How to unlock maps in Sonic Frontiers

Sonic Frontiers is a massive open-world take on the speeding blue hedgehog known as Sonic the Hedgehog. It features three distinct open-world environments. Each is filled with secret locations, quests, and items to collect. The map for each location is covered in a shroud, and you’ll have to do some work to clear it up. This guide will explain how to unlock maps in Sonic Frontiers.

How to unlock map sections in Sonic Frontiers

Each map in Sonic Frontiers is broken up into smaller regions and parts. Every time you unlock a part of the map, it will reveal a bevy of icons. These represent Guardians, Portals, Fast Travel points, and much more. Each of the three open worlds has several regions that must be uncovered.

You will encounter ancient switches that can be activated in each location, usually in a group of three or more. Activating these ancient switches will unlock the part of the map they reside in. You must take advantage of Sonic’s different abilities to activate these switches. The most common method to activate these devices is Sonic’s homing attack. Jump in the air; when a switch gets targeted, use your attack button to activate the switch.

You can spot areas with ancient switches with a symbol pictured above. A white beacon labeled M-003 in this example, indicates it is a Mystery. Mysteries are unique challenges that will grant you rewards and unlock a portion of the map surrounding them. It will open if you figure out how to activate the ancient switches nearby. Some mystery challenges involve hitting a group of ancient switches without touching the ground, while others want you to race between two ancient switches before a timer runs out. Each map consists of several regional maps; unlocking them will grant you some valuable resources.

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Take advantage of unlocking the map to find many hidden upgrades that will power up Sonic. These upgrades will increase his speed and maximum ring capacity and unlock new attack skills for him to use.