Sonic Frontiers

Now we think about it, he really does have front ears

After our first half-hour of play, this review was provisionally one line long and ended with a 3/10. But 17 hours later, it's not a disaster. It's best described as 'modern Sonic going full modern Sonic'. Some people will undoubtedly say 'Oh goodness, never go full modern Sonic', but there it is. A festival of nonsense, absolutely, but surprisingly rich with dense, rewarding activity.

So why the awful first impression? Well, at low-speed Sonic lurches around like a tipsy rockstar unable to handle his drink, tripping and glitching on ground that's the slightest bit uneven before diving headfirst into oblivion. Try to do anything against the direction of play or attempt to scale the environmental scenery with the jump button and both the camera and the controls freak out, leaving you gasping in disbelief at the shambles that follows on the screen. All the while, the game engine struggles to draw the bonkers-level furniture that clutters the skies. Before you learn how to play it, it's a mess.

So let's understand it, then. Frontiers is, essentially, a sandbox full of 3D Sonic's trademark set-pieces. What was once meticulously crafted in 3D for three seconds of eye-popping spectacle in 1998's Sonic Adventure is now moment-to-moment bombast. Grind rails, boost pads, and paths of rings for dashing along are all placed perfectly between wall jumps, lock-on targets, and pulleys in short, arcadey sections of play. And if you do what the designers intend you to, it feels serene and masterful - a festival of speed as Sonic moves in a way no other game character does. Each such section has a small reward, and in between you can explore to find little Chao-like creatures called Kocos, solve environmental puzzles, or even go fishing with Big The Cat.

ADVENTURE TIME