Parents' Guide to Sonic Forces

Unfortunately, what's clearly an attempt to modernize and usher in a new era of games for this storied series is instead a bit of an overwhelming and confusing mess. Bear in mind that what you see will likely be different from what a younger player will feel and see playing Sonic Forces. If you're an adult, the game looks like complete chaos: Your character is the smallest thing on-screen, careening at top speed through stages that end in about two minutes, all while pop-up screens appear with characters shouting at you as upbeat music blares and vivid colors blur everywhere. This is, honestly, the core of what Sonic games have always been -- but this might be the first time no restraint has been exercised. As a result, the lack of focus makes the game feel completely out of control. By emphasizing speed, nothing is allowed to sink in and make much sense.

The game's 30 stages can each be beaten in under two minutes -- twitchier players will love easily doing better than that, and then trying to beat their times. Perhaps anticipating players taking issue with this length, the levels are overstuffed with an astonishing clothesline of daily challenges (changing your character's gloves, and other oddly easy bars to clear for a higher score) and ways to tempt you off your planned route with collectables (hidden red rings, for example). A lot of this, strangely, can be made irrelevant by equipping certain weapons available only to certain characters, which can open up shortcuts allowing you to bypass huge sections of a stage, making an implausible time on a stage incredibly easy to achieve. Simply put, there's too much going on in Sonic Forces, which isn't helped by the game doubling down on speed. Unless you're already a Sonic devotee, you'll be hard-pressed to track where your character is, but even then you'll likely be frustrated by the controls, which occasionally and inexplicably can be floaty and unresponsive. Simply put, there are other games that respect its players far more and are comfortable with letting their ideas breathe, sink in, and let you enjoy them. Play those instead.