For those in a hurry, Sonic Forces is average. Essentially it's not a bad game, it's just an average game, a kind of "movie B" video game. But the problem lies in what's around it.
First, I must emphasize one point that has been little discussed: Sonic Forces is ugly. Not graphically per se, because it is rather average. No, artistically ugly, especially for a Sonic game. In fact, it's like its title screen: hideous and uninspired. Personally, I played Sonic 1, 2, 3, & Knucles, Generations, I did three or four levels of the first Adventure, and I stopped CD from the second stage. And of all these games, Forces is definitely the ugliest, except for maybe CD. In fact, the game is either dim, dark, or bland, or all three at once.
The fault comes from its color code and artistic direction. To seems mature, the game will lean towards the black and red in the menus, sometimes in the stages, and especially it will serve us an industrial complex theme on three quarters of the adventure. And when it does not, it's anecdotal (Green Hill industrialized, or the stage forest + casino). In fact, the only stage that is a bit good is a white futuristic city, named Metropolis (which has absolutely nothing to do with the stage of the same name in Sonic 2, by the way).
Then, we must add that the game is annoying (and ridiculous?). Annoying because of the different characters who keep talking by radio during the game. Fortunately, it is possible to disable it. I would also like to say that the game is ridiculous because of its story, in fact, I'd love to say it, but since the cinematic sequences stutters on PC, I was forced to zap them all.
But besides these aesthetic considerations, what about the game? Mouif. Yeah. Bof. Or "meh" as the Anglo-Saxons say. Because the game really is average.
First, Forces offers different types of stages. Those with modern Sonic, which mix both 2D and 3D. Those with the avatar, again mixing 2D and 3D. Stages with modern Sonic + avatar are only in 3D. And finally, those with classic Sonic are only in 2D.
Because yes, it is now possible to create your own avatar, your "fursona" as they say on the english forums. It will therefore be necessary to choose among different species (dog, wolf, rabbit, cat, bear, bird, and of course hedgehog), each with its own capacity. For example, birds can perform double jumps. Alas, the avatars are rather hideous.
The lack of choice of morphology makes them all tall and thin. Moreover, they do not have visible "bellies", just like Sonic with his visible yellow belly, Tails has his white hairs visible on his chest, or Knucles a white crescent on his chest. The absence of this small detail tends to distance the avatars from the canonical characters of the Sonic universe. But the large number of pieces of equipment allows them to be used as a cache-misère.
Gameplay wise, Sonic Forces is playable, even nice in 3D, when it does not send the player in a hole. Which will be the first cause of death in Forces in the 3D phases. Because the player will fall a lot in precipices. But when that does not happen, the game is pleasant. Alas, half of the game, even three quarters of it are in 2D.
With Sonic Mania being released a few months before, it is possible to compare the gameplay in the 2D phases between the two games, and the comparison is not in favor of Forces. Indeed, the characters are heavy, fall too fast and accelerate much too fast. It's simple, just like for 3D, the player will fall into holes, but the reason here comes from the gameplay. Successful jumps will require training, and it will not be surprising to jump further than a platform, or even fall just before one, because of the weird physics of the characters (on this subject, good luck to those who will try to defeat three, then five enemies in a row by jumping on them with classic Sonic).
Strangely, the least painful character to control in 2D passages is modern Sonic, while the one that poses the most problem is classic Sonic. The avatar meanwhile will play a lot more like classic Sonic. In short, the 2D in Forces is a complete failure. And to be honest, just like for Generations, I preferred to control modern Sonic rather than its classic version. Still, my favorite episodes are the Megadrive versions, but Forces just like Generations would have been better with only the newest Sonic in my opinion.
Nevertheless, one of the brightest ideas of the Sonic Team for this Sonic Forces has been to introduce QTE in some stages. This is a decision of great intelligence and it shows a great knowledge of modern video games. LOL. Indeed, while the QTE become increasingly rare, the Sonic Team had the strange idea to introduce them in its latest delivery, furthermore a platformer. There is not much to say here, they are QTE, basically time wasters. Fortunately, they are not numerous (in three stages, if I'm not wrong). Unfortunately, on my PC, they run half as fast as the rest of the game, with half less FPS, while their sound effects go to normal speed. Sigh...
For the level design, on the 2D side, again Mania is well above Forces. Indeed, stages are denser, richer, and with a lot more of secrets. That said, Forces is not totally bad. It proposes several paths to reach the end, and some of them are sometimes well hidden. In the 3D phases, sometimes, it goes in a straight line. Ok. In fact, it very often goes in a straight line. But sometimes, the game offers junctions here and there that will more or less shorten the path. But on the whole, these phases are quite linear. The fault may lies in the "boost system" that does not really mixed well with open stages.
As for the music, it is sometimes good (Prison Hall or Aqua Road), sometimes bad (Green Hill with Sonic classic) and sometimes comical (orchestral music in a general way). It should be noted that there are a lot of songs in this episode. Coming from the Megadrive games, this surprised me a bit initially, but some of them are very nice, despite the somber lyrics.
But Forces' best argument does not lie in its avatar creation system, wich is quite limited in the end, but in its content. For Forces is generous, and for those who would like to finish the game at 100%, there will be a lot to do (count about thirty hours to finish it entirely).
Each stage can be finished in a straight line. But for the perfectionists, it will first be necessary to obtain the S rank, then to find the red rings, then the rings with numbers, then the silver moon rings, and finally to finish the stages in a limited time. And that, for each stage. Then there are the secret stages, and finally the EX stage. To this, we must also add the missions, which will ask the player to perform certain actions with certain character, such as defeat three enemies in a row with a spin dash with classic Sonic. Doing all this will unlock pieces of equipment or wispons for his avatar, ie weapons, with the rarer ones comind with bonus effects.
Fulfilling some of those objectives will often require the player to repeat each stage several times, but nothing should be really insurmountable. However, some passages may prove to be particularly annoying.
This was the case when obtaining two specific red rings. The first in a stage that takes place in space, Egg Gate, where modern Sonic has to go on a rail that is on the left (a minimum of 15 deaths to reach it). The second problematic red ring is in the forest stage when playing with the avatar, Aqua Road. Here, the player is in a sort of toboggan ... and it will be necessary to retry the stage at least twenty times to obtain one of the red rings. We can also add to the list of annoying events finishing some stages in a limited time, especially the boss fights (a tip, go directly to Youtube for a easier play).
In the end, what to think about Forces? Many people, including me, were waiting for a sequel to Generations. Sonic Team chose instead to do something else, something ... weird. For having followed the news of the game, I know that some appreciate the serious and dark side chosen for this game. I also know that those who appreciate this kind of atmosphere have often discovered Sonic with the Dreamcast, and more particularly with games like Sonic Adventure 2 or Shadow the Hedgehog. Forces, more than a sequel to Generations, is from my point of view a sequel to these games. Those who liked these atmospheres will enjoy playing Forces. Maybe. For others, this is not an atrocious game, just a mediocre game with a multitude of problems.
