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funkydoommachine · 7 years

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Sonic Forces Review: Stop Comparing it to Mania

So I recently played Sonic Forces on the PS4, and while I did enjoy it, there were some things about it I have to address, as well as some other things around it.

Spoilers contained, so press on if you either finished the story or don’t care about spoilers.

STORY

Alright, so the basic plot is this; Eggman is so fed up with Sonic beating him that he ‘gets serious’ and unleashed a brand new weapon on the world. Sonic is called to action during an attack and this new weapon, named Infinite, goes Brock Lesnar on Sonic and beats him. We’re next told (through text) that Eggman had easily taken over the world with Sonic out of the way, and for the past six months an underground resistance has formed to try and take the world back. So Sonic (who is actually alive, gasp), the Avatar (I’ll get into this later), and Classic Sonic (for whatever reason he’s here too) have to work together to defeat Eggman and bring the world back to peace.

The plot isn’t really groundbreaking, but this is Sonic the Hedgehog, I’m not expecting George RR Martin levels of writing. The plot is simple enough, the dialogue is nice and cheesy (and lacking in any PS2-era Shadow the Hedgehog angst). It’s a dumb little ride and I enjoyed it, even if it was a little short and I would have liked to see more cutscenes instead of text windows.

CHARACTERS

If you ask me, the characters are at their best written and performed in Forces. The voices match the characters perfectly (Vector is up for debate) and their lines are delightfully corny. Eggman has gone back to his roots of ‘legitimate threat who is quite menacing with only a little humour’ instead of the complete joke he’s been presented as for the last few games before. Sonic still has his 90s cool kid wit, and to be honest I’m fine with it. It’s how I know Sonic, and I’d rather have this instead of some bland edgelord. And speaking of bland edgelords, even Shadow is better performed this time, with Kirk Thornton giving him much more emotion and even a few sassy lines here and there in his DLC.

The game’s main villain is Infinite, a jackal who was head of a mercenary squad before turning full on edgelord with (surprisingly cool) virtual reality powers provided by the Phantom Ruby. He’s edgy to the point of parody, and you can tell that’s what the team was going for when creating him, and you can’t help but enjoy the copious amounts of teenage angst that ooze out of him like he was sweating a Simple Plan album.

But the star of the show, and the main selling point of the game, is the Avatar. Your OC. The newest member of the resistance. The Avatar only speaks in vocal grunts, but is actually a very important part of the plot, and the holds the key to defeating Infinite in the form of a Phantom Ruby shard which messes up his powers. I’ll get more into the OC below.

Some levels, when you beat them, will occasionally have an SOS signal coming from them. These are extra missions that require you to either take control of another player’s Avatar or to rescue a fellow resistance member. These aren’t mandatory of course, only for a bit of extra challenge and experience. Bonus levels also pop up depending on how well you do, and you can also beat them for extra accessories. Neato.

GAMEPLAY

The gameplay is the standard fair it’s been for the past few instalments, with a lot of Boost2Win, but it’s not nearly as bad as it used to be. Modern Sonic’s levels are quite varied, with different paths depending on how skilled and eagle-eyed you are. Boosting (which is provided by Wisps and defeating enemies in Forces) is a double-edged sword, where you’re penalised for using it in the wrong areas and not paying attention. You can tell when you’re allowed to boost since Wisp pods will be provided, but even then it’s still a blast to just rush through and plow down enemies like toilet roll.

As I mentioned earlier, Classic Sonic is back. I have no idea why they brought him back, but here he is. And to be honest, it’s as shoehorned as it sounds. The gameplay for Classic is pretty janky, with floaty jumps making some parts of platforming difficult to navigate. The speed boost doesn’t last nearly as long from what I’ve noticed, the drowning countdown has shortened to the point where an asthmatic could hold their breath longer than him, and to be honest he slows down from high speed very quickly. I mean I guess he still has the Mania jump dash (oh yeah, forgot to mention this Classic Sonic is the Sonic from Mania, because for some reason they had to tie the two games together).

After beating the first level, you have the opportunity of creating your own character, choosing between a dog, wolf, rabbit, bird, cat, bear, or hedgehog (guess which one is popular amongst kids and memers), with each species actually having its own unique perk, such as birds having a double jump and wolves able to attract nearby rings like a Sonic 3 thunder shield. As you beat levels you collect more clothing and accessories for your donut steel, and achieving S-ranks and completing side missions nets you even more stuff. There’s even an experience system for each species, which gets you even more accessories. The OC controls quite well, with responsive controls and opting for a grappling hook attack instead of a homing attack, and the lack of a jump attack is replaced by Wispons; weaponized Wisps that you can swap out on the fly before each level. There’s a wide variety of Wispons, including Burst that fires a flamethrower attack and allows a frequent jump when powered up, and a lightning one that uses an electric whip attack and lets you use the ring dash. Completing side quests unlocks Wispons with side-effects, including a shield and starting with rings. Changing Wispons is required for different paths and collectables. In some levels, Sonic and the Avatar will team up and you can control between the two simultaneously, combining their powers to create Captain Planet get through different challenges. Some parts include a Double Boost section, which after a quick button mash, lets you plow through enemies while cheesy butt rock cheers you on.

MUSIC

One thing many can agree on is that the only consistently good part about Sonic games is the soundtrack, and Forces is no exception. The theme song, Fist Bump, is a delightfully upbeat and corny butt rock tune that you can’t help but smile when you listen to. Especially if you’re a Hoobastank fan. Infinite’s theme song (named, well, Infinite), performed by Dangerkids, is Ow the Edge in all the best ways. The nu-metal inspired track includes lyrics talking about how cool and awesome Infinite is, and it’s so hilariously catchy that you’ll likely fall in love with it unironically.

Modern Sonic’s music ranges from techno and dubstep-inspired beats to full-on punk rock chords that many fans know the 3D games for. Tempo and tone change depending on which part of the stage you’re on, which I love.

Classic Sonic, which once again goes for a chiptune-feel, is also enjoyable... for the most part. Green Hill’s bleeping goes so high at some points that it’s almost uncomfortable to listen to, but the tunes are all catchy and memorable.

The Avatar’s music, my personal favourite, opts for more techno and D&B inspired tracks, which include lyrics that reflect your poor Coldsteel’s thoughts while rushing through that particular stage. I love these ones, they’re a welcome change and it’s not all the time you get lyrics during an action stage, making me remember the good times of City Escape.

PROS AND CONS

I know I’ve mostly been singing this game’s praises so far, but of course it definitely has its flaws. But the game does try to make up for them.

The story, and the levels, feel far too short compared to previous titles. There are thirty stages, not including bonus levels, and a lot of them feel like they were beaten in a flash. When you know what you’re doing, you can beat most of them in circa 2 minutes each. Granted, the levels were designed by newcomers to the format, and for their (I assume) first go, they did quite well. Plenty of branching paths and secrets to look for, and the secret/bonus levels provide plenty of challenge.

The Avatar creation leaves a bit to be desired, being unable to combine some accessories or change the colour of others, opting for just having a different set colour for the same thing. But again, this is the first time we’ve had this on an official Sonic game, and for the first try, I’m satisfied. Adding side-effects for species and Wispons provides plenty of replay value to make up for the short story.

The villains of the game are made up of Eggman, Infinite, Chaos from Adventure, Zavok from Lost World, Metal Sonic and Shadow. The last four are actually virtual reality projections created by Infinite’s powers, which I thought was a nice twist in the story instead of just having them brainwashed or whatever, but my gripe is you don’t get to fight Chaos or Shadow. It’s a shame, considering how fun they were to fight in previous titles, but the bosses we do have provide fun challenge. The final boss (Eggman in a giant robot, because thank god Eggman is actually the last boss again instead of Infinite hijacking the finale as all-powerful allies of Eggers tend to do) is a three-stage fight compiled of tactics mirroring previous bosses. Though I see this as the previous bosses warming you up for the finale, and the final boss did provide plenty of challenge. And in good Sonic fashion, you’re rewarded for using your abilities carefully and in the right moments in the form of doing more damage and a faster completion time.

FINAL WORD

As short as the main story was, Sonic Forces provides plenty of replay value in the form of extra challenges and character types that challenge you to find all the collectables and get all the S-ranks, which you are rewarded for with more things to bling out your Sonichu with. I still haven’t completely beaten it yet, despite having beaten the story in a few hours. Plus the DLC will be free, and for a AAA title, its RRP is pretty reasonable. I’d definitely recommend it if you’re a fan of the 3D stuff.

Now if we could stop comparing this game to a 2D platformer starring the same character but plays and looks completely differently and was made by a completely different team, that would be lovely.

People aren’t comparing Mario Odyssey to Super Mario Maker, so stop doing it here please.

FINAL SCORE

7 Chili Dogs out of 10

#sonic forces #sonic mania #sonic forces review #jonno reviews

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