have character arcs for most of the main characters

rouge is ABSOLUTELY a sexualized character and always has been. learn to like a character despite the faults in how they are portrayed or shut up about it

sally was the best canon romantic partner for sonic and you cant change my mind

the second worst part of idw is the titular character himself

i dislike surg/amy because of the age difference andalso the fact that everyone wants to disregard surges character to have her be redeemed

if sega is going to keep teasing son/amy then they should just stop dancing around it and make them canon already, make the shippers happy and get the drawn out agony over with for the rest of us. also age amy up for the love of allthat is holy

also, sega should stop ship teasing ships they have no intention of making canon in general, its shitty and edges into queerbaiting when done with gay ships

the above does not apply to whispangle

idw art is overall much much MUCH better than any other sonic comic and its not even a contest

there are a lot of things i disagree with about the current state and direction of this franchise but we are in a much better place than we were even just two years ago and we should be glad for all this success

the worst parts of archie are the most atrocious things that this franchise has ever put out, in art, storytelling, basic morality, etc.

most of the popular ships in this fandom suck ass

unless sega stops rushing sonic team and actually gives some resources to them we are never going to get better than 7/10 games. corporations are not your friends and you dont have to thank them for giving you a mid product

sega should have been sued into oblivion for the literal seizure inducing state sonic colors ultimate was released in and we should never, ever let them forget it

remain skeptical about every single sonic game until release, we've had "WERE SO BACK" moments before that turned out to befalse

the edm in sonic frontiers cyberspace slaps but isnt as memorable as previous sonic soundtracks

stop ghosting sonics friends (sonic frontiers, sonic prime, sonic dream team) its kinda weird and puts way too much importance on sonic again. this is a good cast, USE THEM

sonic frontiers dlc being hard wasnt a bad thing, the jank, glitches, and lack of fairness were bad things that tarnished the experience

the games have never ever been properly translated from japanese into english and that is just an objective fact. but also dont shit on people for only having interest in the english version, you have to go WAY out of your way to get a good translation and that's on the franchise, not the fans

this franchise's "canon" has been fucked since the original classic games, trying to fix it in the sense that you can somehow make every little detail perfect is a lost cause. just pick and choose what you like

of all the characters that deserve a game to themselves blaze deserves it the most. girlie has a whole other dimension that we could explore can you IMAGINE an open world game in the sol dimension COME ON

if lots of people are criticizing something you like then you should give some consideration to the fact that they may have some points instead of just disregarding it as people being nitpicky and nasty. you dont have to listen to it but if you dont do that then you cant dismiss it out of hand either

the stories of sa1 and sa2 arent even the best stories in this franchise

06 sucks ass and no amount of "potential" means jackshit when it comes to actual quality. if we're just evaluating "potential" then congratulations everything ever made is a quality product have fun with that

its okay to games with goofier and lighthearted stories

team dark are just friends

i prefer amys hammer to the cards

let this franchise have its edge back. but also let sonic be cute. they arent mutually exclusive

keep good physics and momentum in the games for the love of god please its what this franchise was built on

sega of japan may do characterization better but the closest brushes to death that this franchise has ever had (Dreamcast, 06, Forces) were all on them as well

this might be the hottest take of all time but sonic team shares some of the blame in how a lot of sonic games turn out very bad, its not all on sega

stating that some sonic-inspired games (spark the electric jester and freedom planet) or sonic fan games (project 06) have turned out better than actual sonic games is kind of objectively correct but youre a dick if you say it just to make sonic fans feel bad about the games or themselves

if you ONLY consume sonic media you need to branch out more. for your own health please

flynn is neither the worst person to ever walk the surface of this planet or gods gift to the sonic fandom, practice some moderation in your opinions people

i think discourse is good, actually. except for when it harms people. and fictional characters do not count as people

sonic frontiers open world biomes are boring and nowhere close to most open world games, even ones from a decade ago

silver was never sonics rival

it would be nice if we could go back to having smaller games on handheld consoles coming out on a regular basis while mainline sonic games come out once every couple of years on a bigger scale and higher quality than weve been getting. and no locking games behind apple arcade PLEASE

sonic lost world isnt a terrible game or a good one. its just weird and boring

sonic riders was fun and its a travesty that it got downgraded into generic cart racing games

sonic unleashed daytime stages are the best boost stages in this entire franchise because they actually rely on quick decision making and reaction times instead of just smashing your way straight through the entire level with little to no effort

the werehog combat sucks ass and the fact that its super slow and super long and takes up like 75% of the time youre playing the game is why unleashed isnt peak. sorry

stop using green hill stop using green hill stop using green hill stop using green hill stop using green hill stop using green hill stop using green hill stop using green hill stop using green hill STOP IT

a lot of fans of sonic do not understand what they are talking about and that includes me a LOT of the time

sonic himself cant just be whatever the writer wants him to be. the reason characters are characters is because they have certain character traits and you cant just change that without getting a different guy, im sorry

archiehad the worst moments but the sonic movies are the worst adaptation overall

the above will change if movie 3 kills off shadow or tom. then the worst adaptation will be underground

game sonic being a static character is cool, actually

sonic fandom is sexist as fuck and that includes the tumblr side of it

sage getting revived in a post credits scene was lame. give us more time before confirming shes alive

the sonic twitter takeovers are not canon. no, not even if you think a thing they said on it was funny

they should let female characters be naked (dont make this weird) and give the boy characters outfits sometimes

amy having a crush on sonic is totally fine but they took it WAAAAAYYYYYYYY too far at many, many points. i dont care if its funny amy threatening chris in x or intimidating cream in various games (battle, rush) was NEVER a good thing

rouges design does not need to be changed, it needs to be framed and posed in less sexual ways

rouges heroes and prime outfits sucked ngl like just from a color and design standpoint like theyre kinda ass and overcomplicated and an eyesore

if sega is gonna age the characters up they should actually go ahead and post the new ages on some official channel, dont just leave us in this horrible limbo where we have to argue with weirdos online about who youre morally okay to thirst over certain characters and whether a different voice counts as a character becoming an adult

the fact that the main official english sonic account only posts memes and advertises hilariously overpriced """"""""products"""""""" kinda sucks tbh. i have to go to other language accounts to get stuff like concept art and celebrating the anniversary of a game the released a year ago. were well past the era of laughing at sonic just for being sonic, now lets act like it

stop harrassing people involved with this series even if theyre doing an objectively bad job. thats a real person and you should care more about them than you do a fictional character

the above DOES apply to ken penders. hes a piece of shit but still a person

criticism =/= harrassment. this goes both ways

cream IS a hero thank you very much

reference to a thing you like does not equal good character writing. critically, it does not equal bad character writing either

amys not a damsel in distress and hasnt been in over 20 years. if we count characters just getting captured as being damseled then congratulations, sonic himself is a damsel in distress (Forces), apply that shit equally across both genders

ryan drummond was the best english va, but jason got the better scripts. roger is getting better and most of the work hes been given is just. bad. so i dont feel okay judging his work. but he is my least favorite

gameplay>story when it comes to the actual games, every time. if you have a good story to tell its only hampered by being in a shitty game

worst game in the series is sonic colors ultimate. say what you will about 06, forces, rise of lyric, or whatever other game. at least they werent literally physically dangerous to play

all the main female characters in the games are asskickers, they just need to be utilized more. as does every member of the supporting cast

the sonic franchise fucking needs to stop having long gone ancient civilizations. please have new ideas

this is the end of the list. go away

[beevean]

Frontiers is bad and boring to play but I take it over Forces anytime of the day, first the gameplay plays the game for you half of the time why is Classic Sonic here? Other then Sonic Team being desperate? Why did Tails forget he could fly? INFINITE was wasted and his theme song is embarrassing. Why bother using Chaos if he wasn't even going to be a boss level? Sonic is tortured ? Okay sorry but atleast Frontiers had a better ost.

why is Classic Sonic here? Other then Sonic Team being desperate?

Most likely because 1) Forces was meant to be one of the 2 games for the 25th anniversary, even if they both slid forward one year, 2) precisely to connect Forces and Mania, 3) to piggyback on the success of Generations. Do you want to call it pandering? Feel free to call it pandering, by 2016 fans weren't as eager to play as Classic again, true. But then we can also call pandering the relentless references to the Adventure era in Frontiers, both in simple "hey this reminds me of X" and in general plot beats - now that game very much wants to win the Adventure crowd back more than Forces wanted to appeal to the Classic fans.

Why did Tails forget he could fly?

Do you mean when Sonic (Sonic the fucking Hedgehog) was getting his entire shit beaten out by a terrifying creature not even his Miles Electric could understand, plus clones of formidable enemies that included Shadow?

I don't know, I get the flak against "Sonic help me", but I don't blame Tails for not knowing what to do in that situation.

INFINITE was wasted and his theme song is embarrassing.

Opinion discarded. Infinite's theme slaps absolute ass and if you don't agree AND AFTER ALL THIS TIMEEEEEEE YOU'RE BACK FOR MOOOOOOOOOOOOORE

I agree that something happened to Infinite during development, as everything in the main game hinted at him being a fully artificial creature and not a rando still sore that he was beaten by Shadow lol. But dude was cool in my book. I really like that stage where he creates all sorts of creepy illusions to stop Operation Big Wave :P he could have had more screentime, but he chewed that little screentime we had just fine. better than the end, anyway and always.

Why bother using Chaos if he wasn't even going to be a boss level?

The game was most likely rushed, which sucks, no doubt about that. But somehow, only Forces gets treated like a piece of shit for being rushed, when Frontiers doesn't get nearly the same amount of disappointment for being pretty much a test game (and we know it was rushed because of the last two islands that are pieces cut from Kronos Island and for the weird way Sonic's corruption was handled). Hell, by this point, even '06 is getting apologism even though until recently it was the king of rushed games, and much worse about it than the previous examples.

Either you're equally uncharitable with rushed games that sacrificed content (so I'm not talking about game breaking glitches), or you cut them all some slack.

Sonic is tortured ? Okay sorry

Sloppy translation. And while Sonic looks chipper after being freed, and we can argue all day if that's IC or not, you can guess from things like him beating Zavok with his bare fists or the veiled death threat he gives Infinite that deep down he's actually pretty angry.

Now, Sonic being rescued by his corruption in Frontiers in a minute, undoing all of his hard work in rescuing his friends, and him being just as chipper after Sage, the girl he had just befriended, died in space, is not sloppy translation, it's the game getting rushed to hell (although I don't know why Flynn blames time constraints when it comes to Sonic not sparing a thought about Sage lol).

atleast Frontiers had a better ost.

I like both ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and Frontiers' cyberspace themes are clearly inspired by the Avatar themes in Forces.

[doamarierose-honoka]

Sonic Frontiers, Sega’s latest (and surprisingly well-received) entry in the speedy hedgehog franchise, received its final free content update on Thursday. It seems this new update is proving to be way more difficult than the base game, as players who once bragged about how easy the game was are getting their generous blue asses handed to them.

Sonic Frontiers’ final update, appropriately titled The Final Horizon, advertised itself as bringing a new story; new playable characters in the form of Knuckles, Tails, and Amy, and new challenges. Apparently, Sega meant that last part with its whole chest because players are struggling to get to the finish line of The Final Horizon.

Since the update’s release, players have taken to social media in a mix of frustration and excitement over how difficult it is to either:

- Adjust to how differently Sonic’s companions move while completing challenges

- Complete trial towers (which don’t have checkpoints)

- Defeat the update’s tough-as-nails new boss Tank+, a spider tank that’ll riddle Sonic with bullets on sight, exploding the blue streak into a fountain of coins

To add more kindling to the blazing difficulty fire players are experiencing, some players are reporting that the game now requires them to perfect parry enemies during trials. That’s rough, buddy.

Read More: That New Sonic Game Is A Weird, Lonely Mess (That I Can’t Stop Playing)

While some players are finding The Final Frontier’s evident difficulty spike as a welcome update to the game, others are hoping Sega patches the free update to make its boss fights less of an uphill battle.

“God damn, [Morio] Kishimoto seriously took offense to people calling his game too easy. I love the challenge, but god DAMN,” SonicFanatic67 wrote on the r/SonicFrontiers subreddit.

“Sonic Team really took everyone’s complaints on how OP the parry was and just said ‘Aight, bet. Now you gotta time your shit. Have fun, jackasses.��� xXWarriorAngelXx added.

“This shit ain’t even fun. There’s fun/challenging difficulty and then there’s spiteful/cheap difficulty. This feels like the latter,” YesHai wrote on Reddit.

“Hit the last challenge before the final boss in Sonic Frontiers DLC and yeah it’s probably the most difficult thing they’ve ever put into their games,” KZXcellent tweeted. “DLC has been the most fun I’ve had playing a Sonic game, but it’s not gonna be for everyone.

To add more kindling to the blazing difficulty fire players are experiencing, some players are reporting that the game now requires them to perfect parry enemies during trials. That’s rough, buddy.

Read More: That New Sonic Game Is A Weird, Lonely Mess (That I Can’t Stop Playing)

While some players are finding The Final Frontier’s evident difficulty spike as a welcome update to the game, others are hoping Sega patches the free update to make its boss fights less of an uphill battle.

“God damn, [Morio] Kishimoto seriously took offense to people calling his game too easy. I love the challenge, but god DAMN,” SonicFanatic67 wrote on the r/SonicFrontiers subreddit.

“Sonic Team really took everyone’s complaints on how OP the parry was and just said ‘Aight, bet. Now you gotta time your shit. Have fun, jackasses.” xXWarriorAngelXx added.

“This shit ain’t even fun. There’s fun/challenging difficulty and then there’s spiteful/cheap difficulty. This feels like the latter,” YesHai wrote on Reddit.

“Hit the last challenge before the final boss in Sonic Frontiers DLC and yeah it’s probably the most difficult thing they’ve ever put into their games,” KZXcellent tweeted. “DLC has been the most fun I’ve had playing a Sonic game, but it’s not gonna be for everyone.

On the upside, The Final Horizon has a new Super Sonic form for players to enjoy. Hopefully, aside from being aesthetically pleasing, the newly minted superpowered Sonic will functionally aid players in conquering Sonic Frontiers’ final slew of challenges

[lividria]

Funny Story: Celeste

So, I've mentioned in a couple previous posts that I'm transfem, right? Well, one time, another trans girl joined a Discord I'm in, and I don't remember what led up to it, but they had DMed me asking if I had played Celeste, saying that they "thought you had to play it to be trans"? They then said that was a joke and said some other stuff I forgot and I'm too lazy to find the exchange, but the entire thing was weird, alienating and uncomfortable, and it's stuck with me ever since because of it, even if that person basically never said anything ever again anywhere after that.

So, last night, when I was looking on the XBox Game Pass because I apparently misremembered Shovel Knight as being on there and wanting to try that only to be disappointed, I stumble upon Celeste... And I figured, why the hell not perform the apparent rite of passage? I've already embraced the double jump joke. So I did it tonight, since I had a few hours.

If this is the game you have to have played to be trans, then I am terrified of what every other trans person is capable of, because this game beat my ass HARD. I joke about being bad at video games, some of my friends tease me for being bad at video games, but I don't think I've ever been hit this badly. I had to use Assist Mode basically the whole way through, and I died like 93 times on Chapter 1. I later died 100+ times to Chapter 3 too, and by the end had racked up 387 total. This is probably the most infuriating gameplay I've ever experienced, besides for maybe that one stupid Sonic Frontiers minigame with herding the rock Chao, that's probably still worse, actually. Even with infinite dashes and invincibility (Though I only turned that on at Chapter 5), I was getting kicked around left and right.

My main takeaway from the game besides the confirmation that I'm not a masochist is that there's probably an issue with myself I need to address if the only character I didn't find unlikable for most of the game and the only reasonable one of the cast was Badeline, the literal manifestation of self-doubt and anxiety. The entire time I was basically saying to the screen that she was right. That's probably not a good thing.

[skysometric]

my 5th favorite game that i played in 2023 is...

Sonic Triple Trouble 16-Bit

in times of Sonic "drought" between major games, i often find myself turning to fangames to keep the flame alive. nobody understands Sonic better than the fans, after all, and Sonic especially has a wealth of incredible talent in its fanbase. Before and After The Sequel were two of my biggest hyperfixations in high school! and following the development of Time Twisted is ultimately how i met my partner – a story i should really immortalize on here one day…

but Sonic isn't going through a drought at all! Frontiers and Superstars both released rather recently… and both are aggressive 7/10s. arguably, Sonic's aggressive 7/10s are some of its most interesting experiences! but Frontiers isn't really my style, and Superstars didn't really do as much for me as i hoped it would.

that brings us to Triple Trouble, which is exactly my style of Sonic game – and one of the most outstanding fangames i've ever played.

the original Triple Trouble on Game Gear is secretly one of my favorite Sonic games… sure it's crusty, but i love how unapologetically weird and charming it is! bringing its unique ideas to life in 16-bit is an incredible idea on paper, but not everyone has the chops to execute on it – making it all the more special that this fangame DELIVERS on its premise.

the level layouts are open and explorable! the second act of each zone mixes in unique new gimmicks, just like mania! the music is perfectly redone! swapping between sonic and tails at will is a fantastic idea! and all the new content, references, and cute little details feel right at home among the familiar beats of the original. this is about as close to a perfect remake as it gets.

one such little detail that i won't spoil is a slightly obscure Sonic 3 reference right at the beginning of the game that made me laugh my ass off before even getting out of the starting gate – and that momentum continued the whole way through. the way it follows up Sonic 3's story beats in general is a great homage to the whole series, cementing Triple Trouble's place in the classic Sonic "storyline" (if such a thing exists).

it doesn't just carry itself on references, either – filing off the crust from the original game's mechanics turn them into a fresh new experience, and the remake even brings new ideas to the table! so many little details that made me squee, so many big new moments that made it feel fresh, without any of it feeling heavy handed or underbaked.

so if you've never played the original Triple Trouble, this remake is the perfect way to get into it! and if you've never (or barely) touched classic Sonic, this is a best-in-class example of how much fun it is. it's well worth your time.

…did i mention it's free? it's a fangame, of course it's free! go play it!!

[dogshit-enchantment]

List of games I've played through since getting my steam deck;

Will be adding games as I play them, along with thoughts about the steam deck. I rly love my deck a lot, it's so fuckin nice being able to play whatever and having the frame rate be rly solid. So far I haven't encountered a single stutter or frame drop.

-

Sonic Frontiers, steam - honestly? Frontiers kinda sucks balls. It's fun for mindless running but doing anything with precision is frustrating. The story sucks, the VA direction sucks, the progression feels so weird and sloppy I don't like it at all. The actual overworld feels sloppy and disjointed and everything clashes badly. The soundtrack isn't even that good. 4/10

Helltaker, steam - puzzle game, short and sweet and pretty good. The ending level is kinda bullshit so I had to bs my way through it. 7.5/10, points deducted for being so short and only having one correct solution for most levels. (I prefer puzzle games that offer multiple solutions, just personal preference)

Super Monkey Ball 2, emustation - God I fucking love monkey ball. Ended up having to give up at the end of world 8 cuz it's so ass numbingly hard and I wasn't haven't fun anymore. 8/10

Bust-a-move, SNES emustation - I didn't realize how fucking hard this game is??? I really wish there was a modern version of the game with quality of life updates but afaik there's just 1, 2 and 3, with 2 and 3 being on steam and honestly rly ugly. Wish there was more to the game but the endless mode is fun at least. 6.5/10

Desk Job, steam - a valve interactive to get you used to the steam deck controls. It's short and cute, does a good job showing off everything you need to know about the deck and got a lil chuckle out of me. 8/10

Animal Crossing (gamecube), emustation - Got a town set up and played a couple days. Since I can't change the deck time I can't time travel so that's a bummer, but it's nice getting to play the OG game on the go! Love it so much. 9/10

[crusherthedoctor]

For the top 5 prompt: Top 5 Eggman boss battles.

This is yet another list that probably shifts depending on the day, because there's a lot of good ones.

5.

An underrated one. Like Rush Adventure in general.

There's no deep reason, I just think it's a neat fight, and since it uses the Jeweled Scepter, that grants it a plethora of unique magical attacks that you don't often see in an Eggman battle.

4.

I couldn't decide between these two, so fuck it, they're both here. Can you blame me? They're both well-known, and for good reason.

The Egg Walker marks the end of Tails' story, and it follows up the race to the missile in the city. The battle itself is fine, if perhaps a bit easy, but Eggman's tranquil fury in the cutscene prior really sells the mood. Shame he's rarely been given opportunities to show that side of himself since then. But that's where Stellar comes in. Either way, between that and Tails standing his ground, it's a great moment for both characters.

As for the Viper, we all love the obvious meme, but like the Walker, the fight is also fun in itself, and is reasonably tricky for a final boss. But as weird as it might be to say, the ending is what really makes it for me. The way the music stops the instant you get the last hit in, the way Tikal warns you about his kamikaze dive, the way the lonely sound and visuals of the explosion lingers before culminating with what could be mistaken for a volcanic eruption... awesome.

3.

It's an awesome mech. It's an awesome battle. It's an awesome moment for both the hero and the villain. Capped off with descending towards the center of the earth. As someone who considers Unleashed flawed in ways that I can't ignore, even I can't deny that this is one of the game's standout moments, and it deserves all its praise. I'd argue it's a better final boss than the actual final boss, and I'm not just saying that because the latter is another giant monster... okay, maybe that's part of it.

Shout out to the Generations version, because I really enjoy that one in its own right.

2.

Oh boy, here comes the controversial one. How dare I put anything from Forces on a top five that isn't derogatory, amirite.

In all seriousness... look, say what you will about the fight itself. I think it's alright, but I get why it might be considered perhaps a little anti-climactic compared to what it could have been as far as gameplay goes. And you guys know that I always consider gameplay to come first and foremost, no matter how good or bad the story of the game in question is, so it's not like I'm ignoring that part. And of course, there's the Nega-Wisp Armor reskin aspect that everyone complains about, which caused Twitter to throw the baby out with the bathwater and consider Eggman's position as the final boss to be the true problem. Which is probably why the final boss of Frontiers ended up being a talking ballsack. Thanks, everyone.

Anyway, all that said, I think there are certain elements that elevate it in spite of its ultimately okay status. There's the music, but that goes without saying for a Sonic game that isn't Chronicles. But another factor is the combination of the seriously underrated sound design, with the complete and utter silence on Eggman's part, which like @skaruresonic, I interpret it as the doctor being too focused on killing your ass that he disregards his usual banter, and like the Egg Walker cutscene in SA1, I think the effect really works, regardless of the actual intent or reason behind it.

So yes, I'm putting it as #2 for these overlooked attributes. I'm not sorry.

1.

The finale of S3&K will always be particularly special to me. There have been many great Eggman throwdowns, but this one illustrates how the doctor's high octane levels of pure determination rival Sonic's own; perfect for an arch-nemesis. There have been godlike figures who go down after a single fight, meanwhile this mortal man belts out a bonanza, because the mere concept of giving up the Master Emerald does not compute.

The build-up also goes a long way: S3&K as a whole establishes and maintains this aspect of Eggman's character throughout. He's going to get the Death Egg back up and running, and nothing is going to stop him. His robots set the jungle on fire. He himself destroys the ruins in Marble Garden, in the hopes that Sonic will get killed in the process. He's not even phased when the Death Egg falls smack dab into a volcano; his dedication never wavers. Then come the endgame, where he finally fucks off with the Master Emerald after telling Knuckles it was Nothing Personnel Kid, which is followed up with a dramatic chase through the crumbling Sky Sanctuary, which then culminates in the final showdown aboard the eponymous vessel... and then continues even after it blows up.

It's iconic, it's fun, it's climactic, and Eggman's ridiculously exaggerated refusal to quit being on full display cements it as one of my favourite Eggman portrayals, despite hailing from a 2D game with no dialogue.

Honorable mentions (that currently come to mind):

Death Egg Robot, cause c'mon, it's a classic. This mostly refers to the original Sonic 2 version as well as the variations in Generations and Mania.

Egg Shrimp (Sonic Advance 2), for being petty enough to abduct Vanilla after his plan's been foiled, and for the badass moment afterwards in which Sonic narrowly saves Vanilla.

Egg Emperor, because I don't care if it's Metal Sonic, it's an Eggman mech, he's trying to mimic Eggman, shut the fuck up or I'll do a in-depth Shadow the Hedgehog level tier list. The design is rad as hell, and it has the iconic TAKE THI-TAKE THIS, TAKE THI-TAKE THIS.

Egg Salamander (Sonic Rush), for capping off the dynamic between Sonic and Blaze... and because Wrapped in Black.

Nega-Wisp Armor, because the fight is fun despite its simplicity, and it's noteworthy because Eggman finally got to be the true final boss of a 3D mainline installment for the first time. And it only took a decade...

The endgame for Mania, in which Eggman menacingly jumps around in a Pokeball and then holds his own in a three-way standoff instead of being tactlessly upstaged like he's nothing.'

The one in IDW that doesn't exist.

[dr-spectre]

Sonic x Shadow Generations thoughts...

So after watching the 10 minute gameplay VGC released and seeing multiple people play the demo, i got to say... To the people who are saying "oh its exactly like Forces/Frontiers again..." Like... No? Have people forgotten just how AWFUL the level design in Forces was? Do you guys remember Lost Valley? Arsenal Pyramid? Sunset Heights? LUMINIOUS FOREST!?!? Space Colony Ark Act 1 is nowhere NEAR that quality bro.

There's multiple pathways that don't last for 3 seconds and add nothing of substantial gameplay, there's level gimmicks like the gravity walls and rockets that you can freeze with chaos control which adds new pathways, reaction based platforming with floating hoops and rails that you gotta react to fast enough in order to get on them and save time to get the S rank. It has those elements that Generations level design has but it definitely still has room for improvement of course.

Frontiers biggest issues with Cyberspace was copying and pasting level design that the controls weren't built around, and so therefore i wish i was playing Generations or Unleashed or Adventure 2 instead of some weird janky version of those levels that are covered in green hill, chemical plant, sky sanctuary and some basic ass city aesthetics i've seen over and over AND OVER AGAIN!! The original level design wasn't too bad actually and with the right control mods and tweaks, it felt REALLY good. Although still way too short for my liking.

I think that Forces really hurt a lot of fans deeply and the moment that they see any sort of hallway they freak the fuck out and get PTSD from Forces. Guess what other games in the series had long hallways in them? Adventure, Adventure 2, Heroes, Unleashed, Colors and Generations! If SA1 or SA2 got released today people would complain about linear level design, if Generations got released today and it didn't exist until 2024, people would give shit towards Green Hill Act 2 for being linear even though it's one of the best opening levels in the entire Sonic franchise in my opinion. Linearity isn't a bad thing, it's when you add 50 million dash panels and invisible scripting sequences where you can't move left or right until it's done, THEN it's an issue and bad level design like in Forces.

Now I'm not saying that you cannot criticize the level design, obviously you can duhhh, i have my own issues with the level design so far. I really do want there to be more little details and other aspects in the levels to add variety, like light speed dash trails, pits and spikes in those long hallways that you gotta quick step or move around to keep the speed up, like imagine in those tunnels you had to run up the walls to avoid a pit at the bottom that leads to a slower platforming section, that would be more engaging right? Add back tricks from base Generations and i wish there were more true 3D platforming and ramps and slopes, which the level somewhat has but i want there to be MORE of it. And the omission of the drift makes a lot of the level design seem a bit too blocky and less sloped if that makes any sense.

It's really weird that base Generations has a drift yet Shadow Generations doesn't. I just want there to be more options in the level design, those little details and extra paths do add up and make games like Unleashed and Gens so damn fun to replay.

Anyways, those were my thoughts on the level design of Shadow Generations that I've seen so far. I am looking forward to this as it seems like the team put in the work and time to make something really interesting and surprisingly polished. Like the UI actually looks fire, i want that HUD in the base game it looks so clean.

If Generations didn't get this new addition then i wouldn't give a fuck about it buying it again as i already got the game on steam and PS3 back when i was 10 years old....

....damn that feels weird to say... Generations is nearly 13 years old.... ouch...

[randomthefox]

I can understand interpreting the rows of rings you collect during gameplay segments as non canon. But saying rings as a whole aren't canon is untrue.

To be fair, whenever rings are around, it's usually during gameplay segments. We know their lore function is different from how they function in gameplay, but we don't know the exact specifics of what that means.

We do know that rings can function as jewelry and sources of energy. There are multiple instances of characters talking about rings and what they plan to use them for.

Maybe the original tweet didn't mean "there were never actually rings" and they simply worded it weirdly.

Why say "rings aren't canon" rather than "the rings you collect during gameplay aren't always diagetic parts of the environments"

Them using the word "canon" instead of anything else is what makes the statement questionable

It feels like another "that's too weird! Muh Mobius!" type mentality. Same reason people complain about checkerboard dirt and loop de loop mountain ridges. They refuse to engage with the setting as it is depicted in the video games and instead feel like playing Cinema Sins and start nitpicking asinine complaints that basically boil down to "THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS IN REAL LIFE!!!"

Which is kinda funny when it comes to the rings because. Actually that IS how it works in real life. Gold is a naturally occurring resource. Gold is mined from the planet. It's a thing that would exist regardless of whether there were humans around. Golden rings spontaneously manifesting in the open air is fantastical yes, but that is exactly the same way gold works in real life just over a much shorter amount of time and occurring in a different arrangement of elements.

To this tweet,

It doesn't really matter to me how they meant it or how it should be interpreted because no matter how it's interpreted it's wrong. As recently as Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic has referred to rings as something to be collected for the benefit of the boost enhancement they provided during the events of Sonic Frontiers.

We can quibble over gameplay mechanics all day, but you cannot deny in universe character dialog. If rings are "noncanon" whatever you think that word means, then how are we supposed to interpret Sonic's line of dialog that he is saying TO HIMSELF here? They could easily have just had this dialog be delivered via player directed narration, just like they did when the dream gear was first introduced. But no they specifically have Sonic referring to collecting rings for the Frontiers Boost with self directed dialog.

Whether one is trying to say rings are no longer canon going forward, or have been rendered retroactively noncanon, or aren't canon for the duration of Sonic Generations, or it isn't canon that Sonic is shoving dozens of rings into his ass while running through levels - it doesn't matter because it is fundamentally and provably wrong. To argue otherwise you'd have to disregard incontrovertible references to the existence of rings via character dialog in the video games themselves.

And if characters saying with their mouths "rings exist" is noncanon, then what the fuck IS canon to you? Whatever Ian Flynn says? 🙄 Then why the fuck are you even pretending to be a Sonic fan if you're taking his word over the content of the fucking video games?

[bahamutgames]

AFTERTHOUGHTS : The Final Horizon

Game: Sonic Frontiers - The Final Horizon Update (September 28, 2023)

Console: Xbox One

I can't believe October's already almost done! I feel like I got very little done despite working my butt off all month. Oh well. There's still a week left if nothing else. I've also got a lot on my plate gaming wise, it's honestly a little overwhelming how much came out / is coming out that I want to play! So I figure, why not just go ahead and write up some thoughts on things so I have a clean slate for games coming up? To start myself off, my first ever write up about a DLC I think?

As always. This isn't a review, I'm just throwing up my thoughts about the game I played so I can drain them out of my tiny little gamer brain. This should not be used as a guide for if the game is worth playing, everything I write up shouldn't be taken as professional critique or anything like that.

AND OF COURSE, SPOILERS FOR THE SONIC FRONTIERS FINAL HORIZONS DLC UPDATE. SINCE I'M SURE SOME PEOPLE STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN PAST THAT DRAGON CHALLENGE!!

Opening

So, my thoughts on Sonic Frontiers were written up alllll the way back when I was still sharing thoughts on Twitter before... the incident. You can read those here (x), but generally my thoughts are that the game was WONDERFUL! Super fun to play, incredibly charming, and I appreciated that it really felt like a Sonic loveletter to my favorite era of the series, rather than seeming like it was embarrassed by itself like the series had been acting like for a while. So, of course, I was INCREDIBLY excited to see that the game wasn't just getting DLC, but a whole new DLC story mode with serious stakes and a new super form and Sonic's friends being playable again!? Hell yes!! So I played it day one and uh...

Stuff I didn't like

I... kinda hated this DLC? I know I'm not really alone on this, a lot of people seemed to be mixed on it at best. But, no, like, I didn't really like it much at all. I'll try to keep it brief because I really don't like being negative, especially about Sonic which gets too much undeserved heat. But man, this just really sucked in my opinion.

First up, those towers. I played this on hard up until Dragon Challenge where I had to give up and swap to easy. Let's just start with what everyone is saying: this DLC is too damn hard!! I know I can swap to easy, but after the main game required I play on Hard Mode for the true ending, I wanted to keep playing Hard Mode! But the towers are just so frustrating, and janky, and not well designed at all. It requires you to do tedious amounts of trial and error just to figure out what you're doing. But if you slip up once you do the whole tower again, and some towers have things that don't reset so you have to awkwardly walk through them. It was so weird and I've genuinely have never felt so much like a Sonic thing was lacking in quality as much as I did with these only up ass towers. And then the challenges at the end were so stupid. Maybe not as hard, but so insanely cryptic and I genuinely have no idea why. I don't want to like, spend hours figuring out the only way you want me to defeat an enemy. I want to use all the points I collected through the game! Come on!! This really stung in the boss rush, those bosses were the best part of the base game. But you just don't really get to fight them this time and it makes them so boring and tedious. It's all about those damn perfect parries, but I kept having issues where they would CONSTANTLY miss me despite me standing still, making me lose insane amounts of time waiting for them to swing again. And then on top of that, having to climb up the titans every time is so time consuming. I genuinely don't know if this was possible on hard mode. And while it's easy once you figure out exactly piece for piece every secret way to deal massive amounts of damage, it sucks that you have to do that instead of just enjoying the meat headed brute forced KH2 like carnage the fights were designed to be.

Then there's the new characters. I'm super glad they're here. But they're just not fun. At all. I think they all controlled weirdly. They have no combat focus whatsoever which was a huge disappointment. I think they're challenges REALLY sucked a lot, like I only had fun with Tails' because the Cyclone (which was great to see return) let me skip all his stupid ass challenges. This was maybe the biggest disappointment of the whole thing. I just felt like this was so underwhelming, and you barely even really use them considering playing Only Up for 500 years consumes most of your time.

And then there's the final boss. So this whole DLC was kind of a let down cause it's barely story focused at all, which I kind of was expecting more story considering that's how it was advertised? And what little story is there... is basically the same as the base game? So, my main issues with the base game were how it wrapped up: That being, no new super form, and no serious final boss where you get to do a Titan styled boss fight against THE END. And I REALLY thought that's what this DLC would be correcting, maybe that's on me, but that's what it REALLY seemed like! But ultimately, the ending is basically identical.

YES, there is a new final boss. But it totally sucks. It's just the same titan again! At least in the base game you do fight THE END (in a bullet hell mode which I love lol, but it's not what I wanted!) in this DLC you don't even fight it! The whole final boss was so weird, severing the connection was, again, so cryptic. And the whole final boss was really defensive based which was more annoying cause you'd have to go super offensive, then just know when you had to perfect parry cause the camera often wouldn't show the energy projectiles for me. And I still do not understand what the hell was up with the energy barrier sequence. Idk maybe I'm just stupid but it made no sense.

Then, Super Sonic 2 barely really plays a role in it. It's just for perfect parrying which sucks. And then Corruption Sonic REALLY barely plays a role. Showing up, getting shot out of a gun (by eggman this time which I'll admit might be cooler than Sage doing it cause it reminds me of Sonic Advance haha), and then just instantly leaving. It was cool! But it was the EXACT SAME THING! This basically all happened the first time but with a boss that was actually cool. Idk, all I wanted was a Titan Styled Super Sonic 2 / Corruption Sonic fight against THE END that was like the other bosses. And the DLC couldn't even deliver on that.

Lastly, just as a side note. I hated those damn cyberspace levels. I feel insane, EVERYONE loved them but me. I hated them in the base game, and every single one I tried in this DLC would like, fling me off the map or trick me into dying every time. They sucked! I hated them!

Stuff I liked

oops, I guess I really went off. It's not all doom and gloom though. It has some alright music, not as good as the base game imo but it's okay. Corruption Sonic and Super Sonic 2 are cool. And I am interested to see what will become of SS2 going forward.

Final Thoughts

Yeah, ultimately, I think the best thing I can say about this DLC was that it was free. I hate to be so negative about a series I tend to be very generous towards. But damn, I just really hated this. It seriously felt like they took EVERYTHING good about Frontiers, awesome spectacles, meat headed combat, and super fun exploration. And pushed it all aside to focus on the absolute worst aspects of it, that being the towers and the cyberspace levels. It's neat that it went for a more defensive angle rather than the super aggro gameplay the base game had. But it just straight up was not fun at all.

I'll be honest, Frontiers gave me SO much hope for the future, maybe we were finally going back to something more serious with Sonic. The characters were back, the stories were back. This game wasn't perfect, but it was damn close! But this DLC really reeks of Sonic Team falling for the same pitfalls again, namely, really focusing in on what people who don't care about Sonic much say vs what fans say. A lot of people said Frontiers was easy yes, but I don't think fans were asking for this level on insanity. Yes a lot of people probably did like the Cyber Space levels. But I don't think most fans really wanted that to be the focus.

Like, I can already see the next Sonic game axing the open world gameplay in favor of get-to-the-goal stuff again because everyone seems to LOVE the new Cyberspace levels. I can already see them axing letting you play as Sonic's friends again cause they fucking sucked to play as in this DLC. But like, that's not what I want! I want MORE experimental gameplay, MORE intense stories, MORE playable characters. And at first it felt like that MIGHT be happening, but honestly my optimism is seriously shaken by this DLC.

Of course, I am just salty so I guess we'll have to wait and see. Hopefully my fears won't come true. But for now, yes, I hated this Free DLC I didn't even have to play lmao.

===

wow that might be my most negative afterthoughts yet. Honestly I'm not really sure I even want to post this one just cause it's SO brutally negative. I guess I'll post it for now but I might take it down later if I feel like it's just too much. I don't mind being negative, but there's a point where it just makes me depressed, if that makes sense. But I've been holding this rant in for a bit now so here it is.

Yeah that's basically all there is to it. Sonic Frontiers, absolutely amazing! Final Horizon? Totally sucked. I want playable friends again, but please let them actually be REAL characters and involved in the gameplay instead of just... idk flying things that suck to play as? Apologies again for being so harsh on this one. I'm done here.

Go out and... play a game that pisses you off I guess??? Don't do that.