Sonic Forces will allow you to create your own custom member of the Blue Blur’s world-saving crew. Wait, what? Seriously, the third pillar of Sonic Team’s latest will allow you to fashion your own anthropomorphic hero to fight alongside Tails, Knuckles, et al. You’ll then take your avatar out into levels which fuse Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic gameplay together.

You’ll be able to pick from a number of archetypes to get your character started, including a bear who has an uber-powerful homing attack or a wolf who can attract rings. Here’s the full roster of animals available in the final game, via IGN:

Bear
Blows away enemies with a homing attack
Bird
Flies high with double jump abilities
Cat
Keeps one ring after being hit
Dog
Restarts with five rings after the player dies
Hedgehog
Collects rings when getting damaged
Rabbit
Has longer invincible time after receiving damage
Wolf
Automatically draws in rings when near them

Obviously you’ll be able to customise your character using a deluge of unlockable cosmetic items, but each custom character will come equipped with a hookshot, so there’s that. You’ll also be able to augment your hero with Wispons, which are essentially gadgets that can be used in both combat and for platforming.

Did anyone ask for this? What the heck is going on? Why?

[source youtube.com, via uk.ign.com]