Sonic Forces (2017)

 

A flawed but fun Sonic game. 

The best thing about this game is the levels themselves. While there may not be a lot of originality here, the levels are a lot of fun. They capture the fast-moving spirit and clever designs of the best Sonic games. They are short, quick and a lot of fun. The artwork and music in these levels are fantastic, and the controls are easy to master. However, the part of these stages is how they transition from 2-D to 3-D. Some levels are completely in 3-D while other or completely in 2-D, however it is the levels that transition from one to the other that really stood out to me. The boss fights are also quite a bit of fun as well. These boss fights often feel quite unique and different from each other, making them never feel repetitive. I am especially a fan of the final boss fight, which is broken up into three parts, each of which have you fight the boss in a completely different way. I also very much enjoyed the boss fights with the new villain Infinite, who has a reality bending ability that constantly keeps you on your toes and provides a real visual treat to these battles. The difficulty progression is odd here. Some of the levels and fights can get quite difficult (though with unlimited lives the game never gets too frustrating), however the final few levels and battles are surprisingly easier than some of what has come before. This doesn't really work from a storytelling standpoint as it feels a little anti-climactic even if the levels and battles are fun on their own. 

This game has you play as three characters, classic Sonic, modern Sonic and a character you create yourself. I am not a fan of the idea of classic Sonic and modern Sonic being characters from different dimensions. I think it comes off as completely unnecessary as the idea of their being three Jokers. It also adds unnecessary complications to what should be a simple story. For the character, you create yourself, I find that not much freedom is given in the creation. Because of this, despite how creative you are, this character will simply come off as too nondescript. The fact that you character is not given much of a voice or a personality only adds to his blandness. Despite this the moves you are given as this character, make him fun to play as. 

Unfortunately, the storyline is a bit of a mess, despite a strong premise of Eggman having already won and Sonic and his friends being freedom fighters. This story gets bogged down with too many characters and unnecessary complications. Also, with how the storyline really builds up the danger and threat, the ending can't help but feel anti-climactic. This story feels like it is leading up to the biggest battle Sonic has faced yet, but it only leads up to a typical Sonic style climax. 

 Despite its flaws this is a fun game.