'Sonic Forces' release date news: Nintendo Switch demo out now but with restrictive twist

Sega has launched a new demo for "Sonic Forces," which is now available for Nintendo Switch owners. However, there are a couple of restrictions that have some players scratching their heads.

First, the demo is free for download, but only on the Japanese E-shop, which means a player has to have a Japanese Nintendo account. This should be easy enough to solve. A player need only make a new account and set the region to Japan. After linking it to the console, the player should be able to access the Japanese E-Shop.

However, there is one more hurdle that might dissuade players from going through all that trouble in the first place.

The demo has a time limit — one minute to be exact — as GameXplain discovered. That's way too short to get a hang of the game, much less to progress to another level. The little ray of light is that players can try out three different zones — Egg Dragoon for Classic Sonic; Green Hill for Modern Sonic; and Space Port for the Avatar. Once the minute is up, the screen turns dark and a trailer starts to play.

This bizarre twist on the classic game was met with a lot of complaints from fans who took to social media to air their ire. Some said the game itself could be good, but the short time limit ruins the experience.

"Sonic Forces" will be the latest in the "Sonic the Hedgehog" franchise, which has been around since 1991. In this new installment, players will fight through a world destroyed by Dr. Eggman and a powerful new villain. Depending on the zone, a player can roll through ruined landscapes as Modern Sonic, catapult past dangerous platforms as Classic Sonic, or use powerful new gadgets as a customized Hero Character.

"Sonic Forces" will be released on Nov. 7, not just for Nintendo Switch, but for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC as well.