Sonic's recent history is pretty patchy to say the least, much of the little hedgehog's output has been mediocre to down right bad, with a few sprinkles of gold dust in-between. Even I, a huge fan of the series since the early 90s was hesitant about getting Sonic Forces, but I repented and bought the game because it kind of stands out amongst the countless amounts of first person shooters that have been released lately.
So is Forces any good? well, it's decent but ultimately a forgettable gaming experience, at its highs it illustrates the best moments from Sonic Generations, but it's dragged down by boring visuals, short levels, and historical technical problems that have plagued the series since the Dreamcast days.
The game starts with Dr Eggman defeating Sonic with the help of a powerful new ally, Infinite. Sonic is imprisoned and Eggman takes over the world. Fast forward six months and Knuckles has set up a resistance with the help of a new recruit. Sonic eventually gets saved and classic Sonic from Sonic Mania also gets involved via a wormhole.
The story is utter nonsense, but one key feature that is new to the series is a character creation. At the start of the game you get to choose which animal you want your avatar to be, there's a choice of a bear, bird, cat, dog, hedgehog, rabbit or wolf. Each of these have their own special abilities and superpowers that differ from one another.
At the end of each level you complete you'll be rewarded with loot that you can kit out your avatar with. This part of the game works much better than I expected, the variation on offer is pretty extensive, so no two people's avatars should look the same.
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The gameplay is split into three parts, you have modern Sonic which are the on-rail 3D levels, classic Sonic with the traditional 2D levels, and the avatar levels which are a combination of the two.
All three are enjoyable, but none are without their glaring flaws. Modern Sonic plays just like every 3D Sonic game that we've played before, speed run from point A to B. Boosting through the levels can be exhilarating and a lot of fun, but now more than ever it feels like the game is on automation. There are literally moments when all you have to do is press one button and watch the game play itself. This is not new to modern Sonic games, its always been there to an extent, but in the past these levels were broken up with small but genuine platforming sections that were challenging. Unfortunately there's hardly any of this in Forces.
The classic Sonic levels are the best, not just because Sonic works best in 2D but because these are the only levels that have some ounce of challenge and intricacy. They're not perfect though, the jumping physics seem too slow, and to be honest there's nothing here that's new, in comparison to all of the other 2D games in the series, this is pretty average.
The avatar levels switch between 3D and 2D sections, the fun factor is notched up a little because you have certain abilities in your toolbox. But it fails to reach its potential because the levels are way too short and the game's aesthetic is the most boring I have ever seen in the series.
Regardless of their merits, Sonic games have always had interesting worlds to traverse through, but that isn't the case here. You have your lush Green Hill Zone, but outside of that most of the levels are set in bland factories and cities. Absolutely none of it is memorable, which is unforgivable in a Sonic game.
The second biggest gripe with the game is its length, while there are thirty stages, you will complete most within the three minute mark, and many of them in under two minutes. Because of this the game never has much momentum, as soon as you start having fun, the game wants to take the controller away from you. So it never quite hooked me as much as it ought to have, making the whole experience kind of feel like I was going through the motions.
As a staple of the series, the boss battles are back and they are as good as ever, each require a different challenge to overcome.
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At the end of the day, Forces feels like a missed opportunity, the best example of this is with the newest feature to the series, the avatar creation. I'm surprised that an online component was not included. Competing with other players online with your own avatars could have been a lot of fun.
While the game is enjoyable for the most part, its a step back from the last entry into the series, Sonic Generations, and it's an even bigger step back when you consider the triumphant Sonic Mania which was released only a matter of months ago.
Overall, the game is just above average, but it could have been something better. There is replay value here, most of the levels are worth revisiting, there is also a normal and hard difficulty setting, but in truth, outside of a few levels at the end, the game is not particularly challenging.
Would I recommend this?
With so few family friendly games released these days. this would be a good Christmas present for anyone under the age of twelve. And Sonic fans will find a satisfying entry into the series, but for anyone else there's really not much here, perhaps wait until it's in the sale.
This was a bloody hard game to give a final score on, it splits right down the middle but leans more to the good than the bad.
5.75/10
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