Sonic Forces isn't exactly what you'd call a "safe" game. When it launched in 2017, it arrived with a massive weight on its shoulders, carrying the legacy of Sonic Generations and the experimental DNA of Sonic Colors. People wanted a masterpiece. They got something... different. It’s a game that tries to do everything at once—mixing high-speed 3D boosts, classic 2D platforming, and a character creator that looks like it was ripped straight out of a DeviantArt fever dream. It’s messy, it’s fast, and honestly, it’s one of the most fascinating entries in the blue blur’s long history.
You’ve probably seen the memes. The custom "Avatar" system allowed players to drop their own animal creations into the Sonic canon for the first time. For some, it was a dream come true. For others, it was the moment the series officially jumped the shark. But if you look past the neon-colored wolves and birds wearing streetwear, there’s a mechanical depth here that often gets overlooked because of how short the levels are.
The War for Mobius and the Avatar System
The premise of Sonic Forces is surprisingly grim for a game about a cartoon hedgehog. Eggman actually wins. He conquers 99% of the world. Sonic is captured and supposedly tortured—though the game doesn't show much of that—and a resistance force led by Knuckles has to take the planet back. This sets the stage for the three distinct playstyles: Modern Sonic, Classic Sonic, and the Avatar.
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The Avatar is the real wild card. Unlike Sonic, who relies on homing attacks and boosting, your custom character uses "Wispons." These are gadgets powered by Wisps that turn you into a makeshift action hero. One Wispon might be a flamethrower that doubles as a vertical jump, while another is a lightning whip that lets you zip through trails of rings. It changes the flow of the game entirely. Instead of just holding forward and reacting, you’re managing cooldowns and choosing routes based on your gear. It’s a layer of strategy that Sega hadn't really messed with before, and it works surprisingly well when the level design lets it breathe.
Most players complain that the levels are too short. They aren't wrong. Some stages clock in at under two minutes. You’re just getting into a rhythm, the music is peaking, and then—bam—Goal Ring. It feels like a sprint when fans wanted a marathon. This brevity is the game's biggest hurdle, as it prevents the "Modern" boost mechanics from ever reaching the dizzying heights seen in Sonic Unleashed or Generations.
Why Infinite Failed to Live Up to the Hype
Then there's Infinite. He was marketed as this terrifying, reality-bending threat that could outrun Sonic and outpower Shadow. His theme song is an absolute banger—a sort of edgy, mid-2000s nu-metal anthem that perfectly captures the "Sonic Team" aesthetic. But in the actual game? He’s a bit of a letdown. His backstory, revealed in the Episode Shadow DLC, basically boils down to him getting his feelings hurt because Shadow called him weak.
It’s a missed opportunity. The Phantom Ruby, the source of his power, allowed for some incredible visual effects—glitching environments, fake copies of old villains like Chaos and Metal Sonic, and gravity-defying set pieces. But the boss fights with Infinite never quite push those mechanics to the limit. They're spectacular to look at, sure, but they're often mechanically simple. You spend a lot of time just dodging cubes and waiting for a prompt to hit him.
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Despite this, the "Forces" era of the fandom is obsessed with him. There’s a complexity to the world-building that the game touches on but doesn't fully explore. The idea of a global war where every minor character has a role to play—Silver the Hedgehog acting as a scout, Amy Rose running communications—gave the world a sense of scale that Sonic Frontiers later traded for isolated melancholy.
Breaking Down the Physics and Control Jitters
If you talk to a hardcore Sonic speedrunner, they’ll tell you exactly why Sonic Forces feels "off" compared to its predecessors. It’s all in the physics. In Generations, Sonic had a certain weight to him. When you jumped, you moved in a predictable arc. In Forces, the air control is extremely stiff. If you let go of the analog stick, Sonic basically drops like a stone.
This was likely a choice to make the game more accessible to younger players who struggled with the high-speed precision of earlier games. By "automating" some of the movement, Sega made it harder to fall off the stage, but they also removed the satisfaction of mastering the controls.
- Modern Sonic: Fast, but feels like he’s on rails.
- Classic Sonic: Suffers from weird momentum issues where he feels "floaty."
- Avatar: The most consistent of the three, ironically.
The game also uses the Hedgehog Engine 2. Visually, it’s stunning. The lighting effects on stages like Luminous Forest or the crumbling ruins of Sunset Heights are top-tier. Even years later, the game holds up graphically, especially at 4K. It’s a testament to Sonic Team’s art direction—they know how to make a world look vibrant and alive, even when that world is supposedly being destroyed by a mad scientist.
The Soundtrack Carry
We have to talk about the music. Tomoya Ohtani, the series' long-time composer, went in a heavy electronic/synth direction for this title. Each character has a specific "sound." Modern Sonic gets high-energy rock and techno. The Avatar gets vocal tracks with heavy synth-pop influences. Classic Sonic gets... well, controversial "Genesis-style" chirps that many fans found a bit grating compared to the lush soundtracks of the 16-bit era.
But those Avatar tracks? They’re infectious. "Fist Bump," the main theme featuring Douglas Robb from Hoobastank, is the ultimate "power of friendship" anthem. It’s cheesy, it’s loud, and it fits the game’s tone perfectly. In a lot of ways, the music does the heavy lifting for the storytelling. When you're running through the final stage with Sonic and your Avatar side-by-side, and the lyrics kick in, it’s hard not to feel a little bit of that old-school Sonic magic, even if the level is over in ninety seconds.
Misconceptions About the Development
A common myth is that Sonic Forces was made by a "B-team" while the "A-team" worked on other projects. That’s not really true. It was handled by the core Sonic Team, but they spent a massive amount of time building the Hedgehog Engine 2 from scratch. This left significantly less time for actual level design and polish. You can see the remnants of this in the "Episode Shadow" levels, which are mostly reused assets from the main game with a few new twists.
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Another point of contention is the inclusion of Classic Sonic. After Sonic Mania came out just a few months prior and mastered the 2D feel, his inclusion in Forces felt redundant. He doesn't have much to do with the plot, and his levels feel like they belong in a different game. It’s a classic case of a studio trying to please everyone and ending up with a slightly fractured experience.
Yet, there is a charm here. The game is incredibly "moddable" on PC. The community has spent years fixing the physics, adding new levels, and even porting in characters from other franchises. If you play the base game today, you might find it underwhelming. But if you dive into the modding scene, you’ll find a version of the game that realizes the potential Sonic Team didn't quite reach.
Practical Steps for New Players
If you’re picking up the game for the first time in 2026, don’t go in expecting Sonic Adventure 3. Treat it like a high-octane, short-form experimental title.
- Focus on the Wispons: Don’t just stick to the first one you get. Experiment with the "Void" or "Drill" Wispons. They open up different paths in the levels that make the short stages feel more replayable.
- Play on "Hard" Mode: The "Normal" mode in this game is essentially an "Easy" mode with no real penalty for dying. Hard mode (sometimes called Tactical) gives you the standard Sonic experience where losing rings actually matters.
- Grab the Free DLC: There are several costume packs (like the Persona 5 Joker outfit) and the Shadow prequel chapters that are free. Play Episode Shadow first—it actually provides the context for the main villain that the base game forgets to mention.
- Ignore the Rank: Getting an "S" rank in this game is surprisingly easy. Don't let it fool you into thinking you've mastered the level. Try to find the five Red Star Rings in every stage; that’s where the real platforming challenge lies.
The game is often on sale for under $10. For that price, it’s a steal. It’s a weird, flawed, beautiful piece of Sonic history that paved the way for the open-zone movement we saw in Frontiers. It’s not the best Sonic game, but it’s far from the worst. It’s just... its own thing.
To get the most out of your time with the game, start by focusing on the Daily Missions. These give you massive XP boosts for your Avatar, unlocking new clothing items and more powerful Wispons much faster than regular play. Once you have a high-tier Wispon like the Hover or Lightning, go back to the early levels. You'll find that the "short" stages actually have vertical paths and hidden shortcuts that are impossible to reach with the basic gear. This "Metroidvania-lite" approach to a speed-based platformer is the game's secret strength. Explore those layers, and you'll see why a dedicated group of fans still defends this title today.