Sonic Forces & Sonic Mania

[KidMarine]

I haven't played the demos, but from the videos it hardly looks "almost unplayable", really that might be the biggest hyperbole I've ever seen, but it doesn't look great or anything. It looks like another 5/10 from Sonic Team. An absolutely okay and sometimes even enjoyable game.

A year or so ago this would be celebrated, it looks better than Lost World and isn't another Sonic Boom! But post-Mania, who really cares? I want nothing less than a continuation of that style of Sonic. Anything short of brilliance like Mania is worthless to me. I don't care if 'they're on the right track' or if they're 'improving', they have the answer to all of Sonic's woes sitting right there and if they choose to ignore it, I just don't care.

[shredingskin]

It is almost unplayable.

The first demo half of what you have to do is press the boost button, anything else is sluggish. The homing attack targets even things that are out of the screen reach, the jumping physics are butchered, the momentum is butchered.

The boss fight with classic sonic doesn't feel like classic sonic, it jumps too fast and has a lot of reach, you feel you lack control, the rings dissapear (why ?), and the only part that could be challenging or has any logic gets stumped by the time limit.

The third one is the same as the inline segment, and the other part is an almost top down shit that throws you enemies that don;t do shit, just act as little barriers.
And the movement oh god, the acceleration is SO off, the control feels as sloppy as they can come this day and age (I really haven't felt something control as bad as this), I don't know if it has physics like ice or if it's that I have input lag, it's terrible.

I haven't played boom, but I can hardly imagine something as wonky as this.

[Kintor]

I haven't played the demos, but from the videos it hardly looks "almost unplayable", really that might be the biggest hyperbole I've ever seen, but it doesn't look great or anything. It looks like another 5/10 from Sonic Team. An absolutely okay and sometimes even enjoyable game.

A year or so ago this would be celebrated, it looks better than Lost World and isn't another Sonic Boom! But post-Mania, who really cares? I want nothing less than a continuation of that style of Sonic. Anything short of brilliance like Mania is worthless to me. I don't care if 'they're on the right track' or if they're 'improving', they have the answer to all of Sonic's woes sitting right there and if they choose to ignore it, I just don't care.

Sonic Mania works because it's a return to the tried and true classic gameplay that S3&K perfected, as a 2D game. With that said, there are a lot of Sonic fans who also greatly admire the 3D games ever since the Dreamcast era. So while something along the lines of Sonic Adventure 3 is out of the question for now most Sonic fans do agree that Sonic Generations represents a new pinnacle for Sonic's 3D gameplay, perfecting the 2.5D that was first pioneered by Sonic Unleashed and continued by Sonic Colours. This makes Sonic Forces exactly what the Sonic franchise needs right now, to restore confidence in Sonic's 3D gameplay, as the long awaited sequel to Sonic Generations that will wash away any memory of Lost World and Sonic Boom.

[Kintor]

I've just finished Sonic Forces on PS4, I really enjoyed it. I'm not one to give number ratings but I do think that Sonic Forces is better than Sonic Colours and on the same level as Sonic Generations/Sonic Unleashed. The main game is fairly short but there is a ton of replay value here, between working for those S ranks and unlocking new items for the Avatar character.

Haven't had a chance to try Episode Shadow yet, since it doesn't appear to be currently available on PSN. Hopefully, that will change in the next day or so, whenever Sony does their weekly update of the store.

For anyone interested here's a quick rundown of the different gameplay styles.

Modern Sonic - The key difference in Sonic Forces is how the boost energy works. You don't start with any energy at the beginning of the stage. Also, rings no longer recharge the boost, only Wisp containers. This means you need to be a lot more tactical with your use of the boost, if you're not careful you can run out more quickly than in Sonic Generations. Which should temper the criticism that previous versions of the boost were too easy to activate and maintain in a stage.

Classic Sonic - I think that the feel of the physics has been improved since Sonic Generations, to offer an experience closer to Sonic 2 or S3&K while operating in a 3D engine. The level design is also quite good, with plenty of branching paths, even on the earliest stages. Lots of potential for exploration on these 2D stages.

Avatar Character - Something more akin to a PS2 era platformer like Jak & Daxter or Ratchet & Clank, with its weapon based attack. All the Wisp power-ups from Sonic Colours have been repurposed into different handheld weapons for the Avatar to use, which if anything feels more like a natural expression of the Wisp mechanics then even Sonic Colours managed to achieved. Avatar customisation is unlocking by winning new weapons and clothing by completing stages and getting high scores. When you beat the game for the first time you can start creating multiple avatars for use at any time.

[Thief]

Why didn't you get Sonic Forces on Switch, Kintor?

[Kintor]

Why didn't you get Sonic Forces on Switch, Kintor?

Well, I think I've already made clear my negative views on the Switch hardware, overpriced and underperforming compared to other consoles. I don't own a Switch and I don't have any intention of buying one. What I do have is a PS4 and a high-end gaming PC. Of the two I decided to go with the PS4, since Sonic games are still designed firstly for consoles, performance and stability is the key. It seems I made the right choice, I heard that the Steam version kept crashing yesterday before an emergency patch was issued; everything is apparently fine now though.

[Sonikku]

Why didn't you get Sonic Forces on Switch, Kintor?

Doesn't the PS4 version run in 60fps?

[King John Blaze]

Sonic Forces looks so crap, filly fulfilling the hold up and jump cliche.

[shredingskin]

Another mediocre 3D sonic...

looks like sonic fans should

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Specially after Mario Odyssey and a great 2D sonic, it's embarrasing at this rate.

[south carmain]

Sonic Forces looks so crap, filly fulfilling the hold up and jump cliche.

The reception was incredibly mediocre. I'm sure Kintor will come up with some excuse as to why it's a success after shilling so much for it though.

[King John Blaze]

There's a video online of the first enemy you come across. You can just stand right in front of him and he doesn't attack. The homing attack makes thing ridiculously easy and the level design needs a radical change. It's like you're playing a racing games the way things are designed. I'm just so surprised Sega continues with this design philosophy. Everyone who grew up on 2D Sonic and the Dreamcast games are adults who are disinterested. Sega need to step up its game before Sonic becomes forgotten with the new generation of gamers.

[Kintor]

The reception was incredibly mediocre. I'm sure Kintor will come up with some excuse as to why it's a success after shilling so much for it though.

Is calling people shills how you plan to shut down all my arguments? That's not very sporting and certainly not very creative on your part. If you know anything at all about the Sonic fanbase you'd realise that that mixed reviews don't really have an impact on the sales of Sonic games, the opinions of Sonic fans and the gaming media rarely match and as such most Sonic fans just continue on regardless. Anyway, if you're actually interested in talking about Sonic Forces then you should at least respond to my earlier comment about the different gameplay styles and why they are enjoyable.

[shredingskin]

I'm quite surprised the game is getting mediocre reviews even, the demo was terrible, classic sonic was so off, 3d sonic was spamming boost and homing, on rail bullshit and the custom character felt like he was ice skating.

[Kintor]

I'm quite surprised the game is getting mediocre reviews even, the demo was terrible, classic sonic was so off, 3d sonic was spamming boost and homing, on rail bullshit and the custom character felt like he was ice skating.

That's not true at all, you're just throwing out some cliche buzzwords without putting any effort into your post. As I explained in an earlier post, the demo worked very well, some speed runners even managed to complete it despite the time limit. As for the main game, Sonic Forces has plenty of branching paths, the boost is more tactical thanks to the way that energy works, while the Avatar character has precise controls that can be further refined by the choice of weapon. I honestly doubt you've even played the game.

[shredingskin]

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