Sonic Forces: Speed Battle is now available on the Play Store

Update (11/15/17): Sega’s Sonic Forces: Speed Battle is now available for download in the Play Store. The game shares little resemblance to the console and PC version released earlier this year, which has received lukewarm reviews since launch. Even though Speed Battle doesn’t share the issues of the console and PC versions, it has many of its own. 

Sonic Forces: Speed Battle is an endless runner. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, think Temple Run. You travel down a path while avoiding pitfalls and enemies without the ability to slow down. You’re only able to move left or right, duck, or jump.

You see, Sonic Forces: Speed Battle is a pay-to-win game. The game has in-app purchases that cost anywhere from $0.99 to $99. These allow you to skip the cool down timer on the loot box you get for winning a race. These loot boxes contain in-game currency and power-ups that increase your performance during PvP battles. Since the more powerful player tends to win and gain even more currency and power-ups, you can see how this could be a problem. 

While the game does have its flaws, it seems that fans are happy so far— it has a 4.5 rating on the Google Play Store. If you’re interested in giving it a shot, Sonic Forces: Speed Battle is available at the link below.

Original post (9/14/17): Having been around a month since Sonic Mania made fans feel young again, Sega hopes to keep its Sonic train moving with Sonic Forces: Speed Battle for Android.

An endless runner that blends gameplay from Sonic Dash and Sonic Rivals, Sonic Forces: Speed Battle allows you to race in real-time against other folks around the world while dodging obstacles and collecting rings. The person who reaches the Phantom Ruby Prototype first is declared the winner, and you can increase your chances of winning by using various power-ups like fireballs against other players.

This being a Sonic game, it’s not a surprise that you can play as various characters from the universe, including Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Shadow, E-123 Omega, and more. Interestingly, in-game files show that Silver, Classic Sonic, Chaos, and others will eventually be added as playable characters sometime down the road. Regardless of who you play as, you can upgrade your characters and weapons as you complete races.

As for where you will be racing other players, stages include Temple Gate, Pyramid Valley, and Celestial Skyway, with stages changing up their obstacles and structure to make them harder as you move your way up.

Keep in mind that, even though Sonic Forces: Speed Battle is a free download, the game includes in-app purchases. Furthermore, even though the Play Store link is live, the game is only available as a soft launch in the Philippines. Odds are that it will be available around the same time that Sonic Forces hits consoles and PC on November 7.

We will be sure to keep an eye on Sonic Forces: Speed Battle once it lands on the Play Store, but in the meantime, tell us your favorite mobile Sonic title in the comments.