Sonic Forces Reviews Thread

[Meta77]

26 minutes ago, Yeow said:

That's the IGN Italy review, here's the Spain review: http://es.ign.com/sonic-forces-ps4/125380/review/sonic-forces-analisis-multiplataforma

Raging Gazebo review: "New allies, same old tricks"

Score: C+

GamesRadar review: "A short game of short levels, yet desperately short of real ideas"

Score: 2.5/5

----

Current aggregate metascores:

OpenCritic: 54 "Weak" (10 reviews)

Metacritic: 55 (Switch, 6 reviews), 53 (PS4, 7 reviews)

Ok even I'll say hot bullshit on that. Listen mania good but it's a negative era game made for systems that can run games like wolfenstin in 4k fresh. Saying it's a game made for real gamers? Like seriously? My 4 year old nephew beat mania. Though I had to explain what to do on metals second part. The bias is strong in many of these reviews. Releasing 2 games in the same year was just bad. Granted forces dies have faults namly the controls

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Jim Sterling's review - 

He enjoyed it. No score as Jim has said he's done with traditional reviews.

[Milo]

Trusted Reviews review.

Quote

Like Sonic? Play Sonic Mania. Played Sonic Mania? Play it some more. While Sonic Forces looks fantastic, it’s one of the least engaging games in the entire series. True, it doesn't have the broken controls or half-witted camera of the worst examples, but there’s very little here to actually play, enjoy or discover – bar a cool custom character designer and a whole bunch of costumes to unlock.

Pros: Excellent graphics; fun custom character creation

Cons: Unengaging on-rails gameplay; short, forgettable levels; no sense of escalating challenge; tiresome, incoherent story

Score: 2.5/5

[Lord-Dreamerz]

25 minutes ago, Meta77 said:

Ok even I'll say hot bullshit on that. Listen mania good but it's a negative era game made for systems that can run games like wolfenstin in 4k fresh. Saying it's a game made for real gamers? Like seriously? My 4 year old nephew beat mania. Though I had to explain what to do on metals second part. The bias is strong in many of these reviews. Releasing 2 games in the same year was just bad. Granted forces dies have faults namly the controls

Mania is just a good game period. Being a retro style game doesn't hurt that nor should it be excluded on current gen consoles just because it doesn't have modern graphics.. Sonic Forces deserves most of the bashing it's getting from many of the reviews, it's not a great Sonic game... it's a alright one at best, and its controls are far from the game's only problems. No hate on people who enjoy it, but that doesn't mean the reviewers are overly bias or wrong on most of it just because it can still be a fun game regardless of it's problems to people.

[Badnik Mechanic]

40 minutes ago, Meta77 said:

Ok even I'll say hot bullshit on that. Listen mania good but it's a negative era game made for systems that can run games like wolfenstin in 4k fresh. Saying it's a game made for real gamers? Like seriously? My 4 year old nephew beat mania. Though I had to explain what to do on metals second part. The bias is strong in many of these reviews. Releasing 2 games in the same year was just bad. Granted forces dies have faults namly the controls

 

Well go on then.

List every review here that's obviously biased and the reasons why so we can examine this conspiracy.

[Meta77]

31 minutes ago, Lord-Dreamerz said:

Mania is just a good game period. Being a retro style game doesn't hurt that nor should it be excluded on current gen consoles just because it doesn't have modern graphics.. Sonic Forces deserves most of the bashing it's getting from many of the reviews, it's not a great Sonic game... it's a alright one at best, and its controls are far from the game's only problems. No hate on people who enjoy it, but that doesn't mean the reviewers are overly bias or wrong on most of it just because it can still be a fun game regardless of it's problems to people.

I'll give you that yes the controls are very shity to me bit seeing someone say a fan tribute to a game style from the 90s as a real gamers game is silly just silly and sad.  Nor the 2.5 from I think metro?  Saying basically they enjoyed the game and it was beautiful  but it being short and controls hurt it. No I'm not saying don't bash it. Bash away. I toss money at what I want regardless it's just the wording on many reviews is just bad

Mayor . Same as ^^^

I meant to add the games veryyyyyyyyyyyy far from perfect it barely gets a 7 in my book . Just reviews are just poor in my taste

Edited November 8, 2017 by Meta77

[Gabz Girl]

So it seems that Sonic Forces is getting very middling to mediocre reviews from critics, but Sonic fans seem to be enjoying it or find it just okay. Who knows, if I try it out I might end up getting some enjoyment out of it too! I’d still be disappointed with the short length, most of the soundtrack, the

copy pasta final boss

and lacklustre story though, but for a short burst of fun it’s alright I suppose.

But I still can’t believe this game took four years to make! Can you imagine waiting another four years for yet another Sonic game of middling quality? I sure can’t, and I hope that doesn’t happen. Whatever they work on next has to be amazing!  

[Meta77]

4 minutes ago, Gabz Girl said:

So it seems that Sonic Forces is getting very middling to mediocre reviews from critics, but Sonic fans seem to be enjoying it or find it just okay. Who knows, if I try it out I might end up getting some enjoyment out of it too! I’d still be disappointed with the short length, most of the soundtrack, the

  Reveal hidden contents

copy pasta final boss

and lacklustre story though, but for a short burst of fun it’s alright I suppose.

But I still can’t believe this game took four years to make! Can you imagine waiting another four years for yet another Sonic game of middling quality? I sure can’t, and I hope that doesn’t happen. Whatever they work on next has to be amazing!  

It didn't take 4 years it took 2 of men arguing about ideas and 1 half of reprogramming and the rest for ordering hooter merchandise.  I wish 4 went into full programming and testing

[dbzfan7]

https://digitalcentralmedia.net/2017/11/07/sonic-forces-review/

Spoiler

Overall I liked this game. It’s fun for the most part, the music and graphics are nice and it’s better than the past 3D Sonic games in recent years. I’m actually going to recommend this game. It’s a good game for it’s price. It’s not the perfect Sonic game and it’s clear Sega is still confused on what to do with this Blue Hedgehog but for what’s it’s worth I thought they at least “tried” with this game. I’m still waiting for the perfect 3D Sonic game and hopefully, it will come out soon or never. Who knows. 

75%

75/100

 

[Milo]

ProGamer review: 6/10

Quote

I see what the Sonic Team are trying to do here. Give something the fans would like to do, get them involved in the game and story but change very little, cause you know, it’s Sonic, Sonic works well as it is, but I just find that it needs something, it needs to be different from the others, you can’t keep pushing the same style of game out. [...] I won’t say I disliked the game, I’m even thinking about jumping back in for an hour to get the full potential out of the game and my character. I see what the Sonic Team are trying to do here, they’re giving back and listening to die hard fans. This is where it will shine and sell the most. If you are a huge Sonic fan, this game is for you. It doesn’t revolutionise Sonic but it gives something back to you.

The Good: Character creation, story

The Bad: Repetitive, easy boss battles, nothing new

 

[ShadowSJG]

What went wrong with the gameplay? 

I don't get it. Classic is classic and modern is like colors/generations/unleashed. How did this game go wrong with that?

[Badnik Mechanic]

1 hour ago, Meta77 said:

I'll give you that yes the controls are very shity to me bit seeing someone say a fan tribute to a game style from the 90s as a real gamers game is silly just silly and sad.  Nor the 2.5 from I think metro?  Saying basically they enjoyed the game and it was beautiful  but it being short and controls hurt it. No I'm not saying don't bash it. Bash away. I toss money at what I want regardless it's just the wording on many reviews is just bad

Mayor . Same as ^^^

I meant to add the games veryyyyyyyyyyyy far from perfect it barely gets a 7 in my book . Just reviews are just poor in my taste

So there is no bias then.

[Nicky Nicardo]

I really do wonder how I'm going to feel about this game when I finally get my hands on it. Unlike most of the people here, I'm an /extremely/ casual Sonic fan who hasn't sat down and played a Sonic game since Sonic Adventure 2 back when it came out (the old Genesis games were my LIFE as a child, though). A lot of the complaints about the controls and comparisons to Colors/Generations/Lost World don't mean much to me because I haven't experienced those games myself... so I really wonder if me being so 'new' to the type of controls in Forces will mean that I won't find them so bothersome or clunky like a lot of people do.

Plus, looking at the very middling reviews that it's getting... actually makes me think that I might like it more than the general consensus does - I've found that when a game or movie or whatever is considered 'meh' by most people, I usually end up enjoying it just fine OR really loving it and wondering what the heck people were complaining about.

And the avatar customization and fanservice aspect of creating my own character and 'being in' the world of Sonic is the main draw for me to this game, and from what I've seen so far... that looks like I'm really gonna have fun with Forces.

I just know that I WISH I could get my hands on the game now to see for myself, but alas, I must wait. xDD

[Meta77]

14 minutes ago, Mayor D said:

So there is no bias then.

I guess not lol blame my wording

[knuckles20]

1 hour ago, Mayor D said:

 

Well go on then.

List every review here that's obviously biased and the reasons why so we can examine this conspiracy.

The easiest way would be to point out the reviews who bash Sonic’s friends for existing.

[KHCast]

2 hours ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

Jim Sterling's review - 

He enjoyed it. No score as Jim has said he's done with traditional reviews.

Apparently to him Classic Sonic feels fine...and the best part of the game? Really? After mania you'd think he'd be more critical of its gameplay. He really glosses over a lot of the complaints it seems, and just treads over the bare basics. Either way I totally called him liking it while everyone else slams it. Which it's fine for him to like, but...the whys confuse me, especially when in past games he'd go into more detail about how the game controls, music, level design, etc. doesn't seem to do that at all here

[Badnik Mechanic]

4 minutes ago, knuckles20 said:

The easiest way would be to point out the reviews who bash Sonic’s friends for existing.

So a review which doesn't like the game and says they don't like Sonic's friends conspired to give the game a low score? 

[Meta77]

23 minutes ago, KHCast said:

Apparently to him Classic Sonic feels fine...? Really? After mania you'd think he'd be more critical of its gameplay. Either way I totally called him liking it while everyone else slams it 

Wow him liked it. I enjoy his content and this made me double take but good for him. I just want some more dlc like a boss gauntlet

 

 

[MudHunter]

Kotaku

https://kotaku.com/sonic-forces-the-kotaku-review-1820261612/

tldr it's very stupid but fun

 

[Milo]

Kotaku review. Reviewer considers it flawed but fun:

Quote

Sonic Forces is messy. The story is a jumble of references and nearly incoherent plot points while the level design is scattered and frequently undermined by conceptual flaws. Messy games just aren’t always the worst. This game plays out with so much infectious energy and excitement that it’s hard not to smile while playing it. It’s not very polished but Sonic Forces manages to find excitement in spite of rough edges. It’s a playable Saturday morning cartoon: silly, janky but for a brief period of time, a fun distraction.

Likes: Fun character customization, goofy plot, and a great sense of speed.

Dislikes: Level design leaves a lot to be desired, uninspired boss battles. It has a lot of fun ideas but never pulls them off well.

Nintendo Enthusiast review: 6.5/10

Quote

Sonic Forces isn’t the next Super Mario Odyssey that some Sonic fans wanted, but I don’t think it’s fair to think it was going to be. I think many got their expectations set too high, and when the game was announced at $39.99 brand new, I knew what to expect: an average, decent 3D Sonic game. And honestly, that’s what you are getting here. It’s not a great game, but it’s solid. It looks nice, plays smooth, and the gameplay variety is solid. It’s an average 3D Sonic game at a budget price, and that’s not really a bad thing.

Pros: Looks good; interesting gameplay variety; character customization is solid; budget price

Cons: A bit too easy and short; maybe TOO MUCH gameplay variety; nothing new

 

[SpongicX]

I beat the game. About 12 Hours In, and I still feel mixed, and kind of let down by the game. I really wanted to love this game, but it was honestly a mess. The story felt unfocused and had a lot of wasted potential. I did enjoy the war sequence towards the end, but it bummed me out how they barely showed it. We saw every character pull off one attack, and that was kind of cool, but then it swaps the focus to something else.

I would have loved to see more cutscenes of the others in action, there weren’t enough in the game. There was too much chatter with the characters, but no action or fun visuals to go with it. For a game called “Forces”, there was very little shown of Sonic’s Forces. This game was the perfect opportunity to give them all a chance to shine, but they were wasted. There was too much focus on Sonic, avatar, Classic Sonic, and Tails doing nothing.  

Tails literally did nothing during the final act… (Or the whole dang game for that matter…) I couldn’t stand Tails in this game. How could they do this to one of my favorite characters? They constantly showed him as a coward who expected Sonic to do everything for him. He was just a useless cheer leader. While the others weren’t in the game much, at least they were shown doing something useful. The ending was kind of cheesy to be honest, and felt a little too rushed and unexplained. I will admit I loved the song that played during the credits though, I just wish it played over something a little more deserving. 

While there is still a lot of Avatar costumes to unlock upon beating the game, it is kind of annoying to navigate through previous levels to try unlocking them. The World Select map is a crowded mess. I wish there was a simple level select, instead of this crowded 360 degree globe. It worked better for Sonic Unleashed, since it only had about 8 levels on it’s globe map, but Sonic Forces has 30 levels plus extra unlockable stages, and it really makes it overwhelming, and some times confusing to try looking for a particular level. There are times where I just want to go back to the metropolis level as Avatar for instance, but it takes too long to find that dang level, since all the icons look alike, and are scattered everywhere. I wish there was a way to divide the levels between Modern Sonic, Classic Sonic, and Avatar.

It is nice that beating the game allows you to create 11 additional custom avatars, and allow to try out the others species in the game. I wish there weren’t so many avatar costumes that were exclusively unlocked through certain challenges though. With how frustrating the game’s controls are, it makes trying to beat certain levels a bigger pain than it needs to be. It’s a good thing this game doesn’t have lives, because it would suck to get game overs, because of unresponsive controls. 

The game did surprisingly get a bit challenging during the last few levels, but I mostly feel it was challenging due to the controls and physics, and not because of the obstacles themselves. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say this to trash Sonic, or upset the fans. I am a huge Sonic fan, and I really wanted to like this game, but it has too many flaws. While there are a few parts I liked, overall, I found the game to be a great big let down. At least it was a $40 game, instead of a full priced mess, but it still doesn’t excuse the game for feeling so messy in both story, gameplay, and execution. Hopefully the 2 part finale to Sonic Boom will be a little more exciting than this underwhelming game that took 4 years to make.

[ShadowSJG]

7 minutes ago, SpongicX said:

I beat the game. About 12 Hours In, and I still feel mixed, and kind of let down by the game. I really wanted to love this game, but it was honestly a mess. The story felt unfocused and had a lot of wasted potential. I did enjoy the war sequence towards the end, but it bummed me out how they barely showed it. We saw every character pull off one attack, and that was kind of cool, but then it swaps the focus to something else.

I would have loved to see more cutscenes of the others in action, there weren’t enough in the game. There was too much chatter with the characters, but no action or fun visuals to go with it. For a game called “Forces”, there was very little shown of Sonic’s Forces. This game was the perfect opportunity to give them all a chance to shine, but they were wasted. There was too much focus on Sonic, avatar, Classic Sonic, and Tails doing nothing.  

Tails literally did nothing during the final act… (Or the whole dang game for that matter…) I couldn’t stand Tails in this game. How could they do this to one of my favorite characters? They constantly showed him as a coward who expected Sonic to do everything for him. He was just a useless cheer leader. While the others weren’t in the game much, at least they were shown doing something useful. The ending was kind of cheesy to be honest, and felt a little too rushed and unexplained. I will admit I loved the song that played during the credits though, I just wish it played over something a little more deserving. 

While there is still a lot of Avatar costumes to unlock upon beating the game, it is kind of annoying to navigate through previous levels to try unlocking them. The World Select map is a crowded mess. I wish there was a simple level select, instead of this crowded 360 degree globe. It worked better for Sonic Unleashed, since it only had about 8 levels on it’s globe map, but Sonic Forces has 30 levels plus extra unlockable stages, and it really makes it overwhelming, and some times confusing to try looking for a particular level. There are times where I just want to go back to the metropolis level as Avatar for instance, but it takes too long to find that dang level, since all the icons look alike, and are scattered everywhere. I wish there was a way to divide the levels between Modern Sonic, Classic Sonic, and Avatar.

It is nice that beating the game allows you to create 11 additional custom avatars, and allow to try out the others species in the game. I wish there weren’t so many avatar costumes that were exclusively unlocked through certain challenges though. With how frustrating the game’s controls are, it makes trying to beat certain levels a bigger pain than it needs to be. It’s a good thing this game doesn’t have lives, because it would suck to get game overs, because of unresponsive controls. 

The game did surprisingly get a bit challenging during the last few levels, but I mostly feel it was challenging due to the controls and physics, and not because of the obstacles themselves. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say this to trash Sonic, or upset the fans. I am a huge Sonic fan, and I really wanted to like this game, but it has too many flaws. While there are a few parts I liked, overall, I found the game to be a great big let down. At least it was a $40 game, instead of a full priced mess, but it still doesn’t excuse the game for feeling so messy in both story, gameplay, and execution. Hopefully the 2 part finale to Sonic Boom will be a little more exciting than this underwhelming game that took 4 years to make.

How would you fix the story?

 

Also, how's the gameplay? I don't get what's wrong with that

[PC the Hedgehog]

38 minutes ago, KHCast said:

Apparently to him Classic Sonic feels fine...? Really? After mania you'd think he'd be more critical of its gameplay. Either way I totally called him liking it while everyone else slams it 

Yeah, I'm enjoying Forces, but there's really no defending how subpar classic Sonic's controls are.

[KHCast]

13 minutes ago, PC the Hedgehog said:

Yeah, I'm enjoying Forces, but there's really no defending how subpar classic Sonic's controls are.

Yeah just...I don't get why he wouldn't compare classicto Mania, and hold it to that standard. He had no problem discussing physics and level design when talkin about Mania. He says nothing about Classic here outside "it's 2D, and it's the best part of the game." Okay, why? He says all these things he likes but never goes into the what's or whys, nor does he address the issues fans have more than likely brought up to him about the game. 

Oh, and going into the comments on that vid is a hoot btw. Anyone sharing their views on why it's not great to them are being labeled "unpleasable sonic fans", and Jim's being touted as the only "fair and trust worthy" critic to the game 

[SpongicX]

4 minutes ago, ShadowSJG said:

How would you fix the story?

 

Also, how's the gameplay? I don't get what's wrong with that

I already made too many paragraphs describing my disappointment in this game, I’m not going to overdo it further by making a never ending list of possibilities. Besides, others have already mentioned the wasted potential in this game, and gave suggestions for how things should have been done differently. The game had a lot of build up, but kept resolving conflicts too quickly, yet kept piling more conflicts, and they did not go well together at all.

It really felt like nothing happened in the game. It even makes the plots of Sonic Colors, Lost World, and Rise of Lyric a bit more enjoyable, (there, I said it!) because they had simple plots, instead of a jumbled mess of plots that kept appearing and disappearing at a rushed pace. At least the other games felt like they had some character development with Sonic or the others, but I felt no development in this game.

Sonic preaches about the importance of friendship in real cheesy ways throught the climax, yet decides to once again ditch his friends at the end, for his own selfish needs. Nothing in this story went together, it borrowed too many common tropes in movies and Saturday morning cartoons, but put them in Forces for the sake of copying what movies did, without understanding why they worked for other movies and shows. You can’t force in a preaching moral about the importance of friendship at the end, despite setting the game up to be a darker story. The friendship speeches came out of nowhere, what is this, a 4kids dub?