Sonic Frontiers fans thrilled as latest update fixes momentum issues and adds the iconic Spin Dash move

Sonic Frontiers
(Image credit: Sega)

Sonic Frontiers' Birthday Bash update brings back Spin Dash and fixes the momentum issues that have been bugging fans since launch. 

Sonic turned 32 last week, and to celebrate, Sega released another free update for Sonic Frontiers, which adds the iconic Spin Dash move allowing that lovable blue blur to zoom around the Starfall Islands and its Open Zones like never before. Naturally, fans are thrilled to see the return of the signature move return. 

The latest update also addresses an issue with momentum in Sonic Frontiers, which made the game feel rather sluggish for a Sonic game. Until now, the zippy hedgehog could build up speed on the ground, but once he jumped in the air, he would slow down. Fortunately, the developer has introduced a number of additional settings, including "the ability to change the rate of deceleration when jumping" and an "option to set whether to maintain a boost during a jump".

"This is actually kinda wild," said Twitter user @CutieMonica. Their tweet was accompanied by a short clip which shows what a huge difference these small tweaks make to Sonic Frontiers.

Equally thrilled by the update, user @OnTheDownLoTho tweeted, "I loved Sonic Frontiers so much at launch, but my biggest criticism was its little QOL issues. But they're legit all being addressed, so between all these island challenges, momentum platforming as an option & story DLC coming, we are this close to it being true peak."

Of course, the blue blur's latest adventure has had its fair share of criticism since launch, but this looks like a big step in the right direction for Sonic Frontiers. And with such meaningful changes introduced in this update, Sonic fans are more excited than ever for the third slice of free content, which promises "new playable characters" and a "new story" later this year.

"Sonic Frontiers is far from perfect, but I can't stress enough that Sonic Team listens to us and makes the game the best it can be," user @BlueVivacity wrote on Twitter. "I can't wait for update 3. This is going to be one hell of a game, surely one of the best in the Sonic series."

In the mood for more high-speed action? Check out our pick of the best Sonic games.

Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.

Read more
Rascal celebrates completing Buccaneer's Beach in Rollin' Rascal
My dream Sonic game is finally real and it even has online multiplayer, except it's actually this "high-speed" 3D platformer with a glorious demo in Steam Next Fest
Sonic and Shadow clash in front of the moon in Sonic X Shadow Generations
Sonic gets an official lore timeline that goes "tens of thousands of years" into the past and 200 years into the future, and somehow canonizes a party game spin-off
Jet The Hawk, Shadow The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog, Knuckles The Echidna, and Tails The Fox race towards us on a variety of vehicles in Sonic Racing CrossWorlds, emerging from ring portals depicting various levels from Sonic history
Sonic driving a car in Sonic Racing: Crossworlds makes perfect sense, and after 30 years I'm sick of explaining why
Helldivers 2 Escalation of Freedom
Helldivers 2's funniest feature was removed last year, but it's finally been reinstated – although it won't save you from certain doom anymore
Two Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 players using omnimovement to dive past each other on the Skyline map
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 2 brings back a beloved game mode fans have been begging for, but all I care about is a practically meaningless bug fix
Cropped official art for Pirates of Coin, showing a group of skeleton pirates aboard a ship.
Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator returns after insider trading scandal to announce update to obscure pirate-themed coin pusher game: "I had to update a lot of things"
Latest in Platformer
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Donkey Kong in newly shared gameplay of what seems to be mario kart 9
"This is unlike Nintendo": Former marketer thinks Mario Kart being a Switch 2 launch game isn't as ideal as OG Switch's Breath of the Wild combo
Animal Well screenshot, captured on PC
After his excellent debut Metroidvania took 7 years, Animal Well's solo dev says his next game shouldn't "take nearly as long"
Crash Bandicoot PS1
Former Sony exec Shuhei Yoshida says the PlayStation marketing team had to completely redesign Crash Bandicoot in PS1 commercials because he was too ugly for the Japanese market
Astro Bot
Astro Bot director says precisely what the industry needs to hear: "It's OK to make a small game" because "players today have a backlog of games" they can't complete
Sonic and Shadow clash in front of the moon in Sonic X Shadow Generations
Sonic gets an official lore timeline that goes "tens of thousands of years" into the past and 200 years into the future, and somehow canonizes a party game spin-off
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"