The "Breath of the Wild" effect
For decades, Sonic games were essentially high-speed hallways. You ran from left to right or down a straight path, hitting springs and loops until you reached the goal. Sonic Frontiers throws that entire blueprint out the window. Sonic Team calls this "Open-Zone" gameplay, and it’s a massive shift. Instead of one-way tracks, you’re dropped into giant, sprawling islands that feel more like a playground than a racecourse.
If your kid has spent any time in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, they’ll recognize the DNA here immediately. You see a mountain in the distance? You can go there. You see a weird floating platform? There’s probably a puzzle or a "Cyber Space" level entrance on top of it. It’s the first time a Sonic game has felt truly expansive. This freedom is great for kids who like to poke around and find secrets rather than just following instructions.
The Titan-sized difficulty spike
While the exploration is chill, the boss fights are anything but. These are "Titan" battles—massive, screen-filling monsters that require Sonic to go "Super Sonic" just to stand a chance. These fights are high-spectacle and involve heavy metal music and fast-paced button prompts. They are intense.
This is where the age-fit really matters. If you have a younger gamer who is just here because they love the Sonic the Hedgehog movie trilogy, they might hit a wall here. The combat requires actual timing and parrying, not just mindless button mashing. It’s rewarding for a 10-year-old who wants a challenge, but it might lead to a "Dad, can you beat this for me?" moment for the 6-year-old crowd. If you're looking for something a bit more manageable for the younger set, check out our list of the best Xbox Series X games for kids for some gentler alternatives.
A moodier Blue Blur
The vibe of this game is surprisingly somber. Instead of the bright, poppy colors of Sonic Colors or the city-level energy of older titles, Frontiers takes place on ruins of a lost civilization. The music is often lonely piano tracks rather than the usual upbeat synth-pop.
It’s a more "mature" take on the character that aligns well with the direction the franchise is heading. With the buzz around Sonic 4 and the deepening lore of the cinematic universe, this game provides the narrative weight fans are looking for. It treats Sonic like a hero with history, which resonates with older kids who have outgrown the "kiddy" version of the character but aren't ready for M-rated action games.
Performance and platforms
You can play this on pretty much everything, but the experience varies. If you have the choice, go for the more powerful hardware. We’ve ranked it among the best PS5 games for 8 year olds because the high frame rate makes the sense of speed feel fluid. On the Nintendo Switch, the game struggles a bit more with "pop-in"—where objects suddenly appear as you run toward them—because the hardware is trying its best to keep up with Sonic’s speed. It’s still perfectly playable on the go, but for the full "wow" factor, the bigger consoles win.
Critics gave it a score in the low 70s, which is fair. It’s not a flawless masterpiece; the camera can sometimes get confused, and some of the puzzles feel a bit repetitive. But for a Sonic fan, those are minor gripes. It’s the most ambitious the series has been in twenty years, and it’s a solid pick for any kid who wants to see what happens when the fastest hedgehog in the world finally gets enough room to actually run.
