Sonic the Hedgehog hasn’t had the most speedy career in recent times. Sega’s blue mascot has seen more bad than good since his debut in 1991, so naturally every modern entry in the series is met with plenty of cautious optimism. Sonic Forces promised to take the iconic hedgehog back to his roots while giving fans a refreshing new spin on who you’ll be playing as this time. The results are mostly positive, and luckily Sonic Forces packs enough charm and fun factor to overlook a few glaring issues that really hold it back from being one of the best modern Sonic experiences.

Sonic Forces’ story is pretty standard for any Sonic game. Dr. Eggman, along with a handful of new villains, aim to take over the world, and it’s up to Sonic and his team to stop him in his tracks before it's too late. The game introduces the new character, Infinite, a far more superior version of Sonic that uses telekinesis, and happens to be much faster than our hero. While his inclusion in the story isn’t necessarily underplayed, he still feels a bit like wasted potential given his extraordinary abilities. Thankfully, his boss encounters are unique and among some of the most exciting in the whole game, such as dodging incoming attacks while running along the body of a giant snake in the forest, among the other great boss battle settings.



Sonic Forces introduces a new character creation feature that allows players to create and fully customize their own member of the Sonic team. I initially thought this was going to be somewhat of a gimmick, but upon spending around fifteen minutes creating my character and completing a few stages, I was immediately shown the magnitude of this new feature. Every stage completed unlocks a plethora of customization items, including jackets, glasses, shoes, body suits, and tons of other great cosmetics. By the end, it was absolutely staggering to see just how many customization options there were as a whole – something I did not expect at all in a Sonic game. The customization is deep, but it never feels needlessly complex either. It gives players just enough freedom to experiment with purely aesthetic looks, and seeing your created character in action during cutscenes is pretty endearing. The downside to this is just how underused your character is. At least half of the games stages has you bouncing between your own character and Sonic, and by the end, it feels like the effort put into your character is ultimately meaningless.

The game's level design is both a strength and weakness in the overall experience. Some levels are lovingly crafted and serve as great throwbacks to Sonic’s early 90s boom years, especially when assuming the role of the classic retro-Sonic design (now given the 3D treatment), but the stages end far too quickly, just as they feel like they’re about to gain momentum. You can complete a stage in just under 3 minutes if you simply push forward on your left analogue stick and follow on-screen prompts for boosts and occasional platforming sections. Luckily there is a bit of replay value to each stage, though. There’s plenty of hidden paths, collectibles, and red stars to obtain that can easily be breezed over in a quick run, so the game encourages repeated playthroughs to really unlock all of its secrets.



Some paths can only be unlocked with weapons called wispons, which differ in abilities and stats. A lightning gun unleashes a whip of electricity that’s great for clearing out large crowds of enemies, but can also attach itself to high objects that were previously out of reach, while the Hover gun fires large bursts of sound waves that can easily blow away enemies or knock down heavier platforms (I like to call it the “Fus Roh Dah” gun). Each weapon is unique, balanced, and great to control, putting a lot of firepower into your speedy movement. The problem is that these weapons are only limited to your custom character, and while they are heaps of fun to play around with, it’s unfortunate that the game cuts back to Sonic so often, and ends up becoming a bit of an annoyance after a while. There are a few stages where your character and Sonic team up and combine their skills for maximum carnage, making the best of both worlds.

At times, Sonic Forces feels like a game that never got the chance to take off into greatness territory. A large part of the problem is just how unforgivably short the game actually is. You can complete all 30 of the main stages in just under 4 hours, and additional side missions and objectives only pad out the journey by an extra hour or so before it becomes repetitive. Trying to run a perfect S-rank on each stage can be a bit tricky (and frighteningly addictive), and makes a compelling enough argument to return to the levels, but it offers very little after the credits roll. There’s simply not enough content here to sink over half a dozen hours into, but at only half of the full retail price, it’s not exactly a blow to your wallet either. There is still plenty of genuine fun to be had across the board.

Sonic Forces’ graphics are par for the course in the character model department. Sonic and his pals are all decently animated and the levels and backgrounds are detailed enough for both its side-scrolling and on-the-rails segments, but they aren’t going to win any awards. Throughout my run of the game, I never once encountered any glaring drops in framerate or jittering animations, which is surprising for a game that moves at such a relentless speed almost constantly. The sound department is a mixed bag. On one hand, the voice acting work is atrocious, and plenty of awkward, poorly scripted one-liners deflate any tension whatsoever, but the soundtrack deserves a special mention. The songs are a mix of classic 8-bit Sonic remixes and modern, infectious pop-rock that elevated the game by several notches. I found myself nodding along to a lot of the catchy tunes without realizing it.



Sonic Forces is one of the most charming and addictive entries in the series to date. With plenty of colorful energy, a great new character creation feature, and catchy soundtrack, it ultimately won me over in the end, despite its flaws. The game still suffers from the same issues that plagued previous, less well-received Sonic titles such as the disappointingly short length of the game and certain aspects that were never fully explored, but it is a new Sonic adventure that’s worth your time if you’re simply looking for a fun way to spend your Sunday afternoon.