How Long Does It Take To Beat Sonic Frontiers?

"Sonic Frontiers" marks a bold spin dash forward for Sega's beloved blue hedgehog, taking the quilled speedster and dropping him into an experience that's unlike anything from the franchise's past. Key to the game's identity is its "open-zone" format, which breaks up the typical level-based "Sonic the Hedgehog" structure with free-roaming exploration around a massive overworld. Players can engage with the game's surplus of puzzles, bosses, and additional side challenges as they see fit, giving each individual playthrough its own unique identity and pacing.

With how far "Sonic Frontiers" is willing to go to break the mold and its fresh emphasis on stuffing a massive world full of activities and oddities, many fans may be wondering how much time they'll be sinking into the game before they beat it. As it turns out, critical reviews of "Sonic Frontiers" indicate that the game is a surprisingly sizable experience, especially when compared to previous entries in the series.

Even seasoned "Sonic the Hedgehog" fans should expect to spend a significant bit of time getting through "Sonic Frontiers." Several critic reviews, such as those from Digital Trends and CNET, list Sonic's first open-zone foray as taking around 20-or-so hours to beat. There's also some wiggle room depending on personal experience, as Mashable's review suggests a brief runtime of 13 hours, while Game Informer notes that its initial playthrough took a whopping 30 hours.

These estimates for the length of "Sonic Frontiers" line up with game director Morio Kishimoto's comments prior to launch. "The game should take around 20 or 30 hours to beat," Kishimoto told IGN. "If you want to do everything in the game, it will probably take double that amount of time."

As a point of reference, the franchise's previous 3D entry "Sonic Forces" takes an average of four hours to beat, as determined by polled users on HowLongtoBeat. "Sonic Colors: Ultimate," a 2021 remaster of the original "Sonic Colors," similarly has a HowLongtoBeat time average of just five hours. As of the initial release for "Sonic Frontiers," the game arguably stands as the longest 3D title in the franchise's history.

Provided that they're not attempting a speedrun in order to dodge the onslaught of "Sonic Frontiers" spoilers, players should generally expect to get cozy with this title for a while. It's not the longest game out there, but "Sonic Frontiers" aims for a runtime befitting of its expansive scope.