As its website touts, in the darkest of times the world needs a hero. Enter Sonic the Hedgehog, faster and more powerful than before, with a little help from his friends. Well, by friends I mean a version of his past self and a rookie resistance member. Oh, and you! You can choose one of seven animal archetypes to customize and become your own hero.
In my hands-on demo at PAX West in Seattle in September, I played a “classic” Sonic stage, spin dashing and drop dashing him through levels of incredibly fast paced side-scrolling action to fight hordes of robots and gather ALL THE RINGS. Okay, not all – because I’m sure that would have annoyed the PR reps as much as it annoys my husband. In the world of collect and run games, my motto is, “If it’s there for me to collect, collect I will.” I can easily picture myself spending hours playing this game just for that reason. Especially since players now have unlimited lives.
I also had the opportunity to play the “modern” version of Sonic in 3-dimensional gameplay. Much of the game was comforting in its familiarity but there were a variety of abilities that made the game exciting, like homing attacks and boosting by collecting White Wisps. I was also reminded there is a reason he is named Sonic – so many times my eyes couldn’t keep up with his progress on screen!
The Sonic expert in the interview room also gave me the opportunity to play one of three Shadow stages after demonstrating how. I can tell you he got a lot further than I did – but he his gameplay wasn’t flawless, which I appreciated. That means hours of mastering for me! The Shadow stages will be included in a DLC that will be available at launch on November 7, free with your purchase of Sonic Forces. Episode Shadow is an add-on that’ll deal with his “mysterious backstory” with the new villain, Infinite, and the ability to play as the Shadow the Hedgehog in over 10 Modern Sonic stages. Those who pre-order the Digital Bonus Edition will get a Shadow costume for their custom character.
For Sonic fans, this looks to be a fun release that has all the elements that we love about Sonic – fast, manic gameplay, as well as exciting enhancements that will keep us entertained.
