Games Inbox: Sonic Frontiers as the best Sonic The Hedgehog game

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Maybe next time
Great review of Sonic Frontiers, GC. I totally agree with Owen on Monday and praised your reviews, which I’ve found particularly interesting recently, with Bayonetta 3, God Of War Ragnarök and now Sonic Frontiers. I really didn’t expect you to give it a high score for the game or for it to be anything more than just another deeply flawed crasher – especially after the movies.

So kudos to Sega for sticking with it and finally striking gold. I will definitely be getting the game and now I know what to expect, including the flaws, I’m really looking forward to it.

I agree with the suggestion that there has never been a good 3D Sonic until now. Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 were okay but they weren’t great even by the standards of the time and they seem a lot worse now. So the question for me now, before I’ve played it, is if Sonic Frontiers is the best Sonic game ever?

I’ve played the originals so many times that it’s hard to have an unbiased opinion on them these days, but I’d like to think they’ll be beaten one day. Maybe Sonic Fronters 2, right?
Donald

GC: Thanks.

Max Wick
I can see gullible board members who think John Wick is a no-brainer for a video game, but I’m not sure. John Wick Hex was great because it was a good game and an original idea, which would have been interesting even without the license.

But if it was just a straight third person shooter, which I assume it will be, how will it be different from all the ones already out there? Except Keanu Reeves will do the voiceover (maybe, I guess). Even though it was The Matrix that it was tearing down, Max Payne was already pretty much John Wick and as much as I liked it at the time it was a pretty one-dimensional and repetitive game, which seems a lot worse when you play it Now for the time.

Nothing against it being made or people liking it, but I liked it a lot better when the movie company encouraged developers to make new and unexpected games, not just easy money.
Octo

RPG drought
Thanks for the review on Star Ocean: The Divine Force. 5/10 is a yike score, 8 or 9 out of 10 and I would have bought it straight away but will wait until it gets a mega discount or better yet go to PlayStation Plus. If it’s anything like Tales Of Arise it shouldn’t be too long, it’s already on offer for under £20 just a year after release.

It seems like it’s been a while since we’ve had a really good RPG but maybe that’s just newbie bias. But I really hope that the next installment of RPGs – Final Fantasy 16, Dragon Age 4 and Mass Effect 4 – really delivers. Although at £70 each, I’ll wait to read reviews before diving in!
Michael, Crawley

GC: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was pretty good.

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Permeant fixture
As much as I’d like to think that microtransactions are just going to go away sometime soon, I think the Dragon Age guy is just saying what he hopes will be true, not what has any reasonable chance of happening.

What we’ve already seen is single player games stop using them, but it’s something else entirely that was really just publishers realizing which way the wind was blowing and not making things worse for themselves.

When games like FIFA and NBA 2K make more money from microtransactions than they do in-game sales, that’s all the proof you need that they’re not going anywhere. And besides, his prime example seemed to be mobile gaming, which is a completely different beast. Does anyone really think that Fortnite or Apex Legends are on their last legs, or that people will soon stop buying their cosmetics?
Cresta

The whole set
Really enjoyed reading Hot Topic on the retro game console. I still own my original SNES, Mega Drive, Sega Saturn and Dreamcast, plus an original NES. I also own PlayStation 1, 2, 3, 4, a Wii and an original Xbox.

I like to hook them up to a CRT and play on-rail shooters like House Of The Dead and Time Crisis. Would be nice to know what console you own. I owned a GameCube but sold it. I also own a Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance. I play when I can because of work. Take care and have a brilliant day.
Hamza

More of everything
I wish they could go ahead and show something substantial for Mass Effect 4. This audio thing is good but I highly doubt it will be anything big once the fans figure out what it says. But I also doubt we’ll hear much more about the game until after the new Dragon Age is out.

I have no interest in Dragon Age but I hope it does well, just to prove that BioWare still has it and they deserve the support of EA. To be fair to EA, which isn’t something I usually am, they seem to be quite supportive, realizing that single player games still sell, so I hope it works out for everyone.

And then maybe they can start thinking about that Star Wars game that I still can’t believe they haven’t even started working on yet. Forget a remake, I want a new Knights Of The Old Republic, a reboot, or maybe something based on the High Republic era, because I think they’re making a TV show based on it now.

Just more BioWare in general is what I’m saying, but I’ve been waiting so long, I can wait a little longer.
Caliber

GC: Its already decoded and yes, it didn’t reveal much.

The story so far
RE: Denton and the God Of War story, PushSquare has done a pretty comprehensive summary of the series so far including the latest PlayStation 4 game, you can read it here.

I also have a code for The Winters’ Expansion for Resident Evil Village on PlayStation 5 that I don’t need, if anyone would like it.
LastYears Model

GC: That is very kind of you. As usual, we’ll give it to the first person who asks, who sends us a helpful letter in their inbox.

Haunting soundtrack
In response to Matt Riddle’s post about video game music.

For me personally, music in games is as important as any other feature. Be it gameplay, art design, graphics, story, world and level design, etc.

Take your Mario games, your Zelda games, your Soulsborne games, your Final Fantasy games, if these were played with the music off, these would be much lesser experiences. Big bombastic pieces along with epic backdrops or soothing melodies against peaceful moments add enormously to a gaming experience.

On the other hand, games with bland, generic soundtracks are much harder for me to sit through.

I firmly believe that the talents behind groundbreaking soundtracks should be recognized and reflected in a game review.

Many of my playlists include said musical score and I always notice when GC points out the soundtrack.

My next purchase will be Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and I’m probably most excited about the music, as Pokemon music always hits.
Anon

For Matt Riddle specifically, but it may be of interest to more, BBC Radio 3 has a show called The Sound of Gaming, which is available both on BBC Sounds and as an (abridged) podcast. The latest edition has a section on God Of War Ragnarök and an interview with the composer.
Bathbunny42

GC: We will say that Bear McCreary is good in general. His soundtrack for Godzilla: King Of The Monsters is infinitely better than the film itself.

Inbox also runs
I’ve just beaten the Fire Ring for the second time and I’m now seriously considering it for a third. Game of the year for me and no doubt. Probably the best of the decade/generation too.
Ralphie Boy

Just a reminder that we are approaching the one year anniversary of Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp being “delayed”. I seriously doubt the game will ever see the light of day now.
Focus

This week’s hot topic
With Sonic Frontiers out this week, the topic of this weekend’s Inbox asks what is your favorite platformer?

Platformers are one of the oldest genres in gaming, but which ones do you like best and why? Do you have a favorite 2D and 3D game and which style do you generally prefer? How much of a difference does the main character make and which one is your favorite?

What do you think of the general state of platformers at the moment and which new ones are you looking forward to? What direction might developers take them in the future and what do you hope new technologies will allow?

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The fine print
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