(Image: SEGA)

As Sonic Frontiers gets closer to a release, the gradual rollout of information regarding Sonic's new open world adventure has been mostly modest. Beyond the departure of structured levels and zones like past Sonic games (much of the locations still look pretty barren), little about Frontiers' other functions were pretty much unspoken until now. For the first time, Sonic Team has given solid info on the mechanics and combat.

The franchise introduces a skill tree for the first time, a feature that many conventional games include nowadays. Sonic will still have familiar moves like his Homing Attack and Drop Dash. Sonic Frontiers allows you to unlock more advanced skills as you level up by gathering Red Seeds of Power and Blue Seeds of Defense to increase his stats.

One of the moves seen in the previous trailers was the Sonic Boom, a long-range attack released by a series of kicks. Phantom Rush, a high-powered max damage strike that lasts as long as the activated meter. Cyloop is a skill used to break down a stronger enemy's defense by running a complete circle around them. This move bears strong similarities to the Loop Attack seen in SEGA's Nights series.

Sonic Frontiers appears to aim for a more combat-centric Sonic game, which might be the break of pace the franchise needs to re-establish itself. Perhaps focusing more on Sonic's physical attributes is a way to play more towards his strengths with speed and agility in a 3D environment. 

Sonic Frontiers releases November 8 2022 for the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam.