As a reminder, only Sonic is playable in Sonic Frontiers

No friends this time

Although the idea of playable friends has waxed and waned after the Adventures series, Sonic remains a constant: and to a lesser degree, Knuckles and Tails. You can usually count on the trio to appear in 2D-centric games, but by and large, many modern 3D iterations solely feature Sonic as a playable character. That legacy continues with Sonic Frontiers.

Although Knuckles, Tails, and Amy all appear as part of the game’s story, Sonic is the only one you’ll actually be taking control of. The team has put together a whole suite of powers (including a wacky skill tree) for Sonic, which you’ll carry all the way through until the end of the game.

It’s really a blessing. Given the huge focus on Cyber Space levels (contained stages that play out a lot like a traditional 3D Sonic game), and Sega’s penchant for juggling so many plates while dropping some: the team’s ability to just wholly focus on making Sonic’s movements feel good helped the overall quality of the game.

It’s not perfect for sure, but on PS5 (and especially on 60 FPS mode), Sonic’s movements are fairly crisp, and it’s fun to just roam around the open world randomly.