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  • New Characters, Story and DLC Revealed for Sonic Frontiers in 2023 Content Roadmap

    Going Koco for new content - all for free!

    SEGA has announced that Sonic Frontiers will be receiving a whole smorgasbord of new free DLC and story-based content throughout 2023, with a roadmap covering a laundry list of material from small features like photo mode to full-blown playable character arcs.

    2022-frontiers-dlc-roadmap.jpeg

    Via Sonic Twitter

    The content will be broken up into three distinct updates, with the first two focusing on additional quality-of-life upgrades to the core Sonic Frontiers experience. Update 1 will consist of a Juke Box and Photo Mode features, with additional Challenge modes for seasoned players. Update 2 will celebrate Sonic's birthday somehow, introduce new Koco creatures and add an intriguing 'Open Zone Challenge' feature.

    It's Content Update 3 that we're very excited about though - this will apparently feature new playable characters as well as a new story to build upon the events of the core Sonic Frontiers game. We're assuming this means that Tails, Knuckles and Amy will get their own playable experiences and challenges, but additional story elements are more than welcome too given the ending was one of the weaker elements of the game (per our Sonic Stadium review here).

    Best of all, as already mentioned, all of this upcoming content will be free for existing players. To kick things off for the holiday season, SEGA will also be releasing a special free DLC costume pack on December 21st, with the blue blur donning a Christmas suit to rock while busting heads in Cyberspace.

    2022-frontiers-dlc-xmas.jpeg

    Via Sonic Twitter

    Seeing this level of post-release support for a Sonic the Hedgehog game is unheard of; SEGA has previously only dabbled with tiny morsels of DLC in the past, with the most significant being additional 'Hard mode' stage variants for Sonic 2006 and challenges for Sonic Unleashed. Sonic Forces offered Super Sonic and Episode Shadow DLC, but this roadmap for Frontiers seems to take things much further than any game before it.

    We're very excited to see what the future holds for the Starfall Islands - if you've not already played Sonic Frontiers and want to know what the deal is all about, check out our definitive review right here.

    Sonic News Tips Credit:
    Ryannumber1gamer

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    Such amazing news. Playable Sonic characters other then Sonic in a 3D mainline game? That's illegal!

     

    Sega is looking to hire more people for Sonic Team too it appears so they're actually investing in Sonic. 

     

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    It's really positive to see SEGA giving a Sonic title the kind of post-launch support people had been begging for with some of their past titles.  It makes me wonder when this decision was made - was it always the plan to have an extensive post-launch support period, or did it take pre-order numbers and signs of pre-release popularity for the decision to be made?  I could see it being the case that they always planned to add some things, like extra costumes and the jukebox and photo mode, and then beefed up their plans once it became clear that the game was a success.

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    Optimistic for sure. Haven't bought the game yet myself, but I'm highly inclined to after these updates roll out.

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    The fact that this rollout ends with playable characters in some fashion and it's all for free still feels like a big deal to me. I figure there will be some serious limitations, but even something minor like the differences the characters had in Black Knight would still be a step forward. This is actually enough for me to consider getting the game next year, especially since the price will probably be slashed by the time these updates happen.

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    1 hour ago, KHCast said:

    Companies still pay attention to player engagement even in single player games. It’s data that can be relevant to their future decisions, regardless of if the game is “dead” or not 

    You're right, but still worth bearing in mind. 

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    Gonna try and lower the hype volume and point out that this is a free update. There is nothing saying that the new characters are going to be fully fledged additions to the game or will be functionally distinct from Sonic.

    There is only one year of development time for the small team and this content is free. Even Mania charged you for extra characters.

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    6 minutes ago, DaBigJ said:

    Why would you want to lower the hype volume? Isn't it good that people are hyped? 

    No because then we will have several threads here complaining that Tails can't fly like be did in previous games and Amy fights like Sonic.

    I am happy for this, but several Sonic fans go in expecting something great and then throw a fit when reality does not align with expectations.

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    This actually was not too surprising, given that
    1) Rumors circulated about an earlier build of this game having other characters playable.

    2) It already has a broadened gameplay focus, making the common complaint already apply to this game.

    But it's wonderful news regardless.  A shame I may have to wait around a year to play it, but it still makes me more willing to buy the core game.  And hey, we're getting a snow environment after all!

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    1 minute ago, Scritch the Cat said:

    This actually was not too surprising, given that
    1) Rumors circulated about an earlier build of this game having other characters playable.

    2) It already has a broadened gameplay focus, making the common complaint already apply to this game.

    But it's wonderful news regardless.  A shame I may have to wait around a year to play it, but it still makes me more willing to buy the core game.  And hey, we're getting a snow environment after all!

    On the flip side I wanted an open test for the friends. This is a better idea than I had.

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    Sega and Sonic Team are not responsible for people's wild ass expectations. Its just kind of how it works.

    We'll just have to wait and see exactly how and which characters will be implemented.

     

    That said, I have some doubts anyone that they will have anywhere near as much depth as Sonic; even in the case if it's just Shadow, they'd sooner just re-purpose most of Sonic's existing moveset onto him.

     

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    On 11/30/2022 at 9:13 AM, Wraith said:

    The game needs control/physics refinements more than new content.

    if we are getting new stuff I would have liked more stages or a new island more than anything else. 

    I agree.  But Sonic Team does not, unfortunately.

    On 11/30/2022 at 9:13 AM, Soniman said:

    As a Frontiers enjoyer this is GREAT, I’m more than stoked getting new content for this game. Im totally shocked they’re just dropping three new playable characters on us out of the blue after over a decade of Sonic only, a quick end to that period of time I must say lol

    Well to be fair, things have been blowing in that direction for a while.  We got to play as other characters in Sonic Mania and the game didn't bomb.  The IDW series draws heavily on the Adventure era for its plots and characterization, the gacha games have gone wild with extra characters, and most people have seen the reaction videos for the ending character reveals of both Sonic movies.  Sonic Prime looks to focus a lot on at least some of the other characters.  The apparent pitch of Sonic Frontiers mostly to the Japanese side of the fandom that is most partial to the Adventure series also made the possibility of the characters more likely.  The notion that most of the fanbase hates Sonic's friends has probably been dead for years; the only issue now is just how to implement them in a main series game.

    On 11/30/2022 at 9:25 AM, KHCast said:

    I’m pretty cynical regarding the whole roadmap thing, as it’s essentially promising content that hasn’t even been made yet, with no guarantee they’ll follow through. Anthem, Avengers, and a few other notable AAA games come to mind when I think of this stuff. So we’ll see if this roadmap actually plays out how Sega has laid out, or if it’ll be a giant waste of time outside maybe one or two things 

    I find myself doubting that would happen, but if any company could be devious enough to pull that, it would likely be SEGA.  Well no; actually the first suspect would be EA, but SEGA is surely up there.

    On 11/30/2022 at 9:40 AM, Diogenes said:

    Gonna make the cynical prediction that the other characters will only be playable in cyberspace. Unless the new content is set postgame or they rework the story around the end of Rhea (not likely), that's where they're stuck, and they can't really interact with the real world. They could make open areas set in cyberspace, but by limiting them to levels they wouldn't have to worry about combat or how their abilities could break open-world challenges; they could get away with just reskinning Sonic and maybe giving them a different move or two. And filling in the details of what they went through while they were trapped would be a sensible way of expanding the story, though what little we heard about it doesn't sound much like what Sonic's experiences.

    Tails and Knuckles might actually be more able to cheese cyberspace levels since those levels are more pit-heavy.  Though possibly they could get their own designated levels.

    On 11/30/2022 at 10:28 AM, azoo said:

    Don't really want other playable characters in a game that's mostly just gonna be combat, but I guess that's exactly why some want this, so have fun folks.

    Well, why shouldn't we? 

    Technically, I want other characters playable because the era where Sonic games successful and widely considered good established other playable characters as a base expectation*, and as such, I have always fought hard against everyone who said they needed to get rid of other playable characters in order to fix the series.  However, with respect to which specific characters, I acknowledge that their viability depends on their abilities and the core gameplay.  You can't really make a character like Omega work in a Classic Sonic game without giving him abilities he isn't normally presumed to have, and on the flipside the abilities he is known to have don't really come in handy in a game where enemies aren't very tough.  But give us a game where combat is a bigger factor and suddenly Omega is useful again.  I'd put Amy in that camp too, honestly.  How tough she is varies from game to game, but it's just a fact that her signature hammer attacks were invented for a fighting game, and have always felt clunky when reimported into Sonic's core gameplay.  A character who can't ball up and instead uses a mallet to fight has already lost the cause of being as agile and fast an attacker as conventional Sonic characters, but if they beef up the enemies and let her do more damage to compensate, she becomes more valid.

     

    *I originally and accidentally wrote "exception"; definitely a bad error.

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    The wild thing is, is that as I was playing Frontiers I could totally imagine how all of these systems could be easily reworked to accommodate different characters. Much more than any prior Sonic game, aside from Lost World. Not having everything being so rigidly scripted corridors makes that a very real possibility. I mean, that they're pairing this with a story content update has me pretty optimistic that they'll hopefully all be implemented at least as well as Sonic himself.

    Couldn't really be fussed about the rest of the updates, but damn... What a wild, wild feeling. These furry idiots haven't been playable in a mainline 3D sonic game in 16 years? 17 by the time this thing comes out, and Christ I missed them.

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    The story is more than all likelyhood going to be during the games main story. In what way would it make sense to play it post game when they leave. It will most likely be all three still in cyberspace interacting with the Koco. Such how with every island each one found a specific koco to  help. The story content will probably show each character meeting them and giving more backstory to the past events and The End. Along with Sage learning more about Sonic from each of them.

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    I'm not worried at all about how well they'll play, I'm concerned about how much of the game you can actually play as them. The idea of them being locked only in Cyberspace stages is very much still on the table.

    As for the first two phases of the DLC, I'm indifferent because it just feels like basic stuff the game should've launched with, or it's too vague. IDK what's supposed to happen at Sonic's Birthday.

    What I wanted more than anything else were new islands and new island level themes. That bit with Sonic standing on the snowy mountain peak advertising the Christmas DLC made my Grinch heart shrink 3x this day because I realized that there is hardly any snow in the game and that it's mostly either sand or dirt. 

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    1 hour ago, Slashy said:

    No because then we will have several threads here complaining that Tails can't fly like be did in previous games and Amy fights like Sonic.

    I am happy for this, but several Sonic fans go in expecting something great and then throw a fit when reality does not align with expectations.

    You're right. I'll keep it in check. 

    39 minutes ago, DaBigJ said:

    There's something I just realized

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    image.thumb.png.a6f10b431d3fd2fa51cc0bfe962fb2be.png

    Things can change.

    Duh. Why do you think they don't set exact dates? 

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    Even if we don't get playable Knux/Amy/Tails and get hit with the Shadow/Metal Sonic reskin-a-thon, it'll still be a huge step in the right direction. It helps pry the crowbar episode Shadow wedged in the doorframe and is one step closer to finally breaking though the floodgates.

     

    I'm not keen on getting my hopes sky high about a free update, but it is very nice to see Sega actually supporting the game. It wasn't too long ago when TSR was sent out to die.

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    17 minutes ago, Darkvizardberrytan said:

    The story is more than all likelyhood going to be during the games main story. In what way would it make sense to play it post game when they leave. It will most likely be all three still in cyberspace interacting with the Koco. Such how with every island each one found a specific koco to  help. The story content will probably show each character meeting them and giving more backstory to the past events and The End. Along with Sage learning more about Sonic from each of them.

    Possible

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    I'm really happy about this. Much as I loved Frontiers, I did kinda want more of it and didn't want to just have to wait until the next game for another Sonic fix, so I was hoping for DLC.  Another island with all that is expected of that (another batch of cyber space, enemies and guardians as well as another Titan fight) would be lovely, even if it just follows the same structure again. If the story content gives us MORE than that, I'll be overjoyed.

    I'm also tempering expectations for the playable characters.  I think I'd be fine with it if they're mainly intended for specific new levels/scenarios but you unlock them for free roam afterwards, even if their abilities end up breaking the existing content.  As post-game bonuses, that's kinda fine.  I mean you can already "break" the game with Big's fishing, so who cares if they make getting collectables trivial.

    Either way, I'm glad to know I'll have good reason to go back to the game over the course of a whole year with new stuff to do each time!

    1 hour ago, DaBigJ said:

    Things can change.

    That text is a standard clause, you'll find it on pretty much any roadmap or future DLC/content announcement a game makes. These decisions are very carefully calculated (I think it's telling that they waited until AFTER the game's initial sales to take the plunge on this) and with the exception of games that literally fail to release the content on their roadmap due to poor sales/playerbase count etc, most deliver and just have the message there as a get-out-of-jail-free card if things go tits up for some reason.

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    1 minute ago, JezMM said:

    I'm really happy about this. Much as I loved Frontiers, I did kinda want more of it and didn't want to just have to wait until the next game for another Sonic fix, so I was hoping for DLC.  Another island with all that is expected of that (another batch of cyber space, enemies and guardians as well as another Titan fight) would be lovely, even if it just follows the same structure again. If the story content gives us MORE than that, I'll be overjoyed.

    I'm also tempering expectations for the playable characters.  I think I'd be fine with it if they're mainly intended for specific new levels/scenarios but you unlock them for free roam afterwards, even if their abilities end up breaking the existing content.  As post-game bonuses, that's kinda fine.  I mean you can already "break" the game with Big's fishing, so who cares if they make getting collectables trivial.

    Either way, I'm glad to know I'll have good reason to go back to the game over the course of a whole year with new stuff to do each time!

    That text is a standard clause, you'll find it on pretty much any roadmap or future DLC/content announcement a game makes. These decisions are very carefully calculated (I think it's telling that they waited until AFTER the game's initial sales to take the plunge on this) and with the exception of games that literally fail to release the content on their roadmap due to poor sales/playerbase count etc, most deliver and just have the message there as a get-out-of-jail-free card if things go tits up for some reason.

    Also they didn't set exact dates for these prices of contents, beyond just 2023.

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    Here's the thing. If the characters become playable in the core games islands, imagine how much easier it would be to simply get around the 2nd & 3rd islands. The 2nd one in particular, taking advantage of Knuckles' climbing abilities. It's perfect!

    But story-wise, and if it's a post game story. I can see it continuing where the secret ending left off.

    Spoiler

    With Eggman going back to taking over the Ancients tech after bringing Sage back. Possibly sending those machines after Sonic & his friends, in more familiar looking locations beyond the Starfall Islands.

     

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    12 minutes ago, Indigo Rush said:

    Bracing myself for the possibility that they're playable exclusively in Cyberspace 

    The most disappointing case of Sonic's Crappy Friends I'd ever see...

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