Sonic Forces gameplay vid shows new 3D side-hogging
Get hogged on
Sega are rolling doublehogged at the moment, with new retro hogging coming in 2D remix-o-rama Sonic Mania and 3D modern hogging ('modhogging') in Sonic Forces [official site]. Like Sonic Generations before it, Forces will combine side-scrolling hogging sections with bits in that modern 3D rollercoaster style. After showing some Sonic Forces rollercoastering last month, now Sega are showing off how Forces' side-hogging will look in a visit back to ye olde Green Hill Zone. Observe:
Whoever recorded that is going to feel a right wally when they watch it back and notice how many rings, power-ups, and areas they missed. You skipped half the level, doofus! You even missed a chance to sing along to the power sneakers song!
The rippling grass does remind me of those strange 'HD remake concepts' fans sometimes make of old games, playing with all our modern technological bells and whistles in ways that rarely come together right. What's up with that grass? Also odd: the sunflowers swaying smoothly in the wind while their flower heads charmingly rotate in clear steps in that classic Sonic way. Technology is a trap, maaan.
Sonic Forces is being made by Sonic Team, the studio behind Sonic Generations and Sonic Lost World in recent years. No, they did not make Sonic Boom. Forces is due out "this holiday", which I believe tends to mean November or December. 'America', maaan.
Before then, in the summer, we'll see what happens when Sega turns fans loose on retro hogging in Sonic Mania. It's tweaking and smooshing together bits of old 2D Sonic games with new bits. Looks like it might be interesting. At the very least, it has big more of those fine big weird city backdrops that I found so entrancingly huge as a kiddywinkle. To me, Sonic the Hedgehog is mostly an carrier for huge neon cities.