darkSpyro

Street date broken, usual warning to watch where you go and block ProsafiaGaming as soon as he appears on your feed again.

I'm not gonna get myself spoiled, but vague impressions on the game suggest that SEGA may have low-balled the marketing for this game. The level design gets much better than what we've seen so far pretty shortly into the game. People compare it to SA2, it's still more on the linear side most of the time but things do get much more challenging and engaging with less weird automation. But without SA2's copious amounts of bottomless pits.

The story is also getting a lot of praise. It deals with surprisingly dark subject matters, but the characters themselves still act as they should and there is still plenty of levity. The writing and humour is apparently very witty and sharp most of the time too, and the VA work is the best it's been in the games for a while.

Someone who beat the game said it took him 13 hours, and that's just getting through the main story. There's apparently a lot of optional content too, and it's the largest Sonic game since Unleashed.

I was looking forward to the game already but now I kinda can't wait.

It possible we'll have more open areas to explore like in SA1&2 and SU on Xbox/PS3?

I saw the first hour and man I'm impressed. Definitely much better than I expected, both in story and gameplay. Wanna see more of that.

Quote: HeyitsHotDog

It possible we'll have more open areas to explore like in SA1&2 and SU on Xbox/PS3?

The game doesn't have hubs, just a map screen, so I don't think there's anything like that.

I had a strong feeling the marketing on this game was... off. I feel like Forces, being a Sonic Team project, has its marketing mandates coming from SEGA Japan. And thus, SEGA America isn't really in a good position to show the positives of the game off. Mania, by contrast, seemed to have its marketing spearheaded by SEGA America. Because I though they did a decent job there, aside from breaking street date, of course.

That said, I don't have any opinions on this game yet. But I really do hope the writing is good, so that hopefully the fandom's *****ing about Warren Graff quiets down. It won't stop, but it's been roaring pretty strong since it was confirmed he's doing the writing. (Something something "wah wah we want Ian Flynn")

This is a huge hit of nostalgia, holy peck.

Quote: HIR

I had a strong feeling the marketing on this game was... off. I feel like Forces, being a Sonic Team project, has its marketing mandates coming from SEGA Japan. And thus, SEGA America isn't really in a good position to show the positives of the game off. Mania, by contrast, seemed to have its marketing spearheaded by SEGA America. Because I though they did a decent job there, aside from breaking street date, of course.

Weird thing is though that the SoJ marketing has been much better for this game so I don't think it's their fault.

It seems that SoA was just being REALLY tight-lipped about spoilers.

Staying away from spoilers like the plague but man if this is the case then I'm even more excited for this game than before.

Quote: pankakesparx456

Staying away from spoilers like the plague but man if this is the case then I'm even more excited for this game than before.

same here, gameplay is already being posted on youtube and i'm like "screw that noise"

Quote: sonicbrawler182

Quote: HIR

I had a strong feeling the marketing on this game was... off. I feel like Forces, being a Sonic Team project, has its marketing mandates coming from SEGA Japan. And thus, SEGA America isn't really in a good position to show the positives of the game off. Mania, by contrast, seemed to have its marketing spearheaded by SEGA America. Because I though they did a decent job there, aside from breaking street date, of course.

Weird thing is though that the SoJ marketing has been much better for this game so I don't think it's their fault.

It seems that SoA was just being REALLY tight-lipped about spoilers.

Well, fat lot of good that did since the street date was broken. Wonder what got spoiled to get everyone hot and bothered? Don't tell me... we actually free Infinite from Eggman's Phantom Ruby control shenanigans and he joins up the team for a True Final Boss or something. If I'm right, I'm gonna laugh.

I got spoiled on something Shadow related. I saw a thumbnail for the final cutscene and was like “haha, nope.”

Almost got spoiled on what looked like an endgame cutscene because Naoto Oshima liked someone's tweet with spoilers.

You know, the original character designer of Sonic. Who's also done a little Sonic Forces artwork for the Sonic Twitter. :I

That's even crazier than when I got spoiled on Super Mario Odyssey stuff because someone posted spoilers for that game on /sthg/ for no reason.

I already got a few spoilers like some final boss thumbnails, buuuut since I won't play this anytime soon I can forgive a few things, as long as I don't get spoiled by everything.

I got mad for a quick second when I got spoiled on the final hour of the game by a youtuber I follow. Like, they didn't say the name, but when you say "more bosses should be (actual spoiler), as seen in Bayonetta and new spoiler"... Wow, thanks man.

Gee I wonder what game you're talking about after you spent the entire day talking about it

Sonic Forces got an update patch and it hints at a new piece of DLC.

I don't know how trustful Famitsu is, but they gave 35/40 for Forces, with three 9 ratings and a 8.

Famitsu is very unreliable, unfortunately. Rank inflation is one thing but they hand out 25s or 40s at a whim.

Hey at least IGN isn't getting front and center to show how much they hate Sonic just yet

I wouldn't look for any more early reviews.

https://mynintendonews.com/201...r-sonic-forces/

That's some good advertisement:

^I want that to be a TV commercial with no context.

The Sonic twitter just held a pseudo-AMA yesterday with Eggman, Sonic and Shadow this time. I think Shadow is Mike Pollock doing an impression? Only after listening to some of it that it hit me we never hear Shadow say long sentences in the games, unless they have huge pauses.

edit: friend told me it is Kirk Thornton, he's just doing a weird tone. Huh.

Mike Pollock is a great VA. Which he'd do more outside of vidya games.

Quote: Bifrost

The Sonic twitter just held a pseudo-AMA yesterday with Eggman, Sonic and Shadow this time. I think Shadow is Mike Pollock doing an impression? Only after listening to some of it that it hit me we never hear Shadow say long sentences in the games, unless they have huge pauses.

edit: friend told me it is Kirk Thornton, he's just doing a weird tone. Huh.

He talks a decent amount in Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, as well as in that one episode he starred in for the finale of season one of the TV show.

Also, it's now canon that Shadow is a weeaboo and Kill La Kill is his favourite anime and I can't stop laughing about that.

And he only uses Android.

Get it

Honestly that Twitter takeover just made me love Kirk Thornton's over-the-top edgy performance for Shadow even more. Screw the haters, he's great! XD

Here’s all the questions.

Holy **** this is great,all 3 have great comedic timing and improv skills.

Welp, I know what I'm doing today.

Polygon kicks off with the first US review - compares it to Sonic Mania and criticizes main problems of the franchise rather than the game. Caaaaan't wait for everyone else to do worse.

Quote: Bifrost

Polygon kicks off with the first US review - compares it to Sonic Mania and criticizes main problems of the franchise rather than the game. Caaaaan't wait for everyone else to do worse.

Dear God my heart can't take this game being bad I hyped way too much for it

An official gaming publication gave a bad score to a Sonic game, meanwhile the grass is green, the sky is blue, water is wet, and fire is hot.

just wait until SomeCallMeJohnny reviews it if you want an honest review of it. Or really any respectable YouTube critic but mostly Johnny.

Guys I'm starting to get worried

It's not that bad at all.

It definitely has its problems but I'm enjoying my time with it.

It's not as good as Generations and Unleashed but I think I may like it more than Colours.

Also, there are no control issues that permeate throughout the entire game. It controls fine, though I have had one or two isolated control hiccups.

Regardless of what the game's actually like, can I just state...

So, while looking for the final boss music, I got spoiled on the final boss. Kinda inevitable tbh. I didn’t see the whole thing but...

Just finished the game.

It's not the best Sonic game by any stretch, but I had fun.

Feel free to ask me anything if you're on the fence.

What is the edgiest possible character you can make?

Quote: sonicbrawler182

Just finished the game.

It's not the best Sonic game by any stretch, but I had fun.

Feel free to ask me anything if you're on the fence.

Without spoiling, can you give a small text telling what you liked and disliked about the narrative (plot, writing, dialogue...), gameplay (controls, level design, length...), visual presentation (visuals, animation, lightning...) and sound design (music, voice acting...)?

Quote: emeraldzoroark

What is the edgiest possible character you can make?

i have the answer

Coldsteel is just the tip of the iceberg. There are sparkledog sonic OC chimeras and mary sues of planes beyond outsider comprehension.

Quote: Bifrost

Coldsteel is just the tip of the iceberg. There are sparkledog sonic OC chimeras and mary sues of planes beyond outsider comprehension.

Nice pun.

Quote: Crash10

Quote: sonicbrawler182

Just finished the game.

It's not the best Sonic game by any stretch, but I had fun.

Feel free to ask me anything if you're on the fence.

Without spoiling, can you give a small text telling what you liked and disliked about the narrative (plot, writing, dialogue...), gameplay (controls, level design, length...), visual presentation (visuals, animation, lightning...) and sound design (music, voice acting...)?

The narrative is easily the best Sonic narrative since Black Knight. Granted, that isn't hard to accomplish since Black Knight was the last game to actually try, but Forces does have an enjoyable narrative. The writing overall is very good, and the characters are portrayed in character and the dialogue is witty and snappy. It isn't pretentious like '06, it knows its a Sonic game and the characters still have plenty of spunk despite the more serious premise. There's also in-jokes and stuff strewn about. That being said, there are some points the game glosses over that I think would have been worth fleshing out more. Overall, the plot moves at a brisk pace which is mostly a good thing, but sometimes I wish it would slow down a bit to expand on certain points. Classic Sonic feels like a complete afterthought though in terms of the story. He doesn't even interact with the Avatar at all. A few things also go unresolved but I need to wait for Episode Shadow to release before I say anything there, and the online manual alludes to more DLC too. Some characters did feel really underutilised though.

Length wise, the game is about Colours/Generations length. It's pretty standard Modern Sonic, as far as just beating the story goes. Although, the game should easily creep into like, 30 hours if you want to 100% it, maybe more. However, all of the unlockables are for the Avatar, so if you don't care for the Avatar much, then you aren't gonna have a reason to 100% the game.

Controls are generally pretty good, I mean there's not much to say. Classic Sonic could be better, especially coming off Mania. Modern Sonic and the Avatar feel fine, no changes from what I thought of the demo. Those weird automation restrictions that pop up sometimes don't need to be there though, and there is the odd Homing Attack snaffu I've had.

Level design isn't as good as Generations or Unleashed on the whole, but it's better than Colours. There are a few really good ones towards the end, but unfortunately the earlier ones are just too easy. I also wish there was more 3D sections for Modern Sonic and the Avatar. There are some really memorable set pieces though.

The graphics look great all around. I played it on my PS4 Pro, but I don't know what the Pro support is for this game. Didn't really have any issues either way, it was a smooth 60 FPS throughout and the environments are gorgeous. The lighting is fantastic too. The animation is really solid. It's not as good as Unleashed, but it's better than Generations, Colours and Lost World, which IMO had very stiff and basic cutscene animations. Forces has a lot more action scenes than those games and even scenes where characters are just talking have more nuanced animation, like Unleashed.

Music is really great IMO. I really liked the final boss and credits themes in particular. The Classic Sonic songs are a bit weird but I still liked the compositions at least. Everything else is very energetic and gets you pumped. I also really like the orchestral pieces for stuff like the World Map. VA work is the best it's been in the games since Black Knight, again. The actors seem to have gotten some experience from Sonic Boom, so their performances are more natural now. Shadow stuck out to me as Kirk Thornton took a MUCH more reserved approach to his role here, and it works really well for this game. He almost sounds like Jason Griffith. While I like his more hammed up Shadow for comedic stuff like the Twitter takeover and Sonic Boom, that really wouldn't have worked here and I'm glad Kirk Thornton recognised that and gave a more reserved portrayal here.

Sound effects...I don't have much to say honestly. It's a loud game I guess, since there is a lot going on. Also the Stomp sound effects are incorrectly placed but that's about it. Nothing else of note.

Again, it has notable flaws, but I am having fun with the game. Mania is probably better overall but it's nice to have a main series 3D Sonic game to enjoy again.

Now, off to Episode Shadow, assuming it's out.

Thanks. I've been pretty worried about the game today because of those three reviews, I hope the consensus about the game is positive like that.

Quote: emeraldzoroark

So, while looking for the final boss music, I got spoiled on the final boss. Kinda inevitable tbh. I didn’t see the whole thing but...

Reveal Spoiler

Aside from Generations, we haven’t gotten a 3D Super Sonic fight since Unleashed.

Forget that...

(Final boss spoilers below)

so... is forces any good? i was gonna get it to meme the hell out of the avatar character and ya know actually play a good sonic game but if it's bad i'll pass

Gonna be cutting on spending money the next few weeks and was planning on getting Forces down the line, but if it's reviews aren't great, I'll pass. It'll be good for my wallet anyhow. Kinda sad, really. seems no matter what, outside of Mania, Sonic still has trouble.

>TSSZ gives the game a 2 out of 5 for various reasons pertaining to the bad level design and presentation



So HEY when are we getting that Sonic Mania 2 annoucement? Eh heh... Oh man.

I pre-ordered the Switch version, and I'm not regretting it...yet. I can't say for certain how much I'll like it, but surely the story is at least slightly better than those after Unleashed, right? If it has that, then I would probably feel compelled to keep playing, as the story is a major factor for my enjoyment level in games.

Plus, you never know: the bug fixes may help the game out some. I'll try to give my own review when it arrives (hopefully) today.

Honest opinions

Modern Sonic is better than classic

Not anymore it ain't. Polygon still used a lot of dumb arguments, but way too many people are talking about the controls and level design on anything that's not the Avatar.