sonicmenu | Open Zone Sonic Is Basically Tony Hawk

Want to start a civil war in the Sonic community? All you need to do is mention 3D! 

Oh, 3D Sonic games: some swear by them, others find them morally offensive. From the revered Sonic Adventure series to the short-and-sanitised Sonic Forces, Sonic has undergone many changes in the third dimension. There’s usually something to enjoy in a 3D Sonic, but it’s fair to say these games often end up being less than the sum of their parts. Unless we’re talking about Sonic 06, in which case they are an excellent representation of the sum of their parts, all of which have zero redeeming qualities!

The latest form Sonic’s three-dimensional adventures have taken is “open-zone”, which first appeared in 2022’s Sonic Frontiers. Although the game was dismissed by many as “Breath of the Wild-lite” after its reveal, Frontiers ended up reasonably popular. I liked it, anyway!  The worlds were barren, but zooming around the muted landscapes felt calming, collecting Kocos and doing puzzles between the odd spurts of combat. It was a solid foundation for a new generation of 3D Sonic games, focusing on exploration, freedom of movement and—most importantly—speed.

It wasn’t until the Shadow the Hedgehog portion of Sonic x Shadow Generations that the new style clicked with the majority of players, though. The release was the highest-rated 3D Sonic ever and has sold 2 million units as of January 2025.  Shadow Generation swapped out the lonely locales of Frontiers for a bespoke hub world that felt more intentional than anything in its predecessor.  The carefully crafted level design gave the impression of a rollercoaster ride — with no eyewatering pop-in! 

Frontiers feels like a prototype compared to Shadow Generations, and it’s something other developers should take note of. Sprawling open worlds are no longer exciting to players if they are massive, with only fluff and filler separating meaningful areas. Smaller, more detailed environments are the way forward. 

Regardless of world size, there’s always the danger that too much independence leaves players directionless, but Sonic Team enhanced the open-zone games in Sonic Frontiers and Shadow Generations by adding the best parts of the previous “boost” games: short linear levels focussed on swiftness. These stages help to break up the potential monotony of open-zone gameplay with short, directed bursts of pure, classic Sonic, and going for all S ranks quickly sinks its teeth into you. 

The penny finally dropped for me after finishing all my S ranks in Shadow Generations and still coming back for more. 3D Sonic is now Tony Hawk!

The Tony Hawk Pro Skater gaming franchise needs no introduction. The record sales for the remake of Pro Skater 1 and 2 and the anticipation for the forthcoming Pro Skater 3+4 remakes show how timeless the series is. Over twenty-five years later, the moment-to-moment gameplay still sings!  Even if you 100% everything in the game: every unlockable, every secret, every gap, you’ll always come back for more because of how enjoyable it is to skate about, creating your own entertainment.

In Shadow Generations, I’ve spent hours chaining rails, bounce pads, and speed boosts together in the hub world.  Not because I’m chasing down a trophy or an unlock, but because it’s so damn fun dashing around as Shadow. 

Exploring the open zone, completing a few boost levels, and returning to the open zone is a delightful gameplay loop. It amalgamates the two-minute challenges of first three Tony Hawk games and the free-roam open worlds from the mid-to-late 2000s instalments like 4 and THUG.  

Roaming around the environment listening to Sonic’s greatest hits also reminds me of playing Pro Skater. Tony Hawk's soundtracks included an eclectic blend of rock, punk, and hip-hop and were formative for a generation of players.  While it may not leave quite the same cultural impression as Superman or Guerilla Radio, even the harshest critics of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise would agree that it has had some phenomenal soundtracks over the years. 

I’d like Sonic Team to take the shared DNA between Open-Zone Sonic and THPS and run with it. It should utilise some of the best features of the Tony Hawk games and give them a Sonic twist. 

Collecting S-K-A-T-E and C-O-M-B-O letters is a prime candidate, and Sonic already has the perfect five-letter word: C-H-A-O-S.

While Tony Hawk games generally have a roster of skaters, they all feel similar to play, given they all use skateboards. With open-zone Sonic, every character can have a different feel and gameplay style. Sonic and Shadow already have contrasting abilities and styles, and characters like Big the Cat or Vector the Crocodile would surely have new mechanics to set them apart from the rest of the gang.

A system similar to Gaps (a hidden objective tied to the space between two platforms/objects) would encourage detailed exploration of each open zone. We could even see specific gaps for each member of Sonic’s diverse cast of characters.  Knuckles can glide, after all!

The simple lock-on-and-hit combat mechanics mean Sonic Team can get creative on the vertical plane, strategically placing enemies throughout the map to guide players to new heights. It’s harder for Tony Hawk to do this without filling a level with rails to grind.

So, apart from “Sonic is punk rock.” What am I saying here? The Sonic The Hedgehog series is more popular than ever, thanks to a booming movie franchise and some well-received modern releases. The new open-zone formula is full of potential to take Sonic’s 3D adventures to new heights; the satisfaction of quickly moving around the game world is synonymous with the iconic Tony Hawk series. I’d like to see Sonic Team lean into this. Give players more tools and abilities to express themselves, add more playable Sonic characters, and continue to create engaging open zones that focus on fun rather than size. 

While I’m not looking for Sonic the Hedgehog’s Pro Skater (although now I mention it…), there’s no better place to look for inspiration than a series with core gameplay that still resonates with players after a quarter of a century. As the Sonic Team continues to smooth out the rough edges and iterate on its open-zone ideas, the best days of 3D Sonic are yet to come. When you look at some of the disasters of the past, it’s quite an accomplishment.