Sonic Forces

53%
Game Brain Score Based on 4,552 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • music
Sonic Forces Game Cover
Despite its weird, war-focused beginning, Sonic Forces turns out to be a fun return to form for Sonic Team.
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Sonic Forces is a fantasy platformer game that can be played solo or with another player in multi-player or co-op mode. The game takes you through a world destroyed by Dr. Eggman and a powerful new villain, where you can speed through levels as Modern Sonic, Classic Sonic, or your own Custom Hero Character, using powerful new gadgets to fight enemies and save the world.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Cloud
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

53%
Audience ScoreBased on 4,552 reviews
story396 positive mentions
stability72 negative mentions
  • The character customization feature is fun and allows for a lot of creativity.
  • The graphics and visuals are impressive, showcasing the capabilities of the Hedgehog Engine 2.
  • The soundtrack is enjoyable, with some standout tracks that resonate well with fans.
  • The level design is linear and often feels automated, leading to a lack of challenge.
  • The story is poorly executed, with weak character development and many plot holes.
  • Classic Sonic's controls are frustrating and do not capture the essence of the original games.
  • story2,480 mentions

    The story of "Sonic Forces" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its potential but criticizing its execution. While some appreciate the darker tone and the inclusion of a customizable character, others find the plot to be shallow, rushed, and filled with inconsistencies, often feeling like a missed opportunity for deeper storytelling. Overall, the narrative is seen as a typical Sonic affair, lacking the depth and engagement that fans hoped for, making it a point of contention among players.

    • “The story is quite cool, and I love its vibes, and the music is heavenly.”
    • “New story taking place after the events of Forces, brand new levels taking cues from Generations and Unleashed, and completely redone physics, please go check it out, it really gives this game a reason to exist.”
    • “The story is a complete joke, but it has its moments that can be entertaining, especially with the character customization and the overall experience.”
    • “The story is a complete joke, and Sega has a body count due to the amount of character assassinations they portrayed in this game.”
    • “The story is so promising but they do absolutely nothing with it.”
    • “The story is a mess as well.”
  • gameplay1,306 mentions

    The gameplay in Sonic Forces has received mixed reviews, with many players noting a significant downgrade from previous titles like Sonic Generations. While modern Sonic and avatar gameplay are generally seen as enjoyable, they often feel overly simplistic and linear, leading to a "boost-to-win" experience that lacks depth. Classic Sonic's gameplay, on the other hand, is widely criticized for its poor physics and lack of momentum, making it the weakest aspect of the game. Overall, while the game offers some fun moments and customization options, many players feel it falls short in delivering a cohesive and engaging gameplay experience.

    • “Modern Sonic offers the best gameplay style, feeling the most fluid and responsive.”
    • “The gameplay is enjoyable, but it doesn’t quite reach that 'wow' factor.”
    • “The gameplay is fast-paced and the avatar stages are a refreshing new feature.”
    • “The gameplay is boring as most (holding boost and doing nothing) and straight frustrating at most (sometimes you just go off the map).”
    • “Infuriating gameplay that's filled with slippery controls, broken elements, and death pits; I'm pretty sure 95% of my deaths came from randomly placed death pits.”
    • “The gameplay is automated and atrocious, features were completely removed from the previous installments and overall feels empty.”
  • music1,178 mentions

    The music in "Sonic Forces" has received a mixed reception from players, with many praising its energetic and catchy tracks, particularly in the modern and avatar stages. However, the classic Sonic levels' music has been criticized for being lackluster and not capturing the essence of previous games. Overall, while the soundtrack is often highlighted as one of the game's strengths, opinions vary widely on its quality and memorability compared to other titles in the franchise.

    • “The music is fantastic, featuring a whole swath of amazing themes.”
    • “The soundtrack is always fantastic as usual in a sonic game and the gameplay isn't too bad.”
    • “The music is the best part of this game by far, but the best theme only plays twice.”
    • “The music in this game is also a bit mixed, mostly featuring some decent bangers like the title theme, but also some odd choices that don't quite hit the mark, especially during classic sonic's stages.”
    • “The soundtrack is also average, with many vocal tracks that feel out of place instead of appealing instrumentals.”
    • “Classic sonic's music is forgettable and the modern sonic tracks are plain bad.”
  • graphics513 mentions

    The graphics in Sonic Forces have received widespread praise for their vibrant visuals and impressive use of the Hedgehog Engine 2, marking a significant improvement over previous titles. Many players noted the game's ability to maintain a smooth frame rate and high-quality textures, contributing to a visually appealing experience, even if some felt the art style lacked originality and consistency. Overall, while the graphics are often highlighted as a strong point, they are sometimes overshadowed by criticisms of gameplay and level design.

    • “The graphics are great as they should be since this game introduced the series to the Hedgehog Engine 2, building on the great blend of realism and stylization we saw in Hedgehog Engine 1 games like Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Generations.”
    • “The graphics are stunning and the character models look super clean.”
    • “The visuals are beautiful; the music objectively is okay, so some people hate it or love it; the avatar customization is fun; the base mechanics are good; and the story is a nice comeback for making Sonic’s world feel like it has more life in it.”
    • “The graphics are worse than the 3D sections, the physics don't work very well, the maps are very small, and for some weird reason, the soundtrack is 8-bit versions of the original games.”
    • “The graphics are far worse than I thought; the amount of reused assets throughout the game is vile, and the quality isn't there either to make up for that.”
    • “The graphics aren't that nice, and the game has a variety of levels and boss battles, but the graphics and sound effects are well-done.”
  • replayability185 mentions

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players finding it enjoyable due to character customization, collectibles, and multiple paths in levels, while others criticize it for being short and lacking substantial incentives to replay. Many reviews highlight the avatar's unique abilities and the variety of missions as factors that enhance replay value, but there are also significant complaints about the overall level design and the game's brevity, leading to a general consensus that while there is some replayability, it may not be enough to satisfy all players.

    • “The fast-paced gameplay, well-crafted levels, and the inclusion of character customization add some variety and replayability to the experience.”
    • “Lots of missions, 12 bonus levels, tons of customization, S ranks, and a lot of collectibles that encourage you to explore levels are there after you finish the game, and to be honest, it's the replayability that got me the most enjoyment out of Forces.”
    • “The avatar can have a variety of different weapons that have different attacks/special abilities, which unlock different routes depending on which one you choose, so there's a lot of replay value in those stages.”
    • “I could excuse this if it was replayable, but I do not want to replay this game.”
    • “This game is insultingly easy, short, and lacks replay value.”
    • “Even if you for some reason wanted to keep playing, there's no reason to; all the missions are now over and there's no replay value inherently in the levels.”
  • optimization101 mentions

    The optimization of Sonic Forces has received mixed reviews from players. While some report smooth performance and good frame rates, others experience significant stuttering, frame drops, and issues with cutscenes, particularly on lower-end systems. Overall, the game shows potential for optimization improvements, especially in handling technical hiccups and ensuring a consistent experience across various hardware configurations.

    • “Lastly, for optimization - this game is optimized well.”
    • “+ PC optimization is really good, both in terms of performance and keyboard controls.”
    • “Graphics are nice and the game seems to be very well optimized from my experience.”
    • “Besides that, Sonic Forces is poorly optimized for PC; controlling characters feels awful and the story is just bad.”
    • “The only improvement compared to Generations is the Hedgehog Engine 2, which is arguably much more optimized, but considering how boring and lacking the graphics are, it's not a surprise this game hits a constant 60fps even on potato machines.”
    • “The game is terribly optimized and stutters like crazy, even on a fairly good mid-range system.”
  • humor101 mentions

    The humor in Sonic Forces is largely hit-or-miss, with many players finding the writing stale and the dialogue cringeworthy, leading to unintentional laughs rather than genuine amusement. While some enjoy creating absurd characters and find humor in the game's absurdity, others feel the overall experience is too dull to be entertaining, often resorting to laughing at the game's flaws rather than its intended comedic elements. Ultimately, the humor is described as inconsistent, with moments of irony and absurdity that can be amusing, but not enough to elevate the game's overall quality.

    • “Creating your own avatar and making them look hilarious is also tons of fun!”
    • “The plot of this game is absolutely ridiculous and it takes itself way too seriously, but that makes it so funny.”
    • “The humorous dialogue and banter has me laughing almost constantly.”
    • “The dialogue is cheesy and the humor very cringey sometimes.”
    • “Lazy, unfunny writing.”
    • “The voice acting is abysmal, with hilariously cringey military jargon being used in a baby game about a bunch of funny animals fighting a fat, bald scientist.”
  • stability78 mentions

    The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players reporting significant bugs, crashes, and control issues, particularly on PC. While a portion of users experienced minimal glitches and praised the game's performance, others highlighted frustrating gameplay interruptions and inconsistent mechanics. Overall, the game is seen as less buggy than some previous Sonic titles, but still suffers from notable stability problems that can detract from the experience.

    • “The game looks and runs great, thanks to the Hedgehog Engine 2.”
    • “Works great, runs great, integrates well with everything.”
    • “Glad to see this game has little to no glitches and bugs, unlike other 3D Sonic games.”
    • “The game is very crooked and buggy in places; you can fly over the level and die at any time.”
    • “During my original 3-hour long playthrough, I experienced loads of glitches and other issues that frustrated me a lot.”
    • “Controls either are oversensitive or don't respond at all; most movement mechanics don't work when they're activated, resulting in a loss. Every single level is riddled with countless spots where the player simply glitches through the ground, also resulting in a loss.”
  • grinding71 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game has been widely criticized for being excessively tedious and repetitive, with many players feeling that it detracts from the overall enjoyment. Achieving 100% completion often requires players to replay levels multiple times, leading to frustration and boredom due to uninspired level design and clunky controls. While some players find satisfaction in grinding for achievements and customization, the overwhelming sentiment is that the grinding mechanics make the game feel like a slog rather than an engaging experience.

    • “I've been aiming for 100% on the game, and any moments I'm not frustrated at a stupid death because I couldn't stop or turn properly, I'm bored by the repetitive grinding and uninspired level design.”
    • “90% of my playtime in my hunt for 100% completion is grinding levels over and over.”
    • “The main story is incredibly short (about four hours long) and the real value of the game is completing many tedious and obscure side missions that are simply not fun.”
  • emotional47 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players expressing disappointment due to a lack of emotional depth and resonance in the story, as well as awkward character interactions stemming from a silent protagonist. While some found moments of emotional connection and nostalgia, particularly in cutscenes and music, the overall sentiment leans towards a feeling of detachment and dissatisfaction with the narrative and gameplay experience. Ultimately, the game struggles to deliver a compelling emotional journey, leaving players feeling underwhelmed.

    • “This game made me feel things.”
    • “I cried at the end when little Sonic bro got snapped.”
    • “The story is nice, plenty of missions, a kind of sad story at the end though (well, I cried!)”
    • “Bad level design, overall boring to bad gameplay, boring story that ruins some characters.”
    • “Bringing the Phantom Ruby plot from Sonic Mania gives a boring story for the series.”
    • “Super boring story, gameplay, and visuals.”
  • character development29 mentions

    Character development in this game has been widely criticized, with many reviewers noting a significant regression in established characters like Tails, who is portrayed as cowardly and inconsistent with his previous growth. While the character creator offers some customization options, the overall narrative fails to provide meaningful development or depth for the characters, leading to a disappointing experience for fans expecting more from the story. Despite some interesting character designs, the lack of coherent character arcs and poor storytelling overshadow any potential for engaging character development.

    • “I always love character creators, and I found that changing up my character's outfit throughout the game to show his imaginary character development was a fun gimmick.”
    • “I also loved the character development with the dialogue.”
    • “Obviously the story won't be amazing considering it's just a Sonic game, but this game definitely has the strongest story of any Sonic game by far and has the most character development in a Sonic story I've ever seen.”
    • “No character development.”
    • “Honestly, this game had so much potential but it was just all put to waste with its poor storytelling, tedious and linear gameplay, and poor character development.”
    • “Let me just say that nobody here gets any form of character development; in fact, they have regressed back to what they were in Sonic Adventure 1.”
  • atmosphere22 mentions

    The atmosphere in various games is a mixed bag, with some titles successfully creating immersive experiences through strong visuals and music, while others struggle with tonal inconsistencies, particularly when attempting to balance darker themes with family-friendly elements. Games like *Celeste* and recent Sonic titles are praised for their engaging atmospheres, though some players feel that certain nostalgic levels detract from the overall experience. Overall, while many games achieve a captivating atmosphere, others fall short due to simplistic plots and a lack of depth in their world-building.

    • “The atmosphere is very immersive.”
    • “Sega finally made a modern Sonic game with good atmosphere, almost flawless levels, nice cutscenes, and without time-robbing forced side-missions.”
    • “But everything you've seen there was performed nicely; it's a stunning Sonic game with the perfect Sonic atmosphere.”
    • “Attempting to immerse oneself in a war-torn world becomes difficult when the overall tone strives for a family-friendly atmosphere.”
    • “The premise is pretty much satam inspired, yet there's no atmosphere and the plot is very basic and one-dimensional.”
    • “The atmosphere does not feel like war or catastrophe at all.”
  • monetization10 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game has received mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the absence of microtransactions and loot boxes, viewing it as a refreshing change, others criticize the game as a blatant cash grab, particularly with the inclusion of "classic" Sonic and poorly executed features that seem designed solely for advertising purposes. Overall, the game's monetization strategy appears to be a point of contention, with some praising its lack of microtransactions while others lament its perceived exploitation of nostalgia.

    • “Items are free and there are no microtransactions.”
    • “On top of that, loot in this game is acquired through completing missions; there are no microtransactions for anything in this game, which is a breath of fresh air.”
    • “No microtransactions or loot boxes.”
    • “This game is a bland and cynical cash grab and nothing else.”
    • “The microtransactions are completely broken in this game.”
    • “The game's short and has things it shouldn't have even introduced, essentially introducing points for advertising purposes just to waste it and not use it.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

58% average critic score

Buy Sonic Forces

Play time

5hMedian play time
25hAverage play time
4hMain story
26hCompletionist
3-16hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 41 analyzed playthroughs

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