Sonic Forces (Switch) Review

It’s hard to describe Sonic Forces in a way other than somewhat of a mess. A mess I enjoyed, but a mess nonetheless. When Sega revealed the game during the series’ 25th-anniversary event in 2016, there were certain elements they had used as the groundwork to build up a lot of hype.

“Everyone loves Sonic Colours and Sonic Generations, right? Then you’re going to love what we’ve got next!” was the vibe they were selling. Unfortunately, Forces fails to live up to the quality of those games, while also blundering any attempt to create a unique identity for itself, resulting in a disappointingly forgettable journey.

The game boosts you throughout its campaign at a blisteringly quick pace (not unlike Sonic himself) and this winds up doing neither the player or the game any favours. Despite having one of the most absurd plots I’ve witnessed from any game this year, it all takes itself very seriously – which is fine! Having a dumb plot can totally work, but really only if it’s executed well. Most of the games in the series are known for having silly stories but still manage to have heart and soul to them. That’s a big reason why people still remember the Sonic Adventure games fondly to this day.

It’s odd. Forces boasts a world-threatening plot. It keeps telling the audience about how terrifying Eggman is this time around, and how the heroes might actually lose. My problem is exactly that. It tells but doesn’t show. Many of the cutscenes are relegated to short textbox dialogue exchanges before and after playing stages. It feels like it doesn’t commit to any of its ideas either. Any issues the heroes face are resolved in the span of minutes, which often left me wondering why my original avatar was even here in this situation.

This really baffles me, since the avatar is arguably Forces’ biggest selling point. The game keeps telling the player how important they are when it comes to saving the world, but does such a poor job at convincingly conveying that. A lot of the time your character is just kind of there, leaving me wondering why Sonic’s even calling me his partner.

Story aside, as a platformer, Forces falls flat on its face more times than I can count. The controls and physics are the clunkiest they’ve ever felt in the modern 3D Sonic era and more often than not, I would catch myself audibly muttering “hey, that wasn’t fair” during many of my deaths. Sonic feels heavier and more slippery than ever before, leading to some incredibly awkward platforming. This is especially an issue in the many 2D sections present throughout. I’m pretty sure there are more 2D parts than 3D, actually. It makes me wonder if the designers just weren’t confident in their 3D design, that they defaulted to something that they felt more comfortable with.

If that’s honestly the case, then that… didn’t exactly work out, either. The times the game would shift to 2D also turned out to be the parts I enjoyed the least. Over the course of the past few games, Sonic Team has made a habit of making Sonic really small for the 2D components, and boy, it’s more noticeable than ever here in Forces (especially during handheld mode). With many of the backgrounds being extremely cluttered, it can be almost impossible to see either Sonic or your avatar character at times. Losing track of them can be easy, so when you pair this with the problematic physics that I mentioned earlier – I’m sure you can imagine exactly how this becomes so frustrating.

Speaking of 2D, a head-scratching decision is the inclusion of Classic Sonic. His stages don’t particularly add anything to the game, especially after Sonic Mania earlier this year. The levels aren’t anywhere near as good, and Sonic himself just feels… wrong. The uncomfortable weight from Modern Sonic also applies here, causing Classic Sonic to often lose speed, even after speeding down steep ramps. It’s really disappointing. Going from the sprawling playgrounds of Mania to the straightforward, uninteresting Classic stages in Forces really puts a stain on this game. They’re definitely the weakest part of the entire package, and I really wish that Sonic Team avoided shoehorning them in and focused on making everything else better.

If you can get used to all the clunkiness, you’ll likely experience shimmers of some really great level design. “Some” being the key word here. While there are a lot of fun ideas that the game plays with, it feels like they all end just when it feels like you’re getting into it. Some levels will start with a promising bang, before calling it a day, just a minute or two later. By the end of the shockingly short campaign, I had largely forgotten most of the stages that I’d played. Even after replaying all of them multiple times to achieve S rank, I unfortunately still can’t remember too much more.

I don’t want it to sound like I’m just ripping the game apart, though! There are definitely elements I really loved in my time with the game. The soundtrack is absolutely wonderful, dipping into genres the games haven’t seen up until this point. For the avatar stages, you’ll be hearing a lot of trance/EDM-style tracks (packed with some extremely cheesy and beautiful vocal work). So many of these have gotten stuck in my head and will be for years to come. I just can feel it. However, the Classic Sonic soundtrack leaves a lot to be desired after the incredible soundtrack we received from Tee Lopes in the release of Sonic Mania.

Customising your avatar is also loads of fun. I found myself replaying every stage multiple times, and pushing myself to complete more of the many missions the game provides in order to unlock more clothing and accessory options for my character. I was initially worried that it would be tough to make my custom avatar feel truly unique, but was quickly surprised to see just how many options there are for you to discover.

Performance-wise, the game runs at a smooth 30fps at 720p resolution, both docked and handheld. I personally had no issue with it (then again, I’m not usually one who notices frame rate in the first place). It especially looks pretty damn gorgeous during handheld play, which is how I spent most of my time with the game. The other versions of the game target 60fps, so it really just comes down to personal preference. I can definitely guarantee that the Switch version runs great, though!

The weirdest part of this is that after everything I’ve said throughout this review, I still really enjoyed Sonic Forces. I’ll probably revisit it from time to time and make more characters, replay more stages, and collect more red rings. I don’t fully understand it myself, but I guess when it comes down to it, Forces isn’t a terrible game. It’s just not particularly a good one, either.

In a year full of gourmet dishes, sometimes you just crave a little bit of junk food. Sonic Forces is that junk food. Quick, easy to consume, and fails to leave a lasting effect. You might feel a little gross afterwards, but you’ll probably go for more later anyway.

Rating: 2.5 / 5