Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and friends are about to get a lot more company.
Sega announced today that its upcoming game, Sonic Forces, lets you create your own characters. You can then play as your creation as part of the platformer’s third gameplay style, following modern Sonic’s 3D/2D hybrid stages and classic Sonic’s retro, all 2D levels. This is the first time a Sonic game has allowed players to make their own characters. Sonic Forces is coming out during the holiday season for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. The Sonic series debuted in 1991 and has since sold over 80 million games.
Players can choose designs based on seven different animals: wolf, rabbit, cat, dog, bear, bird, and (of course) hedgehog. Not only do you get to play as your creation, but they’ll also appear in the story and cutscenes.
These hero characters also have a distinct play style from the two Sonics, using a grappling hook to traverse stages and taking advantage of powerups, Wispons, inspired by the Color Powers from 2010’s Sonic Colors.
Sonic Forces is a sequel to Sonic Generations, which came out in 2011. While the series produces more critical flops than successes these days, Sonic Generations received praise from fans and critics for its inclusions of classic Sonic mechanics and beautiful levels inspired by past games.