10 Best Open-World Video Games Of 2022

Pokémon coming to the open world seemed like an inevitable conclusion and whilst last year's Halo Infinite was a surprise in some ways it made a lot of sense. For Sonic the Hedgehog, known primarily for going right in 2D or forwards in 3D very fast, it was a head-scratcher. Then again, Sonic Team’s philosophy seems to be “try anything once”.

Wearing its influences very clearly on its sleeve, Sonic Frontiers takes the serenity of Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule and uses it as part of its own strange, alien world. There’s a real sense of unknown in Frontiers’ map. Whilst the architecture, floating platforms and rails clearly are there to necessitate gameplay, they certainly add to the mood.

The best thing about Sonic Frontiers is the freedom; the ability to go fast to your heart’s content and, perhaps even more importantly, to tailor that speed to your own comfort in the options by tweaking Sonic’s acceleration and top speed. What appeared to be a rather plain and empty open world at first makes a lot of sense when you’re moving at great speed, flying from one sandbox of platforms to another.

Additionally, the tweak to Sonic’s controls make combat on the go strangely gratifying. For a character that’s all about momentum to finally have the ability to attack on the move is a revelation.