Sonic Frontiers Director Compares the Game to "Global Playtest"

Sonic Frontiers released last week, and critical reception has been all over the board. It'll be a little while before Sega decides what to do with the series next, but the company is clearly looking ahead to the franchise's future. In a post on Twitter, director Morio Kishimoto discussed how developer Sonic Team is listening closely to these opinions. Kishimoto likened the game's release to a "global playtest," in which fans can see the direction the series is heading and potentially shape the future of Sonic the Hedgehog games.

"I'm sorry I couldn't contact you because I've been busy since the release date. I'm relieved that the release date has arrived and that it seems to have reached everyone safely. We are checking the opinions of the critics and everyone. As you pointed out, we still have a long way to go, and we take this seriously as a global playtest," Kishimoto writes.

Sega released Sonic Forces in 2017, and the game received highly-negative feedback from critics and Sonic fans alike. Not everyone is loving Sonic Frontiers right now, but reaction to the game has been much stronger overall. Hopefully Sega will take the game's positives and build on them for future series entries! 

The success of Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog films has helped drive much greater interest in the series as a whole. Sega has attempted to build off that success with Sonic Frontiers, as the game's combat was directly inspired by the movies. It remains to be seen whether fans of the films will embrace Sega's current direction, but it's clear the publisher has a vision for the future.

Sonic Frontiers is available now on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. ComicBook.com's official review for the game is currently in the works, but until then, readers can check out all of our previous coverage of the game right here.

What do you think of Sonic Frontiers so far? Do you want to see Sega build on this direction in future games? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!