Lost Valley

Lost Valley is the first stage in Sonic Forces, and the first Sonic stage in the game. This stage is a re-imagination of the Green Hill Zone from the original Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Mega Drive.

The stage features the picturesque paradise with green fields that Green Hill is known for. After the area fell under Dr. Eggman's rule however, it has become dry and sandy due to the heavy desertification caused by Eggman's industries.

Overview
Lost Valley starts out as an overall peaceful and natural landscape with block-based brown mountains in the background and a lightly clouded blue sky. Like its original incarnation, the stage features countless blocky hills in all manner of sizes and arrangements. Much of the stage is also covered in green-striped grass (including on shuttle loops) that moves with the wind, and the soil itself is covered in checkerboard patterns in different shades of brown.

The stage has several tall palm trees, bright flora like purple flowers and moving sunflowers, hard-pointed bushes, square-leafed ivy, and different types of Totem Poles with all manners of facial expressions. There are also a couple of wooden scaffolds.

Lost Valley has one major difference from its original incarnation: the bright lake that dominated the scenery in the background has been replaced with a sea of scorching sand, and all the area's waterfalls have turned into sandfalls, as if a desert is sprouting from the stage itself. As the player gets further into the stage, the landscape becomes more dried-out and the desert gains more prominence, with more dead and dry vegetation appearing. What looks like pyramids can also be spotted in the background. Destroyed Death Egg Robot sentinels can as well be seen. It can also be seen in the background early on that sandworms has taken up residence in the desert.

Story
While traveling through Lost Valley, Sonic receives a distress call from Tails in the City, who needs help stopping an invasion of Eggman Empire legions. Ever the hero, Sonic rushes to Tails' aid in the city. Along the way, Sonic notices how the tropical hills and landscape have been destroyed by the industrialization imposed by Dr. Eggman.

Gameplay
Lost Valley is a relatively short, fast-paced stage filled with Hint Rings to explain how to play as Sonic. The stage has an number of regular enemies and obstacles, such as spikes. There are also Wisp Capsules with White Wisps for the player to charge their Boost Gauge with. There are also a couple of ledges on cliffs that will crumble a second after the player steps on them.

There are a number of pathways in the stage to choose from, whether it be if the player wants to go along a higher route or a lower route. Standard objects in Green Hill include Springs, Ramps, Boosters and shuttle loops.

Description
The stage begins with Sonic speeding through Green Hill. Eventually, he will jump through half-destroyed loops. After that, Sonic will enter a 2.5D section with an upper, middle and lower route, most of which feature moving swing platforms.

At the end of this 2.5D section, the player will encounter automatic Winding Tunnels that will take the player through large hills. Once on the other side of these tunnels, Sonic will slide down a sand fall and into a 3D section. From here, the player has to blast through a shuttle Loop to a wooden scaffold and then run across a sandfall before blazing to the goal.

Trivia

 * The music for the stage is an alternate instrumental remix of "Fist Bump" which was also featured in Sonic Forces: Speed Battle.
 * Additionally, before the official reveal of the stage's name, it was found in the game files of Sonic Forces: Speed Battle.
 * During the stage, Sonic says "Green Hill's looking a lot more like Sand Hill right now". Coincidentally, Sand Hill was a stage featured in Sonic Adventure.