Sonic Forces hands-on

The return of the legendary blue hedgehog has rekindled the spirits of all fans of the brand. For years now the multimedia work has not been able to find a definitive direction, therefore proposing a series of products that do not quite live up to expectations. In recent days, Nintendo held a showcase dedicated to its line up and, on this occasion, we got to try Sonic Forces. As is clear, the brand definitely needed a refresh also because, in the long run, it had become boring and repetitive even for the most hardcore fans. After a long time, Nintendo's intention is to make a qualitatively excellent title available to the public, will it be successful? So here's how our experience was with one of the most anticipated games for Nintendo Switch!

During our test we had three different levels: the first was the classic Sonic with the view behind, the second was a phased boss battle and the third was a path with a fictional character. But let's go in order, let's start with the more modern version of the blue hedgehog. As previously mentioned the camera is planted firmly behind the character's back, but in some situations it will move sideways to form a traditional 2D platformer. The level faced was probably one of the first you will see during the adventure: a city in chaos invaded and destroyed by robots and other types of enemies. Sonic has a boost on his side that, as he recharges, will guarantee him to make powerful shots that will destroy the opponents. The latter can also be defeated with slips, which are also useful for destroying the various objects on the map. Our test was a simple and very undemanding thing where we tended to jump, run and slaughter anything that moved on the screen.. The main goal was to finish the run as quickly as possible.

The second game was related to the boss fight against Dr. Eggman and personally it was the game I enjoyed the most. Although the level design of the map was not excellent and guaranteed some blind spots where enemy attacks could not arrive, I must say that it was a really interesting experience. Despite the excessive ease it was nice to discover that the battle took place in phases and, as you progressed, the difficulty increased. Probably a tad more of malice would not have hurt, also because it is the sequence of the enemy's attack is easily memorized and in the end it becomes almost a walk in health. The last mode I got to try was the run with the fictional character. Although the level was the same as that of Sonic, the skills with which the new character was gifted made him unique. In this case we had an electric whip at our disposal to defeat the robots and, not being able to make a boost as with the blue hedgehog, we headed towards the goal via alternative routes.

Although there has been little to see and, basically, nothing too new, it can be assumed that lovers of the brand have found bread for their teeth. There are many interesting ideas but others that need to be revised, such as too much confusion on the screen which, also thanks to an excessive frenzy in the gameplay, makes the image absolutely chaotic. We don't feel like completely putting our hand on fire for Sonic Forces but true fans of the iconic hedgehog will certainly appreciate it. The title did not disappoint but it didn't even scream a miracle, perhaps it would be time to renew the brand with something fresher because, in 2017, a platformer like Sonic is struggling to emerge in the market. What we can say with certainty is that the multimedia work will not be that product that will reach the mass, but for its historical fans it will certainly be purchased.