Sonic Forces Review | Polygon

Sonic Forces creators' good intentions and interesting ideas don't amount to much in a game so clumsy and limited in design. It certainly doesn't help that Forces follows right on the heels of Sonic Mania, a game that not only demonstrated a more focused design sensibility but also did a far better job of realizing its creators' ambitions. Forces may have had a larger budget than Mania, but it feels like the poorer creation all around. Unless your dearest dream has always been to play a Sonic game as your own original fan art character, Sonic Forces doesn't have much to offer.

[DigitalCentralMedia]

Ouch

[-Foxtrot]

Relying on gimmicks and making it over the top once again...they just can;t help themselves

They thought they could take Generations, do it again but make it bigger and add a gimmick like making your own character

Sonic Mania was amazing...it showed less is more.

[Harkins1721]

Lol polygon

[PhoenixUp]

Polygon is a joke of a review site at times.

Take this one with a grain of salt.

[Theknightofnights]

Why is Polygon a joke of a review site specifically?

I'm not trying to defend them. I don't really know Polygon so I'm curious.

[slappy508]

@Theknight Polygon uploaded a 30 min gameplay video of Doom. To say the least the gaming journalist absolutely sucked. In the video, the player is shown moving erratically and repeatedly missing targets while shooting various weapons. After many viewers left comments on the video pointing out the player’s lack of first-person shooter experience, the comments and ratings were disabled for the video Here it is if you feel like guaging your eyes out with a spoon https://www.youtube.com/wat...
Their other notable controversy was In the wake of the Zoe Post that spawned the GamerGate movement, the Polygon editor was found donating to the Patreon page of video game developer Zoe Quinn prior to reviewing her game. (I think since after that controversy they are required to disclose their contributions)
Then I guess from time to time you see real brain fart articles pop up like Shadow of War is racist. https://www.polygon.com/201...

[Theknightofnights]

Don't know why I'm getting disagree's for asking a question.

@slappy508

Thank you for your response! Honestly, I think your second example is more notable than anything.

[PhoenixUp]

I’d rather play this myself than let some journalist tell me what he thinks of it

[AKR]

That's kind of how EVERY REVIEW EVER works. You're not supposed to take reviews as the end-all-be-all for anything; they're just opinions.

[Jaypi03]

True, but people take reviews as the final say in whether a game is something they'd enjoy or not.

[georeo]

But why are you here if that's the case? You seem you would be ok with their opinion if it was in your favor. But soon as its negative you say the same narrative "I won't let them tell me what I can like" if that's the case just buy the game for your on input.

[Psytrix]

Noooooooo.. Forces, you were the chosen one..! *Cries like a little Chinese school girl*

[DarXyde]

Why a Chinese school girl?

Last I checked, they're pretty resilient. :P

This review is a pretty epic ouch. Looks like Mania is the way to go, as expected. We'll see how polarizing the other reviews are first.

[Psytrix]

Haha.. Dunno man - think I saw something on TV and it just stuck. Haven't bought Mania yet as it's still too expensive, fingers crossed other reviews are more forgiving, I haven't purchased a Sonic title since Generations and was really wanting to jump into it all again.

[DrJones]

What do you mean resilient

[-Foxtrot]

If you cry...you cry in Spanish

But seriously...I always assumed Mania was the chosen one.

[RAM0N]

I'm not surprised by this.

[Fullmetalevolust]

And so it begins, however, the score could be valid if in fact it's a game on rail and there's no depth to the gameplay.
I am shocked that Sonic Team cannot handle making a Sonic in 3d (adventure was great), perhaps they're not looking at the right formula. Perhaps, the 3d/2d gameplay mix is what it needs to remain sturdy.

[NarooN]

Why are Sonic games still being made

[lptmg]

because every now and then a Mania is made

[Foraoise]

"Sonic Mania, a game that not only demonstrated a more focused design sensibility but also did a far better job of realizing its creators' ambitions." - So... okay. In my next review I'm going to give the next Zelda game a horrible score because it didn't compare well to Ocarina of Time.

Idiots run Polygon. Damn.

[The 10th Rider]

Yes, their overall tone doesn't sound bad. It simply sounds like it doesn't really iterate on Generations and it's hot off the heels of Mania, which is a great Sonic game.

[Elda]

It seems when it comes to 3d Sonic the developers need to put it to rest.

[Matpan]

Wanna play a great sonic? play sonic mania. Now THAT´s a great game.

[agent13]

Sonic Forces is not as good as generations and sonic adventure but it is certainly a big step forward comparing to recent 3d sonic games i have played it's demo this game deserves at least 7/10 bright days for sonic will return

[tigertron]

Mine arrived early, it's a pretty decent Sonic game. If you liked Generations you'll like this. The visuals are great, the soundtrack is great, the custom character is a pretty nice addition. However, the gameplay feels a little automated in the modern Sonic stages and the homing attack isn't as fluid as it is in Sonic Adventure 1 and 2. There is quite a bit of screen tearing in places, especially the cutscenes in the XB1 version. The stages are pretty short though. However, If you're a Sonic fan then you should check it out, especially at the budget price.

[quent]

Didn't see that coming

[FinalomegaS]

maybe a 2D HD hybrid... maybe the type of game sonic is, the 3D nature does not translate into the feel the 2Dness we like?

[Knightofelemia]

Just watch a few game vids on Youtube or streams on Twitch they will give the real answer if you want to buy the game or not.

[BenjaMan64]

Hm... we should wait for more reviews before judging.

[Nerdmaster]

I played the demo, but after the perfect physics of Sonic Mania, handling classic Sonic on Forces feels really bad.

[CloudStrife900]

Not judging the score or the review here, but Sega have stated that review copies are being withheld to allow for a day one patch.

https://twitter.com/sonic_h...

[Teflon02]

Exactly this. I wouldn't give no credit to a review that was done before review copies are dated to arrive. Professional reviewers and serious ones should know better than to rush out a review especially when the reason was noted by sega already. It's a real amature and attention seeking type of move.

[theshredded]

One of rhee few games where scores don't really affect my purchase. My first sonic was the shadow game with guns and I loved it!

[Eltortugagames]

Dang that is too bad. I was thinking this might have been cool to have in the switch. I guess I will see if other reviewers find it worthwhile