Sega is no stranger towards showing their appreciation to the Sonic fans out there. Just look at titles like Generations and Mania. Both games remade/remixed levels from all across the series' long history, serving as history lessons and nostalgia trips. Forces continues the trend of loving on the community, but does so in a much different way. It may use Generations' main hook of having two Sonics from different time periods, but the levels are all original. The real treat here is that one can create their own original character to fight alongside the blue blur and his pals. For the first time ever one can truly be part of the Sonic universe.
The character creation system is a wonderful new addition and hopefully a staple going forward. You can choose which animal you want to be, each of which has their own special abilities, and there are a wealth of cosmetic options made available to you through beating stages and completing optional side-objectives. You can even pick your own weapon powers. You get to play as your custom avatar at regular points throughout the game as a key player in the story. The other levels are broken up by sections where you play as either modern or classic Sonic.
Graphically, the game is stunning. It's vibrant, bright, and oh so colorful. Really a treat for the eyes. The voice acting is good, but some of the actors feel like an odd pairing with their characters as their voice work is much too serious for the appearance we see onscreen. The plot itself is fine and introduces us to a new villain, but much like the infamous Sonic '06 it's incredibly awkward and even a little uncomfortable when it tries to be serious. It's hard as heck to not be thrown off when a talking, bright, red echidna starts to talk about someone getting tortured. Especially when a chili dog joke follows just minutes after. It's just off-putting to see some genuinely dark stuff happening.
The 3D entries in the franchise have always had a rough go of things. However, their reputation has been turning around ever since the release of Colors. That trend continues here. This is some of Sonic's finest 3D gameplay yet and the best controls I've experienced in the series thus far. There are still those bullcrap moments that have been a plague since '06, such as careening offscreen to your death for seemingly no reason and a ridiculously cheap final boss battle, but those are much more rare than in previous releases. The level design is pretty great with branching paths and those hidden red rings. Whatever style of gameplay one could want from a Sonic game, it's in forces. 2D levels, 3D levels, platforming, and my oh my is there speed. It's got just about the perfect balance of all three. There's also a healthy amount of content and quite a bit of replay value.
Simply put, Forces is a real treat and one heck of a platformer. It shows Sonic Teams' desire to move away from the mistakes of their past. They also once again say thanks to the fanbase by allowing them to create those original characters they dreamed up in their heads and bring them to life onscreen. After all, what super-fan hasn't wanted to pal around with the lightning fast hedgehog? This continues the series' uphill climb and may even win over some new supporters. It could even pull back in former ones. Whatever the case, I can say that I was largely pleased with it.
8/10
The character creation system is a wonderful new addition and hopefully a staple going forward. You can choose which animal you want to be, each of which has their own special abilities, and there are a wealth of cosmetic options made available to you through beating stages and completing optional side-objectives. You can even pick your own weapon powers. You get to play as your custom avatar at regular points throughout the game as a key player in the story. The other levels are broken up by sections where you play as either modern or classic Sonic.
Graphically, the game is stunning. It's vibrant, bright, and oh so colorful. Really a treat for the eyes. The voice acting is good, but some of the actors feel like an odd pairing with their characters as their voice work is much too serious for the appearance we see onscreen. The plot itself is fine and introduces us to a new villain, but much like the infamous Sonic '06 it's incredibly awkward and even a little uncomfortable when it tries to be serious. It's hard as heck to not be thrown off when a talking, bright, red echidna starts to talk about someone getting tortured. Especially when a chili dog joke follows just minutes after. It's just off-putting to see some genuinely dark stuff happening.
The 3D entries in the franchise have always had a rough go of things. However, their reputation has been turning around ever since the release of Colors. That trend continues here. This is some of Sonic's finest 3D gameplay yet and the best controls I've experienced in the series thus far. There are still those bullcrap moments that have been a plague since '06, such as careening offscreen to your death for seemingly no reason and a ridiculously cheap final boss battle, but those are much more rare than in previous releases. The level design is pretty great with branching paths and those hidden red rings. Whatever style of gameplay one could want from a Sonic game, it's in forces. 2D levels, 3D levels, platforming, and my oh my is there speed. It's got just about the perfect balance of all three. There's also a healthy amount of content and quite a bit of replay value.
Simply put, Forces is a real treat and one heck of a platformer. It shows Sonic Teams' desire to move away from the mistakes of their past. They also once again say thanks to the fanbase by allowing them to create those original characters they dreamed up in their heads and bring them to life onscreen. After all, what super-fan hasn't wanted to pal around with the lightning fast hedgehog? This continues the series' uphill climb and may even win over some new supporters. It could even pull back in former ones. Whatever the case, I can say that I was largely pleased with it.
8/10