I played a lot of Sonic Dash. Whether on Android, Windows Phone, or even the PC version (Windows 10), I played for an average total of at least 20 hours, racing through those iconic franchise settings while I had to travel to another city, stayed at my grandmother's house, sat in the waiting room of some random place, or even lay down to sleep.
It is fun, the basic formula is addictive, and when I played Sonic Dash, I paid close attention to one detail in particular: the competition. I was constantly checking my friends' rankings and thinking, "Oh, I passed another one. DARN, it is impossible to pass person X or Y." And that kept me playing steadily until I surpassed my limits, which eventually happened.
Speaking of competition and how it keeps us engaged longer in today's games, I received early access to Sonic Forces: Speed Battle before its official Android launch, courtesy of SEGA, so let us analyze the "thing."
It Is Not an "Endless Runner"
After leaving the initial tutorial, you will only play matches against four other players somewhere in the world, generally located in the same region. Between you and them are obstacles, conveyor belts, items, and alternate paths, for example, making this game closer to the formula of Mario Kart or Sonic & All-Stars Racing than the expected Sonic Dash, despite the similar aesthetics.
You will unlock new stages and settings as you progress both in "player" level and in the levels of the characters already available or waiting to be unlocked. There are characters such as Classic Sonic, Silver, Tails, Modern Sonic, Shadow, Chaos, Metal Sonic, Amy, Rouge, E-123 Omega, Vector, and others, totaling more than 15 so far. But updates are frequent, and that number may increase.
You can purchase upgrades for each character after leveling them up. These character upgrades, or special items, power-ups, chests full of cards, and even the removal of in-game ads are some of the things that can be acquired with rings collected in the stages or by paying real money, in true freemium style.
Overall, we must all be "fed up" with autorunners (the famous endless-running games) by now, but it is very cool to play something that recalls the same formula while innovating with competition and the use of items reminiscent of the "kart games" so beloved by the public.
I Ran Some Tests, and the Game Is Indeed Very Stable
In at least two tests I ran with a G5S Plus phone and in a BlueStacks emulator, Sonic Forces ran very well, with no slowdown at all due to the connection between players. A 15 Mbps internet connection was used while being shared simultaneously by several gadgets and computers used by other people.
Although I believe the list could have much longer tracks to increase the intensity, with relatively short stages, the game is still intense. After all, even once you memorize the settings, the well-known power-ups and items used to mess with other players are everywhere. You are in first place until the end of the race and BAM, then you see your score reduced because you finished fourth and did not protect yourself from people trying to take you down.
Speaking of that, one feature that strategically gives the game a "boost" is the option to select one of the three items you collected with a tap. You can save something to use at another time or use everything at once in the style of "some people just want to watch the world burn."
As already mentioned, the settings bring their own challenges as well, with pits, walls/pillars, enemies, and places where you must crouch, jump, or change position. Adding more variety, there are a few different routes to take, and the stage designs are as beautiful as they should be, carrying over the theme of Sonic Forces for consoles and PC.
Win or Lose, Having Fun Is What Matters
Even when you lose, the game gives you small prizes just for taking part in the match. The biggest prizes go to the winner, however, but everyone ends up having the same sense of progression.
One possible problem is the "grinding" (repetition) involved in unlocking new stages. More stages should be easy to access, because playing the same ones after a while can become tiresome, causing some players to abandon Sonic Forces: Speed Battle prematurely.
Taking all of this into account, Sonic Forces: Speed Battle is a great experience, perhaps the best Sonic game for phones that you can find at the moment, but it could be even more addictive with a wider variety of competitive modes and perhaps daily challenges.
Sonic Forces: Speed Battle is available on the App Store and Google Play.
A story mode, no matter how shallow, is also what smartphones are missing. It could be unlocked as the player levels up and completes specific challenges. That is something Gameloft's new paid Sonic Runners does not manage very well, but it seems it would fit perfectly into the SEGA Hardlight experience, with its well-balanced and free titles.
With a 100% Brazilian Portuguese translation and leaderboards featuring local players, Brazilian fans should pay extra attention to the game.
Tested on the Android version using a G5S Plus.
