Sonic Frontiers' Zelda Comparisons Have Fans Divided

On May 31, longtime "Sonic the Hedgehog" fans got a new look at "Sonic Frontiers," which will release in 2022. The game revolutionizes the "Sonic the Hedgehog" franchise by becoming the first game in the series to be an open-world platformer. Though only a brief tease into the game, the trailer racked up tons of attention from fans and critics alike. However, not everyone is pleased.

As with any legacy franchise, a change in the established formula is always going to be polarizing. And when there is a genre change, comparisons will be made to other popular and well-received games within that genre. "Sonic Frontiers" has received such treatment, with a small subset of fans being worried about the IP perhaps losing its identity. There is also another contingency out there comparing "Sonic Frontiers" to the legendary open-world title "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" — one of the best open-world games of all time — due to its grassy setting. The comparisons have been the cause of quite some division on social media, especially considering that fans aren't completely sure what "Sonic Frontiers" will mean for the future of the series or the blue hedgehog himself. 

In the immediate aftermath of the teaser trailer for "Sonic Frontiers" being released, many took to social media to share either funny or critical comparisons of Sega's "Sonic Frontiers" to the rival Nintendo's "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild." One tweet comically referred to "Sonic Frontiers" as a "Breath of the Wild" mod. Another Twitter user called it "a weird Zelda game where you run fast." Yet another post unfavorably compared "Sonic Frontiers" to "Breath of the Wild" by saying that it looks devoid of all the elements that made the latter great.

However, others have spoken out against the comparison. Writing for Kotaku, Ian Walker has said that gamers should be patient before drawing up such comparisons. "Serious or not, it seems not even Sonic is fast enough to escape 'Breath of the Wild' comparisons ... " Walker wrote. "But really, we're all working off such little footage that any broad statements about the game are probably best kept to ourselves." It's unclear what "Sonic Frontiers" will actually be like, and without a clear release date nailed down, there's likely still time for the team behind the game to make changes.