Hooooo boy. Whereas most people are in agreement with Mania, Forces is a bit of a different story. Everywhere I look, I see different opinions on Forces, and it doesn't seem like anybody can really agree on the game. Some think it's an amazing game and one of the best 3D Sonic games ever made. Others think that it's a horrible dumpster fire and that you should stay away from it at all costs. And then there's the third group, which is the group that thinks it's merely mediocre. Of course, that's not to say that nobody is somewhere in between these three opinions, but these seem to be the three most common opinions I see.
I guess I should start with the plot (which I didn't go over with Mania because it wasn't as big of a focus). Basically, Eggman has recruited a brand new person to his team named Infinite, who wields a mysterious power source that allows him to beat Sonic. With Sonic defeated, Eggman takes over the world and leaves it in shambles, causing Sonic's friends to form a Resistance with Knuckles as the leader. (Yes, Knuckles.) He recruits a new person (...animal?) to the team who everyone just calls "Rookie," (who is your own custom character) and they soon find out that Sonic is alive and well, being held captive on the Death Egg. The rookie saves Sonic and the two team up from that point onward. Meanwhile, Tails, not knowing that Sonic is alive, has basically given up all hope until he meets with Classic Sonic. The two of them team up and go around the world, doing... something... it's not that well explained... and the two of them grow a bond... sorta. That's the basic plot in a nutshell, without going beyond the first third of it.
Overall, the plot is... just there. They try to go darker and edgier with the storytelling, but beyond a few cutscenes nobody really acts in a way that makes it seem like anything is much different from the Sonic norm. Not even the new villain, Infinite, is really anything that special. They try to make him cool and mysterious, but he just kinda says a few intimidating things before Sonic and friends fight him, and without giving much away, his backstory is weak and by the end he's practically taken out of the story. The only real mystery surrounding him is what powers him, and even then it's revealed about a third of the way in that what powers him is the same plot device from Mania. It seems like they had a lot of neat ideas for the story, but none of them are fully realized.
Sadly, what I just said about how none of the cool ideas being fully realized applies to the gameplay as well. For Modern Sonic, we're returning to the boost formula... and it's probably the weakest iteration of it thus far. There's enjoyment to be had just blasting about at full speed and mowing down everything in your path, but at no point does the game ever really try to challenge you in anyway other than just to get to the end as fast as you can. The biggest problem with Modern Sonic is that it suffers from the Sonic 4 syndrome of "been there, done that." For what it's worth, it's not horrible, and if you're just looking for a bit of dumb fun where you don't have to think about it too hard, then Modern Sonic will give you what you want. However, it doesn't have the high skill ceiling of Unleashed, the wacky and weird concepts of Colors, or the superb level design of Generations.
Next up is the Avatar, and while I can't say the Avatar stages get that much more complex, they do have a bit more going on. They basically play like Modern Sonic, but instead of the boost, you get the ability to use "Wispons," which are weapons that allow you to use the powers of Wisps to your advantage. (No, it's never explained why they're still around.) All the Wispons have their own uses and are rather mindlessly fun to use (except Cube... never use Cube...), and they lead to a variety of different pathways, but like Modern Sonic, you kinda have to turn your brain off to get the most enjoyment out of it. There are also Tag Team stages where Sonic and the Avatar team up, but all that really happens with those is that you're allowed to Boost and use the Wispons at the same time. For what it's worth, I do believe that making the characters play similarly to Modern Sonic with their different abilities being what separates them is how multiple player characters should be handled in Sonic games.
Of course, we can't talk about the Avatar without talking about the character customization. You have seven species to chose from - Wolves, which draw in items, Dog, which allows you to restart with some rings if you die, Bunny, which extends the amount of invincibility frames if you take a hit, Bear, which blows enemies away if using a Wire Attack (which is basically just a Homing Attack with a different name), Cat, which allows you to hold onto some rings after taking damage, Bird, which allows you to perform a double jump (which actually isn't as useful as it sounds), and Hedgehog, which makes dropped rings stay around for longer. They all play similarly overall, and the differences between them are rather minor, so you don't have to worry about what species you choose radically changing up the game in any way. There's also a fair amount of customization when it comes to the appearance of the Avatar, with three different heads for each species, several different eyes, multiple ways to color your character, and the plethora of different clothing options that are rewarded to you for completing missions. Overall, its ironic that what people thought would turn out the be the cringiest part of the game was actually its best feature.
With all that said, the last gameplay style to talk about is Classic Sonic... and there's no beating around the bush, he's the worst part of the game. It's not just because we have Mania to compare him to, either. Even compared to Generations, he fails. This is mainly because he feels so awkward and stiff to control... and this wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that the game never seems like it was built with his physics in mind. Because of that, playing Classic Sonic can be rather unenjoyable, and one of his stages even has autoscrolling in it. Yes, autoscrolling. In a Sonic game. On the bright side, you won't be playing him as much, as his stages don't even take up a third of the game.
As for the graphics, they're... okay. It looks kinda like a fusion between the wonderful looking graphics of the first Hedgehog Engine and the more simplified graphics of Lost World. It's bright and colorful, but the first impression I get of the Hedgehog Engine 2 is that it's... definitely not as powerful as the first. As for the music, I've heard a lot of mixed opinions on it, but I quite like it. Modern Sonic's levels are a nice blend of techno and rock, Classic Sonic's levels have a much better Genesis synth than in Sonic 4 (except Green Hill... don't ask me what screwed up there), and the Avatar's levels are the absolute highlight when it comes to the music in the game. Though, overall, I can understand why it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea.
Overall, Sonic Forces is a game that I still don't really know what to make of. I mean, I played through and beat the game 100%, so that much mean I enjoyed the game on some level, but I also don't really feel a compulsion to go back and play it over and over again like I did with Generations (or hell, even Mania). I'd say that if you're at all interested in it, then you might wanna go for it, but only if you're fine with knowing that what you're getting into isn't really that complex or interesting. It's just a game to have some dumb fun with, and as far as dumb fun goes, you could do a lot worse than Forces. However, if you're looking for something with a bit more intelligent design, you're better off playing Generations again.
6/10