Sonic Forces Shows Off First Gameplay
Could this be the one?
The mysterious Project Sonic 2017 was finally unveiled as Sonic Forces last night, logo and all. This next entry in the 3D side of the Sonic franchise has been getting teased for a while, and very quickly got a name and some gameplay footage all at once. You can get a glimpse of the world's fastest hedgehog in action in the video above. So far it's looking like more of the 3D Sonic levels from Sonic Generations, and to be honest, I quite enjoyed those overall, so maybe we'll actually get a solid 3D Sonic game for a change. The last time we got that was probably certain levels of Sonic Lost World back in 2013, but even that went back and forth between enjoyable and mediocre.
3D Sonic games have quite the stigma surrounding them, and for good reason. If someone has a favorite they'll often point to one of the Sonic Adventure games, and even those were pretty jank. Of course, Sonic '06, the poorly thought out half reboot, half 'what the hell am I playing why won't it end' title showed the true depths that the franchise could sink to, and the most recent entry, Sonic Boom, certainly didn't help fix that. It's a shame, because a significant number of people have a clear love for the inconsistent series, and Sonic Boom's TV show companion was actually quite enjoyable in its own dumb way.
With Sonic Mania also on the way as a throwback to the original titles, you really have to wonder if Sonic simply doesn't have a place in the industry anymore. If, just maybe, a 2D platformer where you go a bit too fast is fine and dandy once in a blue moon, but doesn't provide much to expand on. Maybe Sonic Forces will prove that theory wrong though.