As announced earlier today the Sonic Team is issuing the first of three free downloadable content packs in an update which is scheduled to go live this Thursday on all platforms which Sonic Frontiers is available on. The first content update will include a Photo Mode to snap your perfect in-game photos, new Challenge Modes including a new Boss Rush mode, and the Juke Box which allows you to play your favourite tunes from Sonic Frontiers. The company detailed the new features on the PlayStation Blog and you can read about them below.
Photo Mode
To capture memories of your journey, open the pause menu to access Photo Mode, which will pause gameplay and bring up a freely moveable camera to position the shot however you want. This mode may be inaccessible during certain parts of the game.
Whether you’re battling enemies, rail grinding, or performing awesome Air Tricks, you can capture Sonic in action across various landscapes to create the perfect scene for your photo. You can also choose between seven visual filters to add some flare to your photos.
If you need some help, you can turn on a grid to frame the perfect image or reset the camera with the right analog stick to change the photo’s angle and mood.
New Challenge modes
After completing the main story campaign, challenge modes are instantly playable via the title screen.
The new Cyber Space Challenge is a time-attack mode where you’ll complete seven stages from each island (Kronos, Ares, Chaos) while competing against the clock.
Also, Sonic Frontiers now offers Battle Rush, a timed-battle mode where you rapidly defeat multiple rounds of enemies, Guardians, and Titans in one go. Aim for the fastest clear time, and you may get a special surprise.
Jukebox
Play your favorite Sonic tunes throughout the Starfall Islands with the new Jukebox feature, which includes music from Sonic Frontiers and past Sonic games, if you want a bit of nostalgia as you explore! Some of the tracks include:
- Sega Sound Team, Tomoya Ohtani, Merry Kirk-Holmes – I’m Here (Sonic Frontiers)
- Crush 40 – Live & Learn (Sonic Adventure 2)
- Crush 40 – Open Your Heart (Sonic Adventure)
- Sega Sound Team, Tomoya Ohtani – Reach For The Stars (Sonic Colors Ultimate), and much more.
You can listen to any of the 53 songs – 13 of which are instantly unlocked and playable as soon as the game is updated. Unlock the remaining 40 songs by collecting Sound Memories on each island, so keep an eye out for those orange music notes.
To change the music on the island, press right on the directional-pad or hold to open the song list. The Jukebox can also be disabled in the Options menu.
Future updates:
Two more updates to Sonic’s open-zone, action-packed adventure will arrive later this year and include new features, challenges, playable characters, and more. Specifics about release timing and content will be revealed at a later date.
Looking at that track list, I just had one thought: if you didn’t think frontiers wasn’t homage to the adventure series, this pretty much confirms it (disregarding Reach for the Stars)
I wish Sega still had the source code for sonic heroes, riders and adventure 2.