Why Sonic Forces ISN'T a bad game

Only the truest fans will notice the nostalgia placed in this video. This was a really fun video to make, I never thought I would ever look differently upon the topic at hand than I did, but sometimes different experiences in life lead to an all new perspective.

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Big thanks and credits to Luna Tanuki for the character and typography, and to Kira the Hedgehog for the chao.

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[TheBlueBlurSFM]

Too bad it hyped all the older fans up (With Chaos, Shadow and the "From the team that brought you Colors and Generations part for example) when it wasn't even for them.

[moderategamer]

Interesting enough, as a longtime sonic fan, I wanted to introduce my mom to the gameplay of the sonic series. I figured that since Sonic Mania consists of two buttons, jump and run it would be easy to adapt too. However once I gave her the controller I began to notice how complicated it was to control sonic gameplay wise. She would jump and move, but never together. I realized it was hard to maintain momentum even though the number of inputs is less than say a modern sonic game. What blew my mind though is when I gave my switch to my mom to play sonic forces she learned the controls and kept moving gameplay wise. Sure I had to tell her how to boost and homing attack, but once I said it, she was able to beat the level without too much difficulty. I agree with you that this game is a good entry modern sonic game. It was so cool to see her blast through these stages. It was an interesting observation.

[devanarcher]

One criticism I have with the game isn't on the game itself, but how it aligns itself with the continuity of the rest of the series and other games. It tries to build itself upon saying past events happening, such as with the returning villains and acknowledging Classic Sonic, but get things horribly wrong. Green Hill is supposed to be on a small island, and the "two planets shtick" but that should be a rant on its own.

[sergiovalbuena]

I see your point but even from the trailers they showed that this game was directed for fans, not for the average person or even for people who don't play videogames, if they really wanted to do that, then they should have started with a simpler story, because what would be the point of bringing back villains from previous games or even bringing Classic Sonic when your audience don't know who they are if this is their first videogame, my biggest complaint with Forces is the story, not the gameplay, but it was because they deceived us by showing those trailers and saying the story was gonna be deeper and better written than the previous titles, and they lied in front of us, the gameplay is Ok in my opinion, but the hugest disappointment for me was how the story is so underwhelming, but was this game planned for newbies in videogames? I don't think so.

[premydaremy]

I feel like we played 2 completely different Sonic Generations, because what you're describing sounds like a totally different game lol

[andrestewart]

Sonic forces isn't a bad game (and comparing it to 06 and RoL is just unfair as well as unnecessary).



Did it have wasted potential?, Yes!.

Could it have been better?. Yes!.

But was it a "bad" game?, No!.


Also great vid, I agree with most of the points!, subbed!.

[BigLadStudios]

I think it being boring makes it worse than a bad game tbh

[Dan_D]

ALL they had to do was release a Generations sequel with a Chao Garden. That's it....

[lay-lowandsmash]

Hold on that's where you're wrong buddy!!

YOU READ TOO MANY ARCHIE ISSUES ITS MESSING WITH YOUR MIND!!

[QuartzIsAnOxide]

But that's the thing: Every level feels like an introductory level. It's one thing to teach players how to play on the first level, but not expanding on this gameplay you're teaching them, or even testing them with a true boss, or at the very least gradually increase the difficulty of the game? I feel like that's a diservice to new gamers. If they jump from this game to Generations they're going to feel just as lost as if they had picked up Generations in the first place because Forces doesn't fully expose the player to what to actually expect from a Sonic game. It's like an unfinished tutorial.
Not to mention it was heavily marketed towards hardcore fans. And even if it WERE marketed towards newcomers mostly, alienating your established fanbase in favor of untapped markets is never a good idea. If you wish to expand on your playerase, you're gonna have to learn how to appease both. A good movie reaches it's intended audience, a fantastic movie reaches everyone, and that's why I feel Sonic Forces is mediocre.

[IKIGAIofficial]

-they got rid of drifting
-they got rid of long stages
-got rid of majority 3d sections
-made the boost situational and scripted
-got rid of unleasheds animators.

[mastervidxad]

Problem is, Sonic Forces had no right or excuse to be this painfully average. See, I can excuse Sonic 06 cause it had a reason for being the way it is, which is Sega rushing the developers. Sonic Forces had a decent development time + a delay, yet it sucks. Literally no excuse for Sonic Team to fuck up again. Also, if Sonic Forces is good, explain to me: moving from Generations to Forces at a gameplay standpoint or the boost gameplay, what was improved/innovated upon? If you can't answer this, then the game fails as a next gen boost game, since it's literally a downgrade from past boost games. Story? I'd rather force myself to watch Colors instead. That's how bad it is. Sonic Forces is just nostalgia bait (done wrong). My faith and hype for this series is already at the lowest. Unless things change, not going bother looking forward to Sonic games anymore.

[ChaosBloodNinja]

Personally I thought Sonic Forces was bad-mediocre, like 4/10, but I fully realise this as being because I'm a long time fan and have very particular ideas of what a Sonic should be which Forces just didn't deliver on. To each their own.

[thefakeslimshady]

I don't see how being easy for people new to video games makes the game not bad. Especially when it's like that for the entire game.

[ninjdraw]

I still hate almost everything about Sonic Forces. I could go on and explain why but some comments got me covered...hope I dont get attacked

[sterling]

Finally!
I can completely agree with this. I always tried to get my friends into Generations and Colors, but they all disliked it and weren't playing it properly. But yet when I handed thes Forces, they all loved it. Finally someone makes a video discussing this!

[jingusflorpus]

The developers did say that it was meant to bring newer fans in, that's why it's an easier game. People seem to forget that part.

EDIT: If you're gonna talk about the difficulty settings read my reply.

[knuxuki]

All of this makes the game worse, if this is a freaking anniversary game the 'attract new players' thing shouldn't be, in fact, it should not EVER be this way, stop trying to attract new fans, let that happen naturally.

[MariusUrucu]

Dumbing down gameplay for the sake of "accessibility" is just horrible game design. The best games are the ones with low skill floor, high skill ceiling, those that can be satisfying to play for newcommers and experts alike. The best example are Platinum Games (Bayonetta, MGR, Transformers Devastation, Vanquish, etc.).

The problem here is that Sonic games, for better or for worse, are niche type of platformers, focused on momentum based platforming and reflexes. So by default they won't have the same appeal or accessibility as say, Mario. So rather than trying to be more "accessible" and at the risk of losing what made the franchise recognized in the first place, why not focus on that niche instead and refine it? Just because a game is niche doesn't make it bad, if anything, if that niche game is polished and well thought out, it can actually attract more people, just look at NieR Automata.

[LucasMBoysOurRoy]

I fucking loathe this game, so I’m going to rip it to shreds.

Sonic Forces (in my opinion) is bad because of numerous reasons. These reasons being:
-Terrible level design
-Terrible physics
-Short length
-Mediocre writing
-Constant nostalgia pandering
-and FALSE ADVERTISING

Level Design: Most (if not all) of the stages are just straight hallways where all you need to do is hold forward, or literally hold the boost button (latter applies to Modern Sonic only). A perfect example of this is Luminous Forest. You can literally beat the level with only one button. Not to mention that you can beat them within 1-2 minutes. Unleashed and Gens had great level design and length, so there should be no excuses for their terrible level design.

Physics: It's not just Classic Sonic who has bad physics, but it's ALL THREE OF THEM. Modern Sonic feels unnatural, especially compared to the previous boost games. He speeds up too fast, and is hard to move left and right. The custom character (CC) is similar to Sonic, except worse. The CC speeds up even faster when they touch the ground, and is even harder to control, leading to unnecessary deaths while platforming. A great example of this is Guardian Rock, when trying to jump over small gaps. It's really easy to fall there because of the terrible physics. I haven't even touched the worst one...CLASSIC SONIC. Oh boy, does this character fall flat on his face. His physics aren't just off...they're TERRIBLE. Running down a hill in Chemical Plant? No momentum. Rolling over a pit in Luminous Forest? Fall down straight like a rock. Even when compared to Generations, the physics aren't good at all.

Short Length: The game only has 30 stages. That doesn't sound bad, right? But remember how I said that the levels can be finished in 1-2 minutes? Well, multiply 1.5 by 30, and you only get 45 minutes of gameplay in total. When you add the 1 hr 27 min of cutscenes, you get roughly 2 hr 12 min of the campaign. 2 HOURS FOR A 40$ GAME. When you compare that to literally any other game released in 2017, the numbers are laughable in comparison.

Mediocre Writing: It's not as bad as the likes of Colors and Lost World, but it's not really good. Infinite's backstory is just "I'M NOT WEAK and the dialogue just feels bland. The tone is all over the place. First, it's "this is why it's called war" and "Tails has just lost it", but the it turns into "the power of fwendship". It isn't as terrible as BALDY NOSEHAIR, but saying that it's "not as terrible" should show a sign that it's not good. Nothing really exciting happens.

Nostalgia Pandering: We're getting to my favorite part. This is what held the game back from being good. Bringing back Classic Sonic, Green Hill, Chemical Plant, and the Wisps were not a good idea. They tried to do what Generations did before, but ended up failing. It's almost as if the game was built around nostalgia pandering, and that substance was secondary. They neglected any Adventure Era fans, except for the big middle finger towards them, in the form of false advertising. Which leads me to my next point...

False Advertising: This is just unforgivable. They used Chaos as a marketing ploy to draw in Adventure Era fans, but didn't give him enough screen time to justify the marketing point. He wasn't even relevant to the game. They put him in the E3 trailer, and put him in Sonic Forces Speed Battle, and they even put him in the Forces comics, but he's barely in the game for more than a minute.

These are the reasons I give Sonic Forces a 3/10. It's irredeemable in every aspect. This game is complete garbage and is not worth 40 dollars. I'd even say that it's worse than 06.

I respect your opinion tho