Sonic Forces Reviews Thread

[Ryannumber1gamer]

1 hour ago, Mayor D said:

They lied.

I'm trying to 100% this game and between yesterday and today, my playtime has been at least eight hours, and I've barely started getting the red star rings and such. I'm actually just now finishing off SOS missions and S-Ranks.

[Razule]

1 hour ago, Sr101 said:

People saying it takes 10 to 12 hours to beat this game... How is that possible? I played on hard and beat the game in like 3 hours and I did side missions as I went.

I haven't finished it yet, but I'm over half way done after only a couple of hours.

[Meta77]

20 minutes ago, KHCast said:

There's opinions, and then there's misinformation/misunderstanding. Saying sonic was meant to be fast blasting through boosh, is only partially true. And when you're a big influencer on youtuber, spreading that "information" can be shitty.

This is true but I mean can you blame them when the back of my Sonic 1 box literally says SUPER SPEED! Bust the video game speed barrier wide open with Sonic the hedgehog. Blaze by in a blur using the super sonic spin attack, loop the loop by defying gravity, plummet down tunnels. then dash to safety with sonics power sneakers all at a frenzied pace. 

but true spreading false narratives can be bad but that sounded just like a person expressing what they felt it was.

[Cayenne]

10 minutes ago, Sr101 said:

I don't feel this way at all. I had fun with 06 and it didn't feel broken like everybody says, just incomplete. Similarly with Lost World, I was able to 100% that game and enjoy myself for most of it. I'm not sure if anyone has gotten 100% in this game yet, but I feel that it would be close to Impossible with the awful gameplay and controls offered here. Like I said I had fun with 06 and I really had no fun at all with this game.

 

06 had big sprawling levels to explore with decent designs and amazing music. The physics were all screwed up, but not in an irritating way in my opinion. It was wrong but it felt right. This game is not like that at all, it's no fun, irritating to play because of the controls and physics, and the levels are boring straight and short to the point of being one minute in some cases. 06 gets a bad rap because it's a meme, but it really isn't anywhere nearly as bad as this game

As someone who has the Xbox 360 version of SthH '06 and finished all the episodes, I disagree. It's isn't a meme: Sonic 06 is a terrible game and an excellent example of bad programming.

 

In one of my gameplays of the Sonic Episode, for example, I saw:

-One bug in the first part of Wave Ocean while the killer whale chased Sonic. For some reason, the wood bridge wasn't there and died two times; 

-One bug in the second part of White Acropolis. A spring threw Sonic to the wrong direction and...guess what? I died;

-The strange wonky camera angle when tails throws his dummy ring bomb;

-Sonic getting almost stuck on the floor in the first part of White Acropolis and Crisis City;

-Sonic getting stuck on a rail in the beginning of Kingdom Valley;

-Knuckles getting stuck on walls in any level he is playable; 

-This laughable aberration;

And so on...

 

Like you, I love the music and levels of Sonic 06, but I simply can't defend it. In my opinion, that game deserves all the scorn it gets.

[Jar Jar Analysis 1138]

1 hour ago, Blue Blood said:

I think it's probably worth stepping back and looking at the legacy '06 and ShTH have for being offensive in just about every possible way. Forces will never leave such a stain on the series history; Sonic isn't as big as it was in 2005/6, it's getting praise for at least one feature (the avatar, however much I may personally dislike it) and the fact that it's at least functional. There's a big difference between a game that's not very good and a game that's incomplete and broken. Forces is like a poor version of game that many people will agree wasn't bad.

Got to say that I'm feeling very mixed emotions over Forces reception. I think it's tripe, so seeing it get trashed is kind of pleasing vindicating. Critics are generally targeting the same issues that we've been highlighting for months too, so it's nice that the "naysayers" are all on a similar wavelength. On the flipside though, I'm still really disappointed to see that Sonic sucks again. Generations and Colours weren't perfect and I don't think that a straight up Generations 2 (aka Forces but good) would have been enough to cut it. It would have been received warmly, even if not heralded as a great game. Lost World is no longer just a blip and Boom can't really be ignored as just a mere side title either. Sonic's good streak of two games has come to an end, and Mania is now the critically acclaimed blip.

It's a damn shame. Maybe I'd be feeling more positive about this is I had any faith in Sonic Team and SEGA to deliver a good Sonic game of their own. Mania 2 or bust. I really can't see Sonic Team doing right by the 3D side of the series at all unless they throw everything out of the window and completely re-evaluate what they're doing with the series, how they make the games and who works on them.

Shadow The Hedgehog is better than Forces

56 minutes ago, Meta77 said:

That´s why they are wrong. Sonic 1 was popular not because it was fast as it is "meant to be", but because it had an appropriate ratio of speed sections and platforming + it had maintained the flow between those. That´s what classic games and loosely Adventure series had maintained.

I know this isn't what Meta said but this a little bit false. Sonic 1 was popular because of one big factor; The Commercializing and Sega's own console marketing in fusion with Sonic the hedgehog to show off the Sega Genesis. 

And Sonic 1 definitely did not have a flow of speed/platforming all the way through. Half of the game was an antithesis of itself.

[SpongicX]

3 hours ago, A_W said:

Look for a button prompt on the right side of the screen. That should slide out a list-style stage select.

Really? Thanks, I wonder how I never noticed.

[Sr101]

I guess i should clarify: im not trying to say 06 has no glitches and is coded well... i'm just saying that it was actually fun imo and even when it was a mess i was still not bored like i was with forces

[SpongicX]

2 hours ago, Sr101 said:

People saying it takes 10 to 12 hours to beat this game... How is that possible? I played on hard and beat the game in like 3 hours and I did side missions as I went.

It took me 12 hours, because I didn’t rush to beat the game, I got occupied by replaying levels for S Ranks and unlock more Avatar gear.

[Sr101]

I guess i see that then. But look at Odyssey... 8 hour story and like 200 hours of extra exploration with almost completely redesigned HUGE levels...

 

3 hour story with about 2 hours of gameplay and 4 bosses looks... meh

[Jar Jar Analysis 1138]

1 minute ago, Sr101 said:

I guess i see that then. But look at Odyssey... 8 hour story and like 200 hours of extra exploration with almost completely redesigned HUGE levels...

 

3 hour story with about 2 hours of gameplay and 4 bosses looks... meh

Ehhh...While I love the exploration in that game...The moon medals needed to be more creative in my opinion. I still believe that Mario 64 felt the most satisfying to obtain stars(that and maybe sunshine and galaxy).

[Milo]

GameCrate review: "Sonic Forces is a Half-Finished Disappointment of a Sonic Game"

Quote

Sonic Forces is a disappointing rehash of everything that has been done wrong with the Sonic franchise in the past. There were some good ideas here, but none of them were executed in a way that was fun or enjoyable.

Score: 5.75/10

Cubed3 review:

Quote

Sonic Forces is far from perfect, with frustrating controls, brevity, poor level design, and a lack of challenge. The visuals, soundtrack, and the occasional moment of flair leave the game with some redeemable qualities, but it ultimately disappoints even the most forgiving Sonic sympathiser. The bad outweighs the good, and the positives are not enough to warrant a recommendation to purchase unless you are an absolute die-hard Sonic fan. At least it is a step up from Sonic Boom, but a considerable buzzkill compared to the sublime and excellent Sonic Mania.

Score: 5/10

[KHCast]

Is it safe to say the polygon review is being treated like the new Unleashed HD IGN review? Seems to be a lot of unwarranted scorn for them laying out fair constructive criticism outside here. 

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

1 minute ago, KHCast said:

Is it safe to say the polygon review is being treated like the new Unleashed HD IGN review? Seems to be a lot of unwarranted scorn for them laying out fair constructive criticism outside here. 

You implying that the IGN review of Unleashed didn't deserve the scorn it got? Good or bad review, I for one, draw the line at critics who blame the game and dock score for things that are clearly their fault.

[Badnik Mechanic]

3 minutes ago, Jovahexeon Ace Joranvexeon said:

You implying that the IGN review of Unleashed didn't deserve the scorn it got? Good or bad review, I for one, draw the line at critics who blame the game and dock score for things that are clearly their fault.

Did polygon do that?

[KHCast]

9 minutes ago, Jovahexeon Ace Joranvexeon said:

You implying that the IGN review of Unleashed didn't deserve the scorn it got? Good or bad review, I for one, draw the line at critics who blame the game and dock score for things that are clearly their fault.

Umm...where'd you get that? I'm comparing the reaction and opinions on this review to the ign Unleashed one, but not saying that one wasn't shit. Just the general opinion I'm seeing is "polygon is being biased, they're whiners, they probably played it wrong" outside the SSMB, which reminds me of the response to ign back in 2008. Only this time, the whining about the critic is unfounded and unjustified 

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

3 minutes ago, Mayor D said:

Did polygon do that?

Not from what I've seen and heard, which is why the comparison confused me. Kinda feels like an insult to the Polygon review comparing it to THAT travesty of a review.

[Mad Convoy]

8 minutes ago, KHCast said:

Is it safe to say the polygon review is being treated like the new Unleashed HD IGN review? Seems to be a lot of unwarranted scorn for them laying out fair constructive criticism outside here. 

Not really. The Unleashed IGN video review wasn't terrible just because people didn't like it-- its also because the video proper actually managed to validate anybody who would have accused the reviewer of not playing the game right with mind-bogglingly stupid decisions like jumping over a bounce pad (and not even one that's potentially bad, like one positioned in a way that looks like it could be Eggman bumper. Its very obviously needed to progress and not die.).

Meanwhile, Polygon dude did a good enough job explaining himself to prove that no, its not really just him playing Forces badly. These are valid problems he's having with the game. Thus, the scorn isn't warranted. Which is your point but I felt the need to say what makes me think the nature of the Polygon article makes it easier for any controversy to fade pretty quickly as opposed to the nature of the IGN Unleashed video review.

[KHCast]

@Jovahexeon Ace Joranvexeon I mean I'm seeing shit like this

and immediately am thrown back to 2008

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

2 minutes ago, KHCast said:

@Jovahexeon Ace Joranvexeon I mean I'm seeing shit like this

and immediately am thrown back to 2008

Oh I agree that nowadays the Polgyon reactions are not as valid-looking. My main concern with the comparison was implying that the Polygon review was as BS or that the IGN review didn't deserve its well-earned scorn.

[KHCast]

4 minutes ago, Jovahexeon Ace Joranvexeon said:

Oh I agree that nowadays the Polgyon reactions are not as valid-looking. My main concern with the comparison was implying that the Polygon review was as BS or that the IGN review didn't deserve its well-earned scorn.

Yeah sorry about if I made it sound like that.

but yeah sadly it seems like at this point, it's become a meme to shit on the polygon review, thus, its credibility is tanked. You go on any YouTube review, and you'll see mocking reactions and comments regarding it  and how "bias" and"lazily made" it is. All because they were the first to review and criticize it, and personally didn't enjoy it. Opinions are a great thing, but let's not turn this into a no mans sky or botw situation. 

[Milo]

Way Too Many Games review:

Quote

Is Sonic Forces better than Mania? No, definitely not. Not a single 3D Sonic game has ever managed to surpass the quality and the magic from the Mega Drive era, but that's definitely not an issue here. Sonic Forces wasn't trying to compete with its 3 month old brother, it was just trying to be a decent Sonic game in its own right, and it definitely manages to do so, even though its Switch version does feature a myriad of issues. In this day and age, the fact a 3D game featuring the blue hedgehog is decent is already enough for me to sit back relieved. If you're a fan, don't you worry, the game is good enough for you, without the need to force yourself into thinking it's not as bad as others say it is (you know you've done this before).

Score: 7/10

CGMagazine review: "Running With Dead Weight"

Quote

As I reached Forces’ conclusion, my thoughts went quickly to Sonic Mania, the nostalgia-driven tribute to the series that came out earlier this year. Despite my issues with sidescrolling Sonic games I mentioned earlier, what I appreciate about Mania is that it’s a concise and focused game, with clear goals and philosophies behind its design. Forces feels like the antithesis of that, in that it’s a bloated, self-important mismatch of ideas with some great moments packed in between a lot of nonsense. Forces is fun to play in short bursts, but as an extended experience it feels like it has no idea what it wants to be, or is just incapable of encapsulating it all in one game.

Sonic Forces has polish in some key places, but fails to bring that polish to every facet of its design.

Score: 5.5/10

[KHCast]

12 minutes ago, Yeow said:

"the fact a 3D game featuring the blue hedgehog is decent is already enough for me to sit back relieved."

Kinda sad that we're at this point. We've been at "decent" since Gens. They had a formula to improve and they still came out "decent". 

12 minutes ago, Yeow said:

"Sonic Forces wasn't trying to compete with its 3 month old brother, it was just trying to be a decent Sonic game in its own right, and it definitely manages to do so"

Wasn't competing but was trying to mimic, which it poorly did.

 

It's a good review, but man the fact we're finally at the point of just taking "meh it's alright" as a sign of joy is kinda depressing. I'll agree with the second review in that it's a game I can probably get enjoyment out of in short bursts vs long playthroughs as any longer, and the issues become glaring and take away my enjoyment . Definitely agree on the score. It had potential, and had some alright ideas, but never capitalized 

[RLS Legacy]

I know there are more than a few people here that will relish this.

Mania's day 1 sales:

And Forces' day 1 sales:

Obviously on one level it's upsetting to me as a Sonic fan to see this kind of underperformance, but... Christ. And this is despite the whole Denuvo fallout surrounding Mania.

Guess those people wanting Forces to bomb got their wish. Now to see where SEGA goes from here.

[Dr. Detective]

Yeah, it's just alright. Nothing more.

It being a 3D Sonic game coming out on the heels of a universally well-loved 2D Sonic game and a 3D Mario game kind of makes it all the more saddening. 

I know the issue isn't 2D or 3D or Sonic itself. It's the people in charge that are to blame but for the next 2 or 3 years or whatever I'm gonna have to deal with more nonsense about how 3D Sonic sucks and can't work and whatever else. 

Thinking about Sonic the way I like him now makes me sad and angry. I don't even feel like picking up Mania now. I don't want to see Classic Sonic's face ever again. I don't want these people to be allowed to make Sonic games anymore. I'm not even sure how excited I'll be for the next game now. I kind of wish I had remained angry about Forces after I saw the reveal trailer but the possibility of what it could have been flooded my mind based on what I was seeing. And even when I lowered my expectations it still didn't manage to be as cohesive as I wished. It sucks worse considering how into it I was at the start and how it was bringing me back a little at the end only for it to stop upon reflection due to how lackluster the game's middle was and how startling the revelation about the level locations being pretty much all revealed to us before release despite the complaints about wanting to see more areas.

I'll always love this series, it's world, it's characters, and the idea behind it's gameplay but I'm going to have to drown myself in the IDW comics, fan-art, fan-fiction, fan-comics, Role-plays, and my own art to stay afloat here. They can't call upon Taxman, Sumo Digital, Ian Flynn, and whoever else has handled their series better than they have all the time. 

Being a fan of Sonic is hard when you're NOT a fan of Sonic Team. 

I don't even think this game is straight up bad or anything. I think it's "Alright" but Jesus. I've had it. The reactions to it and my own disappointment with it coupled with the arguments about it leading up to release as well as the 3 year wait were so NOT fucking worth it. 

My favorite premise for a Sonic game. A promising sequence of events laid out before them. Really inspired prequel comics. Yet when it came time to deal out the main dish the ones we have no choice but to rely on just fumbled something out, not capitalizing on it to it's fullest at all.

The fact that there is stuff in it that I like a lot is probably making it worse. Rise of Lyric didn't make me feel this way and neither did Lost World. I like Forces more than both of those and yet I feel the most sad and angry about this one. 

I'm not going to do this song and dance the same way I've done before. No longer. From now on, everything is being met with skepticism if it's got Sonic Team's name on it. 

 

[SonicLegends]

5 minutes ago, RLS Legacy said:

I know there are more than a few people here that will relish this.

Mania's day 1 sales:

And Forces' day 1 sales:

Obviously on one level it's upsetting to me as a Sonic fan to see this kind of underperformance, but... Christ. And this is despite the whole Denuvo fallout surrounding Mania.

Guess those people wanting Forces to bomb got their wish. Now to see where SEGA goes from here.

Not really surprised by this more so just because Mania is something for old school fans, specifically the ones that even left the franchise and so much as so don't even want to touch the modern games let alone one that implements a avatar system. 

What I do know is that if SEGA goes the route of making Sonic only 2D... that's going to be a really bad decision because we're going to have a case of where Sonic has what I like to call the New Super Mario Bros rehash syndrome as there is a reason why people got sick and tired of Nintendo making a new one especially when New Super Mario Bros 2 was completely unneeded, reason why I myself hope that them doing Mario Maker was like a send off of sorts until the next 2D Mario, but for a much longer period of time. Not to mention just ask how Megaman did, so no thanks.

Now with that said I'll all on board for them doing 2D games that they leave to the Mania team, especially when I think I speak for us all in wanting them to do all original levels and they can have a team that works for only the 3D games and actually DOES make them simply 3D.