12. Sonic Forces (2017, Switch / PS4 / Xbox One / PC)

I am a Sonic Forces truther, and this game is good, damn it! Sonic Forces never got a fair shake, overshadowed by and often compared to the nearly perfect Sonic Mania, which was released two months prior. But for my money, this is the best of the 3D Sonic platformers. Many past attempts struggled with making Sonic both feel fast and control well, and Forces learned from and improved on those mistakes. The character creator was a fun and interesting new iteration on the franchise, allowing players to do what the fandom’s been doing forever and create their own Sonic-sona. I’ll grant that the story’s a bit odd. It tries to be more mature, taking the conflict with Eggman from a lighthearted, one-liner filled contest between good and evil to a “war is hell”-style struggle that doesn’t fit all the bright, colorful characters like Big the Cat and Charmy Bee. I appreciate Forces for trying new things—the character creator, the player/Sonic team-up sections, and even the nod to the alternate-reality 2D Sonic that was introduced in Generations. Forces did a lot of cool, new things really well in a game that also played very well and deserves a second chance.