Sonic Forces
Sonic Forces | |
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Platform | |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Sonic Forces
Development of Sonic Forces began after the release of Sonic Lost World in 2013. With the game's title chosen to signify its themes of power and teamwork, it was intended to have a darker tone compared to previous entries in the franchise and the character creation system was inspired by Sonic fan art the developers had come across over the years. The game was primarily developed by staff who had worked on Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations (2011), using an updated version of the Hedgehog Engine, used in Sonic Unleashed and Generations. It was announced, alongside Sonic Mania, under the working title of Project Sonic 2017 during the Sonic 25th anniversary event at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con. Through Sonic Mania entered development years later than Forces, it affected the development, so the games have connected plots.
Sonic Forces was released for
Gameplay
Sonic Forces is an
The game is split into several themed
Plot
Doctor Eggman attacks a city and Sonic sets out to stop him. Upon arriving, he is attacked by Infinite, a mercenary empowered by the Phantom Ruby.
Meanwhile, Sonic encounters Shadow, who reveals that the Shadow following Eggman is an illusionary doppelgänger created by Infinite, as are the other villains serving him, and that limitless numbers of them can be created to bolster Eggman's army. Tails infiltrates Eggman's computer network and finds the Phantom Ruby's weakness: the gemstone is directly powered by the Death Egg and will be rendered useless without it. While the Rookie stages a diversion, the Death Egg is destroyed by Classic Sonic. Believing they have the upper hand, the resistance attacks the Eggman Empire's capital, Metropolis. However, Eggman has a backup power source hidden in his empire's fortress, and as the resistance make their final charge toward it, he has Infinite enact his endgame; creating an asteroid-like second sun over the planet that will eliminate everything in its path upon impact. Thinking fast, the Rookie uses a prototype Phantom Ruby they had recovered to dispel the sun, saving the heroes. Sonic and the Rookie then battle Infinite and defeat him. Eggman unveils yet another backup plan, moving the Phantom Ruby into a battle mech and fighting the resistance directly. Working together, the Sonics and the Rookie defeat Eggman, leaving the doctor's whereabouts unknown. With the Phantom Ruby neutralized, all of Infinite's doppelgängers cease existing, Classic Sonic is returned to his proper time period, the Resistance disbands and Modern Sonic and his friends set out to restore the world to its former glory while the Rookie leaves to find their own way.
Episode Shadow
The DLC pack Episode Shadow serves as a prequel to the story, one month before the main plot begins. Shadow heads into the city towards enemy territory on Rouge's command, but E-123 Omega ends up causing chaos despite the fact that the mission is meant to be recon. As Shadow goes on, Omega starts getting confused, with his sensors becoming disabled, and his mind being corrupted before going silent. It is later revealed that Omega was badly damaged by Infinite, who Shadow does not recognize. To help him remember, Infinite sends Shadow through a flashback of when Shadow had invaded Eggman's base.
The leader of the Jackal Squad mercenary group, the rest of which were taken out by Shadow beforehand, is commanded by Eggman to eliminate Shadow. However, his efforts are futile against Shadow, who easily thrashes him to the side, insults his weakness and leaves. Unable to handle the pain of being called "weak", he covers up his past and gains the power he uses now from the Phantom Ruby, rechristening himself as Infinite. After Infinite snaps Shadow out of the flashback, Shadow is transported to Green Hill Zone, where Infinite demonstrates his ability to manipulate people's minds by making Shadow think Rouge is talking nonsense to him and Omega is still alive and active, making him realize Infinite's capabilities.
Development
Development of Sonic Forces began shortly after Sonic Lost World was completed in 2013 under the codename Project Sonic 2017, and was developed alongside Sonic Mania.[12] It was developed by Sonic Team; the majority of the staff had previously developed Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations (which followed a similar premise).[13] The game was directed by Morio Kishimoto, who previously directed the Wii version of Sonic Colors and the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World. The game was produced in commemoration of the series' twenty-fifth anniversary, and the title was chosen to signify its themes of power, teamwork, and armies.[12]
The game was intended to give a darker perspective to the world of Sonic, in contrast to the fantasy-based themes of previous entries,[14] and expand upon the modern-style gameplay from Unleashed and Colors.[15] To create this, the developers designed levels to seem desolate and more realistic.[14] In programming the game, the development team used the Hedgehog Engine 2, an updated version of the game engine used in Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Generations.[16] The gameplay was mostly modeled off Unleashed's, with elements from Colors and Generations.[12] With the updated software, the first locations designed were the urban levels, which served as a reference for other stages. Sonic Team sought to make the levels unique and contrasting, and various level ideas were suggested during development; one example was a prison in Green Hill.[14] At one point in development, the series' traditional ring-based health system was abandoned to balance the game's difficulty, and for designing the Classic levels, the team looked to Generations and Mania as a reference.[15]
Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka explained that for years, he had seen many fan-made characters and wanted to give players the opportunity to play as their own. The team was given freedom to create the animal and customization mechanics. According to producer Shun Nakamura, the system was intended to modify existing characters rather than use the complex mechanics of series such as Fallout, so the characters would still feel like a part of the Sonic universe.[17] Though Sonic Mania entered development years later than Forces, it affected the development; the games have connected plots, and Mania was envisioned to excite fans for Forces.[18]
Recurring series writers
Release
Sonic Forces was announced alongside Sonic Mania under its codename during a twenty-fifth series anniversary event held by
A tie-in
Episode Shadow
Episode Shadow is free
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Push Square | PS4: [56] |
Sonic Forces received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[44][45][46][47]
Writing for Polygon, Jeremy Parish praised the game's visuals and character customization, but criticized its repetitive boss fights and argued the game did not advance the series' design. Parish disliked the ranking system, which rewards players for completing stages quickly rather than exploring them for collectibles, and dismissed the tag team sections as "under-developed" because players would prefer to use Modern Sonic whenever the Avatar was not required.[10] The four reviewers of Famitsu were more positive, praising the character creation system, story, and soundtrack.[2] Heidi Kemps, reviewing Forces for IGN, faulted elements of the game's level design, indicating that "unfair-feeling traps" recurred intermittently and that the levels were relatively short and underdeveloped. In contrast to Parish, Kemps enjoyed the "quite strong" bosses, particularly one fought "among the winding coils of a giant snake," although she wished they were more plentiful. Kemps cited the game's "goofy charm" as preventing her from being "too disappointed" by it.[3]
The level design received divisive responses while Classic Sonic's presence received a mediocre reception. Kotaku's Heather Alexandra wrote that Modern Sonic's gameplay was "visually dynamic" and "the most fun", but heavily automated and shallow, whereas Classic Sonic delivered a solid but unremarkable platforming experience that compared unfavorably to the more inventive Sonic Mania. Alexandra panned the Avatar stages as "disjointed and confused" due to a lack of flow and an excessive reliance on trial and error. Overall, they described Forces as fun despite a lack of polish and complimented its "infectious energy and excitement".[1] Game Informer's Brian Shea similarly regarded the game as a "fun adventure" and considered its controls and level design to be the best of any 3D Sonic entry, but concluded: "3D Sonic games still aren't to where they should be after such a long time of iteration and experimentation". Shea called Classic Sonic the worst of the three playable characters due to poor physics that failed to emulate those of the original 2D Sonic games.[8] The plot and short length were largely criticized. Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of The Escapist panned it for not exploring the potential of its ideas and lambasted the story for its attempt at a more mature tone. He later ranked it the second worst game of 2017.[57][58] Several critics considered Sonic Forces a disappointment in the wake of the positively received Mania.[3][11][1]
John Linneman of
Sales
In the United Kingdom, Sonic Forces debuted at fifth place on the all-formats chart.[61] In Japan, the PS4 version debuted at 10th place with 5,938 physical sales and the Switch version debuted at 14th place with 4,686 physical sales, adding up to 10,624 physical units sold in its first week.[62] Sega stated in a February 2018 financial report that the game "performed strongly".[63]
Legacy
The critical feedback that Sonic Forces received heavily influenced the development of the subsequent Sonic game
Notes
- ^ Ported to Windows by SEGA HARDlight
- ^ Japanese: ソニックフォース, Hepburn: Sonikku Fōsu
- ^ as seen in Sonic Mania
References
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