10 Weirdest Genre Shifts In Video Games
1. Sonic Frontiers
That last entry got a bit heavy, didn't it? Fortunately we're finishing the list off with Sonic The Hedgehog, Sega's light-hearted dude with a 'tude. Surely his latest merry escapade will lift our spirits?
"??????, ??? ???? ?????? ???? ???????. ??? ???? ???? ???".
Or perhaps not.
The above threat comes from the big bad of Sonic Frontiers: an eldritch God known only as The End who has spent countless eons wiping out all life in the universe. (Yeah, Sonic's bad guys have come a long way from the days of a fat bloke stuffing animals into robots).
Even more bizarre is the actual fight itself. Instead of the Super Sonic beatdowns of the previous boss battles, The End is fought via a blatant Ikaruga rip-off. Treasure's seminal shooter is a classic of the genre, but we certainly didn't expect to see its revival take place in a Sonic game. (Also, given this writer's aforementioned reaction to bullet hell games you can imagine his delight when the screen started flooding with laser fire).
We'll certainly give Frontiers' designers credit, though - it makes sense that a being from beyond reality would warp the very genre of the game its in. But please, Sega - next time, keep Sonic on the ground where he belongs.