Sonic Forces

Sonic Forces is an action-adventure platform game similar in gameplay and style to prior Sonic the Hedgehog games. The player's goal is to liberate the world from the newly established reign of Doctor Eggman. The game features three playable characters: two variants of Sonic the Hedgehog ("Classic" and "Modern") and the "Avatar" (the player's custom character). Each has unique abilities and attributes: Classic Sonic is restricted to side-scrolling gameplay reminiscent of the Sega Genesis Sonic games and can perform a spin dash on the ground and a drop dash in mid-air to gain speed.

Modern Sonic's gameplay follows a similar style to Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors: he can double jump, perform a homing attack on enemies, springs and zip lines and a speed boost by collecting White Wisps. The Avatar is created from a base of seven animal types, which each possess a unique ability; they also wield a grappling hook and can equip weapons known as Wispons, including flamethrowers, whips and hammers. Depending on the Wispon, Avatars can use temporary abilities by collecting a corresponding Wisp type. Certain parts see players controlling both Modern Sonic and the Avatar, switching between them as necessary, similar to Sonic Heroes.

Doctor Eggman attacks a city and Sonic sets out to stop him. Upon arriving, he is attacked by Infinite, a mercenary empowered by the Phantom Ruby. Infinite defeats Sonic, who is taken prisoner aboard the Death Egg. Without Sonic to stop him further, Eggman, with the help of his robots, Infinite, Shadow the Hedgehog, Chaos, Zavok and Metal Sonic, manages to conquer the world within six months.

Knuckles the Echidna forms a resistance movement with Tails, the Chaotix, Amy Rose, Silver the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat and a survivor of Eggman's attack who is solely referred to as the "Rookie". Knuckles discovers Sonic's whereabouts and the Rookie steals a space shuttle, breaks into the Death Egg and rescues him. Back in the city, Tails is ambushed by Chaos, but is saved by Classic Sonic, who has now been marooned in the present due to the Phantom Ruby's power. The duo set out to spy on Eggman, learning about the gemstone and that Eggman has an endgame that will dispose of the resistance upon taking effect in three days.

Development of Sonic Forces began shortly after the completion of Sonic Lost World (2013) under the codename Project Sonic 2017. It was developed alongside Sonic Mania. It was developed by Sonic Team; the majority of the staff had previously developed Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations (which followed a similar premise). The game was directed by Morio Kishimoto, who previously directed the console versions of Sonic Colors and Lost World. The game was produced in commemoration of the series' twenty-fifth anniversary and the title was chosen to signify its themes of power, teamwork and armies.

The game was intended to give a darker perspective to the world of Sonic, in contrast to the fantasy-based themes of previous entries, and expand upon the modern-style gameplay from Unleashed and Colors. To create this, the developers designed levels to seem desolate and more realistic. In programming the game, the development team used the Hedgehog Engine 2, an updated version of the game engine used in Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Generations. The gameplay was mostly modeled off Unleashed's, with elements from Colors and Generations.

Sonic Forces received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.

Writing for Polygon, Jeremy Parish praised the game's visuals and character customization, but criticized its repetitive boss fights and argued the game did not advance the series' design. Parish disliked the ranking system, which rewards players for completing stages quickly rather than exploring them for collectibles, and dismissed the tag team sections as "under-developed" because players would prefer to use Modern Sonic whenever the Avatar was not required. The four reviewers of Famitsu were more positive, praising the character creation system, story, and soundtrack. Heidi Kemps, reviewing Forces for IGN, faulted elements of the game's level design, indicating that "unfair-feeling traps" recurred intermittently and that the levels were relatively short and underdeveloped.

The critical feedback that Sonic Forces received heavily influenced the development of the subsequent game in the series, Sonic Frontiers (2022). Kishimoto acknowledged the lackluster reception and concluded that Sonic Team's method of designing levels that originated in Sonic Unleashed would no longer satisfy fans. The open-world Frontiers was designed to be lengthy, with an emphasis on exploration, puzzles and combat to address the criticism that Forces received for its short length. The story of Forces influenced the plot of IDW Publishing's Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series, with its narrative beginning shortly after the game's events.

Music from the game appeared in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and the Sunset Heights level was later remade in Shadow Generations. The Luminous Forest level was featured in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (2025).