Sonic Forces | PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC "The Next Generations"

[Chris Knopps]

Sonic Forces.

Coming soon to consoles near you.

P.S.

F@$k Penders.

Signed

SEGA

[Dr. Detective]

1 hour ago, RictalRose0 said:

 Remember Chronicles ends on a cliffhanger with Sonic and Co. coming back to Earth to see Eggman has done something? And that time is slower on the twilight zone? That sounds like a continuation.

I promise you that if that lawsuit hadn't happened they wouldn't have even remembered Chronicles was a thing. 

[RictalRose0]

You're probably right. But it does sound really coincidental no? Who knows, Nakamura is kind of unpredictable.

[Chris Knopps]

1 minute ago, Dr. Chaotix said:

I promise you that if that lawsuit hadn't happened they wouldn't have even remembered Chronicles was a thing. 

No...

It was a combination of that AND the studio behind it kind of closing doors if I remember right... Something like that. Or the developers were absorbed into another company. Memory is fuzzy on that.

Kind of sad really. Same thing happened to the folks behind Sonic 4 too didn't it? (Or am I wrong on that too?)

If it wasn't for a combination of the lawsuit and the company behind the game vanishing or merging elsewhere, we probably would've seen a trilogy at the very least. It would have been nice to see Chronicles improved upon based on feedback.

(Unless you're the "f@%k Chronicles it could never be good!!" type)

[RictalRose0]

I kinda like Chronicles you know? The dialogue choices feel pretty weird at times for Sonic but everyone else was alright so. I wouldn't mind seeing a Sonic RPG again.

[Kuzu]

11 hours ago, Spooky Mulder said:

This is what happens when SEGA only gives us 45 seconds of footage.

Marketing for Sonic Forces is already a mess. I don't expect that the entire game is going to look like this brief clip, but knowing the fandom and knowing the general public skepticism towards Sonic, this doesn't seem like the right way to unveil the game.

Sonic going in a slightly more serious plot direction for a game is fine, but I still think the original teaser was remarkably un-self-aware. It invited inevitable comparisons to one of the most universally hated games in history, and then this clip offered almost nothing new while reinforcing fan fears that it will just be more of the same hold-boost-to-win gameplay.

Sonic Forces almost certainly won't be Sonic 06 and could very well offer new exciting gameplay mechanics, but the way it's being teased is contributing to paranoia about the game instead of generating hype. I'm personally glad to see footage, but for the sake of the franchise I kind of wish they had just held off until they were ready to show us what it really is we're working with here.

 

This and what Brainscratchcomms talked about in their recent coverage of Forces is probably why I'm so ambivalent toward the game as a whole. The marketing at the moment is a mess. 

There is so little to be excited about in this game because Sega have showed the bare minimum to get excited about. And what they have shown doesn't exactly give anybody who aren't people who were already fans of the series any reason to be interested. Like, if I was an average consumer who only had a passing interest in Sonic, I  would honestly see no reason to be interested in this game with what we know so far. 

As a Sonic fan, obviously I'm interested due to the brand name alone, but that shouldn't be enough to sell a video game and I think Sega expect far too much out of Sonic's name to sell a game instead of technical merits. Like, this game and Mania were revealed at the same time and look at what both games have revealed in that time since then.

 

Mania:

Re-imagined old levels.

At least 5 levels revealed. 

Additional playable characters.

60 FPS

Gameplay videos are revealed semi-consistently.

 

Forces:

Some dark and edgy setting.

9 Months of silence.

We can run in a straight line I guess.

Literally one gameplay video .

New engine...except we have no information on what exactly is "new" about it.

Three gameplay styles...except we've only seen one.

 

 

It's like Sega are just taking it for granted that people are going to be excited for this game just because it's Sonic, and while that may hold true for long time fans desperate for a new game, that's a pretty poor decision if you're trying to get mainstream appeal from the press. I like Sonic well enough, but at this point in my life, I'm more of a general gamer and not so easily swayed by brand loyalty, especially since Sega have done very little to earn my loyalty. So with that said, everything about Forces just gives me a resounding "meh" because there's nothing about it shown that I really care about. I'm sure this will change by E3, but it's still a pretty poor decision overall to have one your big titles shown with so little fanfare. 

Like, compare this game's marketing to Unleashed's 9 years ago, they're like night and day. They wanted that game to succeed, and you can tell; they had a site, consistently released footage and information. Shorts, and a balls off the wall amazing trailer at E3. It's like what happened to that type of aggressive marketing, because I sure would like to see it come back.

[Celestia]

To be honest I get the impression they only showed off as much as they did here (I know, less than a minute, but hear me out) for the same reason they announced "Project 2017" last year: to assure people that 3D Sonic is still a thing, despite the completely understandable focus on Mania right now*. They have the rest of the year to start telling us more and do everything they can to market the game, so I'm not really that bothered.

...That said I'm hoping they don't stay completely silent on the game until after Mania's out. And I would like to see an official site or something that has more details on stuff we already know. Hell, we don't even know that level's name.

*Since it's coming out first (knock on wood).

[TheLaw34]

1 hour ago, Kuzu the Boloedge said:

New engine...except we have no information on what exactly is "new" about it.

Except we do? They said it will have better global illumination along with screen space reflections and better post processing. Also, better optimized.

I don't know what else you would expect them to tell you about it without going into the nitty gritty with stuff nobody actually cares about.

[RictalRose0]

I guess they don't wanna blow their horn too soon? The Sega of today is not as confident as it was a decade ago. The backlash from 06 and the reception Unleashed got despite the effort that was put into it really sended them back for a while. They were playing it safe with Colors and Generations. But then Sonic Boom sent them back again, and now they have to re-gain the public's trust and their own confidence.

[Kuzu]

8 minutes ago, TheLaw34 said:

Except we do? They said it will have better global illumination along with screen space reflections and better post processing. Also, better optimized.

I don't know what else you would expect them to tell you about it without going into the nitty gritty with stuff nobody actually cares about.

Don't you think this is something they should show you and not simply telling. 

Like you said, going down into the nitty gritty would be boring ,so SHOW us this big graphical upgrade. It's like, saying there's this big fancy new engine without showing it off doesn't exactly ring for a whole lot of excitement.

[RictalRose0]

But you have it backwards. They didn't tell us anything, we just know because we saw the gameplay. Like that's the first thing we talked about "Oh look water and lighting looks much better". Anyway, i'm sure there will be more gameplay footage by next month.

[Ajavalo]

2 hours ago, Kuzu the Boloedge said:

This and what Brainscratchcomms talked about in their recent coverage of Forces is probably why I'm so ambivalent toward the game as a whole. The marketing at the moment is a mess. 

There is so little to be excited about in this game because Sega have showed the bare minimum to get excited about. And what they have shown doesn't exactly give anybody who aren't people who were already fans of the series any reason to be interested. Like, if I was an average consumer who only had a passing interest in Sonic, I  would honestly see no reason to be interested in this game with what we know so far. 

As a Sonic fan, obviously I'm interested due to the brand name alone, but that shouldn't be enough to sell a video game and I think Sega expect far too much out of Sonic's name to sell a game instead of technical merits. Like, this game and Mania were revealed at the same time and look at what both games have revealed in that time since then.

It's like Sega are just taking it for granted that people are going to be excited for this game just because it's Sonic, and while that may hold true for long time fans desperate for a new game, that's a pretty poor decision if you're trying to get mainstream appeal from the press. I like Sonic well enough, but at this point in my life, I'm more of a general gamer and not so easily swayed by brand loyalty, especially since Sega have done very little to earn my loyalty. So with that said, everything about Forces just gives me a resounding "meh" because there's nothing about it shown that I really care about. I'm sure this will change by E3, but it's still a pretty poor decision overall to have one your big titles shown with so little fanfare. 

Like, compare this game's marketing to Unleashed's 9 years ago, they're like night and day. They wanted that game to succeed, and you can tell; they had a site, consistently released footage and information. Shorts, and a balls off the wall amazing trailer at E3. It's like what happened to that type of aggressive marketing, because I sure would like to see it come back.

Judging by what they repeatedly said on the SxSW stream of quality being their main focus now, I really don't think they are too confident. They'll want to show their effort more than ever, Aaron Webber is constantly suggesting this.

The reason they aren't revealing too much stuff just yet is simply that, well, the game is still at least 8-9 months away, and they would run out of reveals along the way if they didn't hold back. And there's also a certain other game that comes out sooner and is now top priority.

Just before the panel, many weren't expecting so much info to come out on Sonic 2017! The gameplay we got is considered a substantial reveal at this time.

[Doctor MK]

Not sure if this will actually amount to anything, but potential mini-scoop - I was at the MCM Birmingham Comic Con yesterday and saw a panel with voice actor Vic Mignogna (current voice of E-123 Omega). Towards the end he rattled off a list of all the projects he's currently working on and, to my surprise, he mentioned Sonic. As far as I'm aware the only Sonic title in the works which has voice acting is Sonic Forces, so... Omega confirmed for Sonic Forces in some shape or form... maybe? Would make sense seeing as he hates Eggman and the whole game looks to be about bringing down his empire.

Failing that, it's probably safe to assume that Omega will appear in something in the near future. Unless Vic does any other Sonic characters I'm not aware of.

[Your Vest Friend]

Eh, theoretically it could also mean Mario and Sonic, but it's not like Omega is unlikely given what we already know about Forces. 

[RictalRose0]

If the Chaotix are here and game is about freakin' Eggman taking over the world then Omega of all people would have to show up. He hates Eggman's guts after all. I hope this means Team Dark is back too.

[JezMM]

9 hours ago, Kintor said:

I suppose that Lost World is still canonically the last Sonic game chronologically. What if time passes differently between Earth and the 'Lost Hex'? Maybe Eggman just got back home first and therefore had more time to try and conquer the world unopposed before Sonic returned?

 

(Which comes to think of it, sounds suspiciously like to premise of Transformers: Beast Machines...)

 

I know you were just throwing out a wild theory, but in this case, the fact that Sonic was in constant contact with Amy down on Earth for the whole game without any descrepincies would cause a plothole there.  Considering Generations' backstory started with "oh I found a big glowy cloud in space after the end of Sonic Colours" I wouldn't put it past them to do a throwback to the last game like this, but unless the Lost Hex is heavily involved in this game's plot again, it'd be kind of awkward to throw back to such a specific piece of lore as a major instigator for the plot that would just cause an unnecessary gap between the game's story and those who didn't play Lost World (as much as ANY kind of additional lore for wtf the lost hex is would be appreciated...).  Plus a lot of people really didn't like Lost World, hell you're a staunch advocate of that stance, so it'd be kinda lame to throw back to it as anything more than an episodic one-off story.

4 hours ago, Kuzu the Boloedge said:

Don't you think this is something they should show you and not simply telling. 

Like you said, going down into the nitty gritty would be boring ,so SHOW us this big graphical upgrade. It's like, saying there's this big fancy new engine without showing it off doesn't exactly ring for a whole lot of excitement.

The footage is pretty clearly prettier than Unleashed.  I mean DAMN that game holds up well of course, but compared side by side, Forces is miles more detailed in every department, framerate, scenery detail, reflections, ambient lighting, shadow clarity, background animation.  A heck of a lot going on that was only present in Unleashed to a much more limited degree.

[Jango]

Inb4 the game doesn't explain shit and you just roll with it. What the hell is the Lost Hex? What are the Deadly Six and where they came from? Why Sonic "forgot" how to boost in LW?...

I miss the days where Sonic Team would actually explain their stuff and engage the players...

[RictalRose0]

Those were the days before the Pontaff man. But i'm getting the feeling they're not back this time around. Or if they are, they might have finally got their stuff together and done some research. 

[Diogenes]

33 minutes ago, Jango said:

Why Sonic "forgot" how to boost in LW?...

I miss the days where Sonic Team would actually explain their stuff and engage the players...

Man when has any series ever cared about explaining the differences in a character's moveset between games.

[Wraith]

4 minutes ago, Diogenes said:

Man when has any series ever cared about explaining the differences in a character's moveset between games.

Feels like people are getting so nostalgic they're shitting on the modern games for things the earlier games did lol

Imagine how nice it would have been if we knew why Sonic stopped rolling.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

1 hour ago, Jango said:

Why Sonic "forgot" how to boost in LW?...

I miss the days where Sonic Team would actually explain their stuff and engage the players...

You do realize you're referring to the same series that had Sonic learn the light-speed dash in Adventure, only to have to re-learn it in Adventure 2 right?

I mean geez, lore can be important, but let's not go holding Sonic to a standard the series didn't really have in that regard, in the first place to begin with.

Besides, it'd be a double standard to claim he forgot how to boost when we don't even know "how" he finally could boost in Unleashed anyway. lol

[JezMM]

Sonic didn't use the boost in Lost World because of the precariousness of the Lost Hex's weird geometry and gravity that he'd never really dealt with before, bip bam boop headcanon'd.

But I agree that explaining gameplay details like that really doesn't matter lol.

[Sonictrainer]

I hope that in one level Eggman intercepts Sonic's communications and talks to Sonic like the PRs in Sonic Colors.

[McGroose]

I was initially disappointed by the gameplay, but I'm slowly beginning to like it after analyzing it more. I really fucking hate that the wisps are back, as there is really no reason for them to be back in the first place, but if they only serve a way to fill the boost meter, I'm perfectly fine with that. I liked that Sonic Colors did not let Sonic recharge his boost on Rings, but by wisps instead. Unfortunately, It's pretty damn likely that all of the wisps, or at least several, are coming back. I also like the lack of 2D that I'm seeing, as that's been my biggest gripe with the 3D games so far. I doubt that Modern Sonic's sections are going to all be 3D, but I at least hope that Sonic Team really lowers their usage of 2D for Modern Sonic. There also seems to be a decent mix between platforming and the more linear boost sections, so that's nice at least.

I really love the art style with this game, as well as some of the aesthetic choices. I like how Modern Sonic's boost pad is the classic design now permanently, and I like the color pallate and art style as a whole. My main gripe with the art style is centered around the Badniks. What the fuck did Sega do to the Badniks? I like the flying bug-type one, but the one designed like the Egg Pawn is just awful. I even like the Egg pawn design from Unleashed more. It just looks so... bland? I can't really figure out the best way to describe it.

Overall, Mania is my game for 2017 as far as Sonic is concerned but I really like what I'm seeing here. I've stopped being such a nitpicky fuck about Sonic a while ago,  I really just don't think it's worth it anymore. My complaints are really insignificant to me in the long run. The game looks really fun to play, and I'll definitely buy it and like it. Hope we get some Classic gameplay eventually.

[Diogenes]

10 minutes ago, McGroose said:

I also like the lack of 2D that I'm seeing, as that's been my biggest gripe with the 3D games so far. I doubt that Modern Sonic's sections are going to all be 3D, but I at least hope that Sonic Team really lowers their usage of 2D for Modern Sonic.

2D sections for Modern Sonic have already been confirmed I think, and I doubt they're going to lean on them any less.

10 minutes ago, McGroose said:

There also seems to be a decent mix between platforming and the more linear boost sections, so that's nice at least.

What platforming have you even seen? All Sonic does is boost and chain homing attacks.