Sega has released a new trailer for Sonic Frontier (opens in new tab). Titled "Combat and Upgrades," the functional title showcases the various abilities Sonic will initially have and how these abilities will be expanded and improved over the course of the game. It also proudly announces that Sonic's open-world game debut will have a skill tree, which is like someone excitedly telling you that their chair has four legs and a backrest.

According to the trailer, Sonic starts the game with a basic moveset that includes a stomp attack, the familiar drop-dash spin attack, and the "homing" attack that has been more or less controversial since Sonic's transition to 3D. However, these abilities can only be used against basic opponents. Tougher opponents require special "combo" moves, such as the "Phantom Rush," in which Sonic beats down opponents in rapid succession as if he were attacking several of them at once. Sonic can also use "Wild Rush," a drunken boxing version of the drop dash that allows Sonic to attack and avoid being hit at the same time, and "Scirp," which allows Sonic to literally run around the enemy in a ring around them, destroying their shields. And Sonic also has a parry move.

The way to access these late-game powers is that defeated enemies drop items called "skill pieces. By collecting these, new abilities in the skill tree can be unlocked. Skill shards can also be found in breakable containers hidden throughout the game world, so explore every corner of the game.

It all sounds very "Sonic Frontiers," which is to say it bows to common convention in a way that seems at odds with the series' core identity; when Mollie played the game earlier this month (open in new tab), he wrote, "'Sonic Frontiers' is a perfect example that not every game needs to adopt an epic open-world format." [Of course, it could still be great, and it's unlikely that Sonic will finally have his Mario moment. Either way, there's no need to wait for this game, which will be released on November 8.