Sega has released a new overview trailer for Sonic Frontiers showcasing its various combat abilities and upgrades.
The new trailer details all the new features for the title such as the inclusion of a skill tree for Sonic and a new move called “Phantom Rush” which boosts attacks after building up a sufficient combo. Here’s the new Sonic Frontiers trailer:
Here’s a rundown on the combat and abilities in Sonic Frontiers, via a transcript of the trailer:
Sonic Frontiers combat and upgrades
Skill Tree and Upgrades
For the first time, Sonic has a Skill Tree full of exciting and powerful new abilities to learn. To unlock new skills, you’ll need to collect enough skill pieces from fallen enemies and breakable items around the islands.
Sonic also has his standard move set including a Homing Attack, Drop Dash, and Stomp at the beginning of the game. While these moves are effective against normal enemies, you’ll need to level up and unlock new skills if you want to take on bigger and stronger foes awaiting you on the Starfall Islands.
A normal enemy on Kronos Island is nothing compared to those on later islands, so make sure you’re collecting the red Seeds of Power and blue Seeds of Defense to boost your stats and give yourself a fighting chance.
Combos and Abilities
As the game progresses and Sonic levels up, so do your enemies. Completing combos is a good way to get the upper hand during battle, especially when paired with a new skill called Phantom Rush. Sonic’s combo meter will fill up after attacking enemies consecutively. Once the combo meter is maxed out, Phantom Rush is activated, and your attack power will be boosted until the meter reaches zero.
To deal massive amounts of damage in a short burst, use Sonic Boom — a long-range, high-speed kick that unleashes shockwaves at the enemy. Another option to dish out major hurt on your enemies is Wild Rush — a flashy zigzagging attack that sends you crashing into your target with great force. It’s a fast and stylish way to hit your enemies hard while avoiding incoming fire.
Cyloop
Certain enemies in Sonic Frontiers have a shield or barrier protecting them. Break their shield with Cyloop and then deal as much damage as you can before it goes back up. If your opponent happens to land a hit on you, just use the Cyloop ability on the ground to collect more rings and get back in the fight.
Guardians
During combat, you’ll need to study your opponents and determine the best strategy to take them on. Encounters with Guardians will require more than just using your homing attack. Many of them prompt you to engage with their unique combat mechanics first before reaching their weak spot.
Once you have an opening, you can dish out all the skills you’ve unlocked from the Skill Tree. Experimenting with new abilities and discovering each enemy’s weakness will help you defeat them with ease.
Parry
Use your enemies’ moves against them by utilizing parry during combat. A visual cue lets you know when an enemy is about to attack. If you react quickly enough, you can parry it and follow it up with a counterattack of your own.
Using all these skills and more gives you tons of options to become the most formidable force in the frontier. Master your approach to battle and teach your enemies not to mess with Sonic the Hedgehog!
Sonic Frontiers is launching on November 8th across Windows PC (via Steam), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.