‘Sonic Frontiers’ Most Egregious Issue Wasn’t Pop-In, It Was Its Slow Menus

Look, I’ll stan Sonic Frontiers until the day I die. It’s one of my favorite Sonic adventures, and I’ve been playing since the Sega Genesis. The massive open world? Great to run around in and explore. Classic, great stuff. The extremely cumbersome menus that, for some reason, take like three seconds to load in before they let you interact with them? Appalling, get them out of here.

For a Game About Going Fast, the Menus Are Certainly a Drag

I recently reinstalled Sonic Frontiers because I’ve been jonesing for my yearly Sonic fix. Even though Sonic X Shadow Generations is on my list, I have yet to pick it up, so I have to settle for a classic adventure. And while the general gameplay is just as fun as I remember it being, if not more so after all of the updates, the horrifyingly cumbersome menu system is really dragging me out of the experience.

Thankfully, while Sonic Frontiers‘ menu system isn’t as major as one may think, it’s still a drag and a half trying to change anything. Even when I die, waiting for three seconds before the menu will allow me to select an option just feels incredibly cumbersome and awkward. SEGA has fixed so many other issues with this game, so it’s just weird to me that this has been left to sit. Trying to get back to the main menu when you’re in the game is another mess.

sonic’s the name, speed’s (supposed to be) my game!

So, I started a new save file. And there was absolutely no option to go to the main menu during the tutorial. I had accidentally enabled the “Birthday Decorations.” While Sonic looked adorably dorky, the cluttered UI had me reeling in my seat. I had to play through Sonic Frontiers‘, admittedly, short tutorial before I could exit back to the main menu. Or force the game closed through the menu. It’s just baffling and very confusing.

There are still some other issues I have with Sonic Frontiers. But, revisiting the game proves why I enjoy the Blue Blur. It’s got some other problems outside of the menu system, but it’s a gorgeous game that gives me a little bit of a break from the hustle and bustle of the real world. And sometimes, that’s all I can ask for.