Sonic Frontiers

Sonic Frontiers

Developers
	Sonic Team
Publishers
	Sega
Engines
	Hedgehog Engine 2
Release dates
Windows	November 8, 2022
Reception
Metacritic	75
OpenCritic	71
IGDB	72
Taxonomy
Monetization	DLC, One-time game purchase
Microtransactions	Boost, Time-limited
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, Open world, Platform
Art styles	Cartoon
Themes	Fantasy
Series	Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic Frontiers is a singleplayer third-person action platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. It is the first entry in the Sonic the Hedgehog series to include open world elements by allowing travel across several open-ended islands, as well as being the first to include a dedicated combat system since Sonic Unleashed, though it still includes linear gameplay closer to more recent entries in the series through its Cyber Space levels.

The PC version of the game was released on Steam on November 8, 2022.

The game has planned free updates throughout 2023 that will add new modes and features, as well as additional playable characters and a new storyline. The first of these was the Sights, Sounds, and Speed update, released on March 22nd, 2023; it included a Battle Rush mode in which players battle every enemy, mini-boss, and boss in the game back-to-back, Cyber Space Challenges in which they play through the eponymous stages in a similar fashion, a photo mode, a Jukebox that allows players to listen to 13 Sonic tracks from the beginning with 40 more available through collectibles, and other improvements. Frontiers' modding scene is active, and HedgeModManager, which is used for all other Hedgehog Engine games on PC, serves as the main way to install and update mods easily and tweak the game further.

General information

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
		Digital Deluxe Edition also available.
Humble Store		Digital Deluxe Edition also available.
Steam		Digital Deluxe Edition also available.

All versions require Steam and Denuvo Anti-Tamper DRM.

Monetization

Type	Notes
DLC	Various consumable items and enhancements are available for purchase to be used in-game.
One-time game purchase	Requires an upfront purchase to access.

Microtransactions

Type	Notes
Boost	The Digital Deluxe Edition includes the Explorer's Treasure Box, containing numerous items for expediting progress.
Time-limited	Players who pre-ordered the game were able to receive the Adventurer's Treasure Box, containing several items for enhancing Sonic.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Adventurer's Treasure Box	Contains Skill Points, Red Seeds of Power, and Blue Seeds of Defense. Exclusive to pre-orders.
Explorer's Treasure Box	Contains Amy's, Knuckles', and Tails' Memory Tokens, Portal Gears, Chaos Emerald Vault Keys, and additional gloves and shoes for Sonic. Included with the Digital Deluxe Edition.
Sonic Adventure 2 Shoes	Changes Sonic's shoes to match their appearance from Sonic Adventure 2. Available to players who subscribed to Sega's newsletter before January 31, 2023. Made available for free on May 24, 2023.
Monster Hunter Collaboration Pack	Contains Rathalos and Felyne Rathalos outfits from Monster Hunter for Sonic and a Hunter's BBQ set mini-game at fishing spots. Available for free.

The Adventurer's Treasure Box and Explorer's Treasure Box DLC must be installed before starting a new game. If installed after completing the tutorial area, the content will not be validated.

Outfits won't be displayed in Super Sonic form & in pre-rendered cutscenes.

Four DLC items are exclusive to Japan, and were only available for the PlayStation and/or Nintendo Switch versions under limited time conditions. They are unavailable for the PC version without a mod.

Add Japan and platform exclusive DLC to the PC version

Download JP Exclusive DLC mods
Requires HedgeModManager.

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Quick Boot mod
Download HedgeModManager and extract to the installation folder. Run HedgeModManager. Download Quick Boot mod and install it by using "Add Mod" button of HedgeModManager. Click ⚙ (Gear icon) of Quick Boot mod. Set "Boot Type" setting to "Title" then click the OK button. Save the changes by click "Save" or "Save and Play".

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%APPDATA%\SEGA\SonicFrontiers\steam\x64\screen_setting.xml %APPDATA%\SEGA\SonicFrontiers\steam\<user-id>\option\optiondata
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1237320/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%APPDATA%\SEGA\SonicFrontiers\steam\<user-id>\
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1237320/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud

Video

Display and graphics settings

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Aspect ratios narrower than 16:9, as well as cutscenes, are letterboxed.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen		Aspect ratios wider than 16:9 are pillarboxed. This can be bypassed, see Ultra-widescreen.
4K Ultra HD		UI is rendered at 1920x1080.
Field of view (FOV)		Referred to as "Camera angle". A slider is available.
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Options for FXAA or TAA.
High-fidelity upscaling		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS		Options for 30 or 60 FPS. Cutscenes are locked at 30 FPS and can be unlocked, see Frame rate (FPS).
120+ FPS		Frame rate is capped at max. 60 FPS and can be unlocked, see Frame rate (FPS).
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Ray tracing (RT)

• 

  General settings

Ultra-widescreen

By default, aspect ratios wider than 16:9 are pillarboxed

Adjust Aspect Ratio to Resolution

Using HedgeModManager Download HedgeModManager. Go to settings and change Game to Sonic Frontiers at the bottom left drop-down panel. Go to the Codes Tab and click on Download Community Codes. Under Graphics, toggle Adjust Aspect Ratio to Resolution (experimental). Apply changes by pressing the Save or Save and Play button. Notes As of 2023.06.30, some issues remain: Certain UI effects are rendered at the correct aspect ratio, but will misalign due to the main UI still being 16:9. Certain UI elements are still rendered at 16:9 and will misalign or stretch. Certain UI elements will be cut off incorrectly at wider aspect ratios. (ex. Jukebox) Pre-rendered cutscenes will stretch to your aspect ratio. The letterboxing during cutscenes will end up blocking the view at wider aspect ratios, it is highly recommended to use the Disable In-Game Letterboxing code to remove it. The expected aspect ratio will only apply to a newly set resolution when you re-enter the resolution list and select the same resolution again. Vignette (the circular shadowing effect on the screen) is still rendered at 16:9, it is highly recommended to use the Disable Vignette code to remove it.

Frame rate (FPS)

Disable Frame Rate Limiter

Using HedgeModManager Download HedgeModManager. Go to settings and change Game to Sonic Frontiers at the bottom left drop-down panel. Go to the Codes Tab and click on Download Community Codes. Under Graphics, toggle Disable Framerate Limiter (experimental) and Disable Framerate Limiter in Cutscenes (experimental). Apply changes by pressing the Save or Save and Play button. Notes Some cutscenes will still operate at 30 FPS due to audio sync issues. As of 2023.04.09, some issues remain: The game speed can fluctuate. The final QTE for the second Titan boss fight takes a long time to show up. The spawn point in Cyber Space 4-3 will throw you into an invisible wall.

Force 4K pre-rendered cutscenes

Improves quality and reduces rendering artifacts in pre-rendered cutscenes.

Force 4K Video Playback[citation needed]
Using HedgeModManager Download HedgeModManager. Go to settings and change Game to Sonic Frontiers at the bottom left drop-down panel. Go to the Codes Tab and click on Download Community Codes. Under Graphics, toggle Force 4K Video Playback. Apply changes by pressing the Save or Save and Play button.

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		All actions can be bound to a primary and a secondary key.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity		A slider is available.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion		X-axis and Y-axis inversion is available.
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity		A slider is available.
Controller Y-axis inversion		X-axis and Y-axis inversion is available.

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

PlayStation controllers		DualShock 4 and DualSense controllers are supported (Steam Input needs to be activated).
PlayStation button prompts
Light bar support
Adaptive trigger support
DualSense haptic feedback support
Connection modes	, Wireless (Bluetooth)

Generic/other controllers
Button prompts		Supports Switch Pro Controller (Steam Input needs to be activated).

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

• 

  Keyboard, mouse and gamepad bindings

Audio

Sound settings

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Sliders for Master, Music, Sound effects, and Voices.
Surround sound		Plays up to 5.1.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio		A licensed song, "Vandalize" by ONE OK ROCK, plays during the second half of the end credits when playing on Easy or Normal difficulty.

Localizations

Language settings

English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and Russian subtitles are synched to the English voices, while the Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Korean subtitles are synched to the Japanese voices.

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Polish
Portuguese				Fan translation by David Pires, download
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian
Spanish

Issues fixed

Game getting stuck on a black screen after middleware logo

Enable Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language support.
Go to Control Panel. Click on "Change date, time, or number formats". Switch to the "Administrative" tab. Click on "Change system locale...". Check "Beta: Use Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language support". Press OK and allow Windows to restart your system.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	11

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	Bullet
Audio	Criware
Cutscenes	Criware

Modifications

HedgeModManager

Mod manager for all Hedgehog Engine titles. Required for all non-exe mods.

Includes functions such as a code loader and the ability to automatically update mods.

Compatible with DLL-based mods, eliminating the need for additional modified game executables.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i5-3470 AMD Ryzen 5 1400	Intel Core i5-6600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
System memory (RAM)	8 GB	12 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	30 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 AMD Radeon HD 7870 2 GB of VRAM DirectX 11 compatible	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 8 GB of VRAM

A 64-bit operating system is required.

Minimum requirements are for 720p, 30 fps at low settings. Recommended requirements are for 1080p, 60 fps at high settings.

Requires SSE4 and AVX CPU instruction sets for the game to run.