We talk to Iizuka-san at Gamescom 2022 to learn more about both the open-zone mechanics and the linear, traditional levels.
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While it isn’t clear yet what’s going on with the ancients and the titans in Sonic Frontiers, we had the chance to learn a bit more about the game’s story and design decisions last week at Gamescom, when we played the game and then had a chat with series producer Takashi Iizuka in the interview below.
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“All of our past games have had level design that’s much more linear and formal, and has kind of a time-attack feel to it”, says Iizuka-san when asked why these separate levels were a tribute to the old games. “In Sonic Frontiers we wanted to leave that kind of gameplay in there for people who enjoy that linear format and have the technical skills to really play those levels well. So Cyber Space is that game format as it’s actually a digital world that’s made out of Sonic’s memories. So all of the things that Sonic has experienced in the past -places like Green Hill, like Sky Sanctuary- they’re all kind of used to create this digital world in the Cyber Space”.
“Linear” doesn’t mean “sidescrolling” though, as even though we played a Green Hill-like level, other journalists entered the portal to reach a Sonic Adventure-like type of deal. Play on the video interview for more on the story, the latest build of the game or Iizuka-san’s involvement in the Sonic movies.