Sonic Forces (PS4) Review

A forced attempt.

 2017 housed not one, but two Sonic games; the throwback Sonic Mania headed by a team of dedicated fans and Sonic Forces, the next mainline game led by a group of incompetent developers. Sonic Forces is the latest in the long-endearing franchise, originally announced alongside Sonic Mania back in 2016 as part of the 25th year celebration of the franchise. Sonic and company are back and this time around, things get dark. However, the end result was something lackluster and devoid of any fun and engagement that's been showcased in Mania. It's definitely one of the lesser games in the blue blur's 3D line-up, for good reason.

 Frustrated by the constant defeat at the hands of his longtime arch nemesis, the evil Dr. Eggman sets out to conquer the world once again. This time actually defeating Sonic with the help of prior villains and newcomer Infinite, who posses cognitive abilities. With the world without a hero, Eggman begins to spread his influence and a resistance force, headed by Knuckles the Echidna, is formed to combat the doctor. As the latest member of the resistance, the player's custom avatar joins in on the movement to ultimately thwart Dr. Eggman's plans (we'll get to the avatar feature later on). Also, Classic Sonic is back for some reason and instead of being from a different time period, he's from an entirely new dimension for some reason. Plot consistency aside, I feel that Classic Sonic's inclusion was shoehorned for marketing purposes. It's a straightforward and predictable affair as everyone teams up and with the themes of friendship and believing in one's self as guiding points the doctor is defeated and the day is saved. The dark atmosphere and mood of the narrative might make you think it's another Shadow the Hedgehog, but actually it's not. Additionally, the free Episode Shadow DLC starts you as enigmatic anti-hero, Shadow the Hedgehog and sheds some light on the character of Infinite.

Dr. Eggman is at it yet again.

 Sonic Forces is mainly a 3D entry with 2D segments in between. Golden rings represent the character's health and once they're gone it's game over. Strangely, Forces doesn't have any lives, meaning that should you die, you'll lose points from your overall score. The grading system ranks you based on time completion, rings collected, and total score. Though that prestigious "S" rank is easily attainable since the game requires you to finish the already short levels in the quickest time. Core gameplay is split into three styles: Modern Sonic, Classic Sonic, and the Avatar. Modern Sonic navigates in 3D and uses the boost and homing abilities from prior games to destroy enemies. Wisps make another retun oddly and grant powers such as lighting and fire while also filling up the boost gauge. The Avatar plays similarly to Sonic expect for that fact that they can't boost. Instead, they're given a hookshot to latch onto points in certain levels. It's a neat little trick that's sadly been underutilized in favor for the wisp power-ups.

While could have used more work, the avatar

stages pack some neat segments.

 Certain levels has you alternating between Sonic and the Avatar in a manner similar to Sonic Heroes. Classic Sonic plays strictly in 2D and by far is the weakest of the three since his controls and physics are finicky and at times come to clash with his abysmal levels. Speaking of levels, While there's some neat levels here and there, the rest are complete rehashes from prior games. Playing Green Hill and Chemical Plant zones for the millionth is boring this time around, especially when you'll be visiting them three times with each character. Not only that, but you're starting to get invested in a level, it's over before you know it. Even when playing normally I'd finish a level in under two minutes, which is a shame since I very much liked Imperial Tower and Spaceport.

Classic Sonic is the weakest of the bunch.

                                             
 The biggest attraction of Forces is its new character creation feature. As the game begins, you'll be given the options of choosing the gender, species, and physical characteristics of your dream Sonic character. There are seven character types in total, with each sporting their own unique perks. Birds can double jump, Cats can hold on to a ring after being hit, Rabbit provides a brief invincibility period, and so on. As you complete levels and obtain high ranks, you're rewarded with shoes, shirts, gloves, and more for your character to experiment with. Additionally, Avatars can use different Wisp abilities to aid them in levels. The Sonic fan base is known for hosting a slew of varied "original" characters, which is all the more reason the avatar feature simply exists as the best aspect of the game.

Original character:

Milo the Cat (Do not steal)

 One could tell that the game caters for a younger crowd as evident by the at times brain-dead difficulty. Even "Hard" mode, which is recommended to series enthusiasts is honestly no different than the standard mode. During launch period, two pieces of free DLCs were released. These include Super Sonic, who alongside the chaos emeralds' were oddly omitted from the main game. Episode Shadow is a prequel episode set months before the story begins. It has you playing as Shadow, who controls far more smoother than the rest. There are three rather short levels that are surprisingly tougher than the main game's. Aside from collectables such as Red Rings, there's nothing else to see here. 

The self-proclaimed "ultimate lifeform" is
playable after many years.

 Sonic Forces looks decent. Despite it using an upgraded engine of Sonic Generations dubbed the "Hedgehog Engine 2", the character models look surprisingly average, looking near identical to previous PS3/360 era games though backgrounds and levels look great in some areas. The voice-work is great with many talents such as Roger Craig Smith and Mike Pollok joining the cast as Sonic and Eggman, respectively. As for the soundtrack, it's a Sonic game. There's lots of rock, synth, electronic tracks to keep the levels entertaining. However, I found that Classic Sonic's retro themes to be absolutely the weakest of the presentation. (Poor guy, why did they even had to drag him in if they're not going to do him justice in the first place? Thank god for Mania though.)

Forces has a great soundtrack and voice-work 

to back up its rather cheap-feeling presentation.

 With a lackluster story that tries to take itself too seriously, many uninspired levels, and finicky controls, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I didn't have much fun with Sonic Forces. Aside from the avatar feature and the soundtrack, there wasn't much admire here. I personally don't find fun in bashing a game, especially Sonic games since I know how fun they can be. However, when it's been said that Forces originally began development in 2013, one has to be baffled as it certainly doesn't feel like it's been in the oven for that long. The stellar Sonic Mania didn't do any favors for this one as it was a passion project by fans for fans. It seems that Sonic Team have forgotten about their fans and have focused on just selling a product with the Sonic brand on it instead. If you're interested in giving Sonic Forces a shot, do so when it's on sale, as it's not worth even the $40 asking price.

• 02/18/2018: While it may look like I'm "hating" on Sonic Forces, I just feel like it didn't meet my expectations. I'm still a huge fan of the Sonic series, it's just that I found Forces to be one of the most disappointing game in the series yet.