History YMMV / SonicForces

* EvilIsSexy: [[PopularWithFurries Certain fans]] have this view towards Infinite. This only doubled when the prequel comic showed what he looked liked without his mask.

** The fact that Eggman spent months on end torturing Sonic, which Knuckles comments is pretty low, even for him. Then again, the fact that this "torture" bit was thrown in by the dub without a shred of evidence in the story itself calls into question what would qualify as "torture" under the circumstances...

** Jarringly, it's mentioned that Tails [[SanitySlippage "lost it"]] after thinking Sonic died, but when we see him, he's more or less acting as he usually does. (Unless you take Tails’ BadassDecay as “losing it”.) The only tell that he's had any kind of distress is that he shouts out for Sonic's help, despite thinking Sonic's gone, but this is a blink-and-you'll miss it detail. (Interestingly, in the Japanese version, it's mentioned that the resistance simply didn't know Tails' whereabouts after Infinite's attack. Being that there's no implication of him "losing it," it explains why his demeanor didn't seem to be affected much.)

** Even the game's detractors agree that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOUjuj4izcQ the main theme,]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI97jY3FZ9Q "Fist Bump,"]] lives up to the [[AwesomeMusic/SonicTheHedgehog expectations set by the franchise]].

** Despite the [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot missed opportunity]] with the eponymous void, the [[spoiler:Null Space]] level is one of the big favorites. The level involves an all-out assault on the Sonic and Avatar duo by Eggman's robots, set to the tune of "Fist Bump," and its many alternate paths adds a lot of replay value.

** One Youtuber's Comment Summing Up Infinite's characteristics:
--->'''Dr.Loboto:''' "Infinite is kind of an amazing villain [[NarmCharm by complete accident]]. [[TheDreaded He seems intimidating at first]], [[SmugSuper talking big shit and doing crazy stuff]], but at the end of the day [[StupidEvil he's just a massive pushover and most of his powers are mere illusions]]. [[PsychopathicManchild He acts dark and brooding like he has a tragic backstory]], [[SoreLoser but it's actually just him throwing a temper tantrum over losing a single fight]]. In their efforts to make a badass villain, the writers of Sonic Forces accidentally made [[DeconstructedCharacterArchetype a genius deconstruction of the kind people who try to act badass in real life]]."

*** Either "Zero the Jackal" for Infinite's past self, because that was his concept name, or "Finn", as a pun on "finite", the opposite of "infinite"

** Another overpowered Wispon is actually the second Wispon you get: the [[LightningLash Lightning Whip]]. While it can be hard to control since it thrusts you forwards if holding a direction while swinging it, as well as slowing you down if you're running, you may soon realize that beyond one exception ([[spoiler:in Infinite's fight with the Avatar, with his Phantom Ruby attacks still affecting you]]), ''[[GoodBadBugs you're invulnerable while swinging the whip]].'' This lets you tear ass through enemies and certain obstacles more safely than with any other weapon, and can even cheese [[spoiler:phase two of the FinalBoss]] in about a ''minute''.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKjOJuPjiu4 "Infinite"]] contains Music/LinkinPark-esque nu metal rap rock. Dangerkids, the band behind the song, viewed Linkin Park as one of their inspirations for making music; they referenced Linkin Park in their first album. What makes it fit here then? ''Well...'' the song was released the ''same day when Chester Bennington''[[note]]Linkin Park's lead singer[[/note]] ''committed suicide by hanging.''

** "The Light Of Hope", overlaps with TearJerker:

** Iron Fortress, Classic Sonic's final stage. Not only does it have a rather annoying enemy with semi-homing rockets [[UniqueEnemy that only shows up in this level]], it also has the only autoscrolling 2D section in the entire game. Not advancing carefully can have the rockets fired at you from almost off-screen, pits are abound in the second half of the stage, and a final "run or die" segment right before the goal is so unstable and inconsistent that unless you Spin Dash or get lucky with the speed booster and/or Sonic's running working correctly, ''you'll die every single time.''

** Infinite's design unintentionally resembles a [[http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/File:Sonic_and_ProtoBlaze.png prototype design]] for [[VideoGame/SonicRushSeries Blaze the Cat]].

* PolishedPort: While the graphics were downgraded due to the system not being as powerful as its competitors, as well as the framerate being halved, the Nintendo Switch version is otherwise identical to the other versions, but also allows portable play. There are also some (relatively minor) bugfixes that the other versions don't have. Even more impressive is that [[SugarWiki/GeniusProgramming the developers managed to cut down the filesize by more than half, from around 18GB to just 7GB, while leaving everything intact.]]

-->'''Dr.Loboto:''' "Infinite is kind of an amazing villain [[NarmCharm by complete accident]]. [[TheDreaded He seems intimidating at first]], [[SmugSuper talking big shit and doing crazy stuff]], but at the end of the day [[StupidEvil he's just a massive pushover and most of his powers are mere illusions]]. [[PsychopathicManchild He acts dark and brooding like he has a tragic backstory]], [[SoreLoser but it's actually just him throwing a temper tantrum over losing a single fight]]. In their efforts to make a badass villain, the writers of Sonic Forces accidentally made [[DeconstructedCharacterArchetype a genius deconstruction of the kind people who try to act badass in real life]]."

* EvilIsCool: Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, Infinite, Metal Sonic, Shadow the Hedgehog, Chaos, and Zavok qualify, since they have managed to [[TakeOverTheWorld take control of much of the world]] at the beginning of ''Sonic Forces'', and are powerful enough to [[CurbStompBattle kick Sonic around like a ball]].

->'''Dr.Loboto:''' "Infinite is kind of an amazing villain [[NarmCharm by complete accident]]. [[TheDreaded He seems intimidating at first]], [[SmugSuper talking big shit and doing crazy stuff]], but at the end of the day [[StupidEvil he's just a massive pushover and most of his powers are mere illusions]]. [[PsychopathicManchild He acts dark and brooding like he has a tragic backstory]], [[SoreLoser but it's actually just him throwing a temper tantrum over losing a single fight]]. In their efforts to make a badass villain, the writers of Sonic Forces accidentally made [[DeconstructedCharacterArchetype a genius deconstruction of the kind people who try to act badass in real life]]."

* ContestedSequel: By this point following tradition, this game has fallen victim to countless, uproarious debates about whether it is good all the way, good yet flawed, merely average, downright bad with no redeeming qualities, and any other possible variation of the previously stated. Most of this has to do with the fact that it directly follows ''VideoGame/SonicMania'', which received high praise [[spoiler:and had some connection to it story-wise (mostly with the Phantom Ruby)]], leading to backlash towards it becoming harsher as a result. Common points of contention include the level design, level length, physics engine, story, and new villain Infinite.

** Infinite seems like everything wrong with an OriginalGeneration character as the villain... but it's pushed ''so hard'' [[ParodySue that it can't be anything but intentional]], and morphs around to [[NarmCharm completely hilarious]].

* CreepyAwesome: Infinite qualified just with his appearance — a demonic-looking villain confidently floating above the VillainTeamUp.

** Another overpowered Wispon is actually the second Wispon you get: the [[WhipItGood Lightning Whip]]. While it can be hard to control since it thrusts you forwards if holding a direction while swinging it, as well as slowing you down if you're running, you may soon realize that beyond one exception ([[spoiler:in Infinite's fight with the Avatar, with his Phantom Ruby attacks still affecting you]]), ''[[GoodBadBugs you're invulnerable while swinging the whip]].'' This lets you tear ass through enemies and certain obstacles more safely than with any other weapon, and can even cheese [[spoiler:phase two of the FinalBoss]] in about a ''minute''.

* ItsEasySoItSucks: A common criticism with the game, and why to some the game ultimately [[SoOkayItsAverage doesn't stand out very much]]. Even on Hard difficulty, which is cited to be for experienced ''Sonic'' players, the game is ridiculously ''easy'' and simplistic for a ''Sonic'' game. Levels are very short, extremely linear if not borderline on-rails some of the time, the Avatar Wispon abilities are [[GameBreaker extremely broken]], the enemies rarely pose a threat, and it is just as easy if not easier than ''Generations'' to get S-Ranks. The only genuinely difficult part of the game is the time trial Challenge Missions, which require intimate knowledge of each level's shortcuts and controls.
* ItsShortSoItSucks: One of the most common criticisms, especially of the Modern stages, is that the levels are extremely short and only take about a minute and a half to beat. This also extends to the game as a whole, as the main story only lasts around 3 hours, with not much in the way of replayability. Some have even said the game's $40 price tag is too much compared to the amount of content. And unlike, say, ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', ''Forces'' does ''not'' make its short length count in spectacular ways.

** [[spoiler:The final boss has gotten this reaction, mostly due to its final phase being an easier version of [[VideoGame/SonicColors the Nega-Wisp Armor]] (never mind that this is the franchise's ''[[VideoGame/SonicLostWorld second]]'' rehash of the aforementioned boss). [[FromBadToWorse Not helped]] by the first two phases being slightly harder rehashes of the Egg Dragoon and Zavok fights earlier in the game.]]

* JustHereForGodzilla: The Avatar is quite often considered to be the best part of the game, as even the harshest critics of the game will concede. In addition to the varied customization options, the Avatar's gameplay itself is considered to be a creative take on Modern Sonic's gameplay that manages to balance feeling unique while keeping true to the high-speed gameplay of ''Sonic''. As such, the gameplay has even won over those who are otherwise against the GameplayRoulette of several 3D ''Sonic'' games.

* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: The characters think Sonic is dead after he's defeated by Infinite. The game doesn't even entertain the option for very long, presumably realizing no one would take it seriously. That said, the Japanese version does deem him being MIA.

* ScrappyMechanic:
** The sixty second time limit for the demo was not well-liked at all.
** The Double Boost mechanic in Tag Team stages has taken some heat, not because it's an inherently ''bad'' mechanic, and people generally agree it ''looks'' damn cool and memorable, but rather, in the sense that it's rather poorly implemented. It essentially does nothing besides move the player characters from point A to point B in the stage while looking extremely badass, and while related mechanics like a Double Boost Gauge and ActionCommands are implemented, they don't actually do anything; failing the QTE has no effect besides removing the lyrics to "Fist Bump" and causing a brief stumble, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovdewxjLggQ were the Double Boost Gauge to run out]] [[note]]which is impossible in normal gameplay, as the game makes sure to put as many enemies and Rings as possible in your path so as to never run out[[/note]], the game simply doesn't show the Boost visual effect and makes Sonic and the Avatar invincible while simply being unable to destroy enemies, meaning that there isn't any point to either the QTE or the Gauge existing at all.
** Speaking of which, the [=QTEs=] in general. While nowhere near as bad as they were in ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', they're still mostly there for score purposes and disrupt the flow of gameplay. Also, it's a complete crapshoot as to what failed [=QTEs=] will kill you, and which ones won't.
** In previous games you could pick up any Wisp in the stage and use its power. Here the avatar can only use wisps that correspond to the gadget they have equipped and there is no means of switching them out mid-level. This means using their favourite weapon can mean missing out on certain level shortcuts.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKjOJuPjiu4 "Infinite"]] contains Music/LinkinPark-esque nu metal rap rock. Dangerkids, the band behind the song, viewed Linkin Park as one of their inspirations for making music; they referenced Linkin Park in their first album. What make it fit here then? ''Well...'' the song was released the ''same day when Chester Bennington''[[note]]Linkin Park's lead singer[[/note]] ''committed suicide by hanging.''

* TooCoolToLive: Arguably, Infinite. Infinite [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter has the potential to be one of Sonic's deadliest foes]], as he managed to take control of the world in a matter of days thanks to the Phantom Ruby. His power is excentially rewriting reality and creating clones with the same powers as the originals. He could force his generals to become their strongest selves if he pleased but his potential is stopped by plot convenience (see the main entry on ForgotAboutHisPowers). Due to [[TooPowerfulToLive being too powerful]], it's possible the character wil remain a OneShotCharacter.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKjOJuPjiu4 "Infinite"]] contains Music/LinkinPark-esque nu metal rap rock. Dangerkids, the band behind the song, viewed Linkin Park as one of their inspirations for making music; they referenced Linkin Park in their first album. What make it fit here then? ''Well...'' the song was released the ''same day'' when Chester Bennington''[[note]]Linkin Park's lead singer[[/note]] ''committed suicide by hanging.''

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKjOJuPjiu4 "Infinite"]] contains Music/LinkinPark-esque nu metal rap rock. Dangerkids, the band behind the song, viewed Linkin Park as one of their inspirations for making music; they referenced Linkin Park in their first album. The song was released the same day as Chester Bennington, Linkin Park's lead singer, committed suicide by hanging.

** While Infinite was already a small-scale target for the trope due to his "edgy" design, the jokes increased when the Episode Shadow DLC revealed that his motivation for being evil [[spoiler:is essentially because he was beaten up by Shadow after trying to avenge his squad's failure, and then threw a childish temper tantrum after being called weak]], making the character come off as much more [[{{Narm}} unintentionally comical]] than intended. It doesn't help that Infinite [[BondVillainStupidity sabotaged]] Eggman's plans by refusing to simply kill Sonic (a judgment call that even Eggman tells him was a bad idea), giving fans even more ammo to mock him. And then ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' made him a less powerful [[AssistCharacter Spirit]] than WarmUpBoss extraordinaire [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} Whispy Woods]], making him ''even more'' of a Memetic Loser than he is in his own series.

** Despite the grim situation the heroes are in, they don’t act much differently from their usual selves. Of particular note is Sonic, who, despite being kept prisoner by Eggman and ''straight-up tortured '''for 6 months''''', still keeps his usual upbeat attitude. (It should be noted that in the Japanese version, it does not specify that Sonic was tortured.)

** The dissonance between reports of Sonic's torture and the lack of any apparent repercussions is often blamed on the English localization trying to make the script edgier... except the Japanese script ''does'' also claim that Eggman was torturing Sonic (though there is still an inconsistency with the English script having Silver claim that Tails has "lost it" instead of simply saying that he's missing). The real issue was the omission of some intended darker elements from the script, including Sonic being battered and Eggman planning to flat-out execute him.

** Since Sonic was captured and tortured by Eggman [[TimeSkip for 6 months]], all while Infinite is out there fighting against the resistance, that leaves plenty of material for fans to write how Sonic is affected by all of this, with most adding in some {{Angst}} in order to avert his portrayal in the actual story, where [[AngstWhatAngst he's shown to have been no worse for wear despite his long captivity]] (though this detail doesn't exist in the Japanese script in the first place, which makes more sense).

* SoBadItsGood: The story. General consensus is that it's damn near impossible to take anything that happens in the story seriously, between Sonic's cartoonish beatdown at the beginning, the total glossing over of 99% of Eggman's takeover with a few sentences of text on a black screen, a main villain who gives ''Shadow'' a run for his money in terms of comical edginess, and an inconsistent story tone exacerbated by the localization team throwing in needlessly edgy exposition [[InformedAttribute that is blatantly and hilariously contradicted by what we're actually shown]], resulting in things like Sonic being ''tortured for 6 months offscreen and [[AngstWhatAngst showing no signs of it at all]]'' (and it's even more ridiculous when the player discovers that this detail was only added in the localized script, meaning that it was a pointless addition to begin with). The resulting story is so absurdly inconsistent, campy, and ridiculous that it's ''utterly hysterical''.

** The dissonance between reports of Sonic's torture and the lack of any apparent repercussions is often blamed on the English localization trying to make the script edgier... except the Japanese script ''does'' also claim that Eggman was torturing Sonic (though there is still an inconsistency with the English script having Silver claim that Tails has "lost it" instead of simply saying that he's missing). The real issue was the omission of Sonic's intended battered state.

* FanDislikedExplanation: The characters referring to Classic Sonic as the Sonic "from another dimension", which seemingly {{retcon}}s the time travel aspect of ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'', hasn't been very well-received, with many perceiving it to be confusing and making little sense.

* CommonKnowledge: The relevation that Classic Sonic is from another dimension/timelime has caused the assumption that the classic era games have been retconned from Modern Sonic's dimension/timeline, which as the presence of Green Hill and Chemical Planet should indicate, is blatantly untrue. Sonic also mentions that the Death Egg just won't stay destroyed in Egg Gate, referencing the times he's destroyed it in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' and ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles''. WordOfGod has also all but confirmed during SXSW 2019 that the classic era games are still canon to Modern Sonic's world by stating that Modern Sonic's timeline has remained the same.

** [[CharacterCustomization The Custom Hero avatar]], as some think this is appealing towards [[SturgeonsLaw more questionable]] parts of the ''Sonic'' fanbase, as well as leading the Modern and Classic Sonics to be less refined in design due to falling back into the ''Adventure'' series motto of [[GameplayRoulette unwanted multiple playstyles]]. On the flipside, others acknowledge that with other franchises out there such as ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse'' gaining large amounts of popularity for being able to make your own custom character, combined with ''Sonic Forces'' being designed with this in mind from the start, it could have some interesting potential alongside their Wispon gadget weapons varying up gameplay. There's also the selection of Avatar species: all but one of them are mammals, with some also calling the inclusion of both a Dog and a Wolf redundant.

** Infinite was already stirring fans up between two camps of acceptance for trying something new, and bile hatred for what looked like a severely edgy-looking foe. One side loves his DarkIsEvil design, [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic his metal theme song]], Creator/LiamOBrien's intimidating vocal performance, and just his overall "holier than thou" attitude throughout the entire game. The opposition, however, find those very same elements excessively trite and see him as a tryhard edgy OC, not unlike [[SturgeonsLaw those which most younger Sonic fans create themselves]], and those very same elements were why Shadow is disliked. This only got worse when his backstory was revealed in Episode Shadow and the prequel comics. [[spoiler:He was just a mercenary squad captain and aligned himself with Eggman, but went insane after he lost a fight to Shadow to become who he is.]] People are split on either finding him [[JerkassWoobie sympathetic despite his actions]] or finding the shift [[{{Wangst}} abrupt and laughably pathetic]], and even that last part is debatable as to whether it makes him [[{{Narm}} a complete joke]] or [[NightmareFuel a more unsettling baddie than the norm]]. A third group likes him precisely ''because'' of him coming off as a tryhard edgy OC and see him as a ParodySue of those kinds of characters.

** The Custom Hero trailer was almost a nuclear bomb for the fandom and sparked a ''lot'' of anger from many fans due to the fact that players could now essentially make their own original character and make them canon. A lot of this anger is due to the fact that many die-hard fans absolutely ''loathe'' Sonic [=OCs=] due to the countless amounts that have been made, [[SturgeonsLaw many of which are godawful messes]]. However, it should be pointed out that this is part of a VocalMinority; the number of people who create Sonic [=OCs=] and such greatly outnumbers the number of people who despise the former group.