Eggman's Facility

Eggman's Facility is the second stage in the Sonic Forces DLC, Episode Shadow. It is a flashback stage set in Mystic Jungle.

The stage is a modified version of Aqua Road and thus, features similar elements.

Overview
Eggman's Facility is located within Mystic Jungle, an old, crumbling ruin inside a jungle. Due to Eggman's interference, several neon signs and other adornments litter the landscape, as part of the mad scientist's attempt to covert the area into a casino.

Set several months before the DLC's events, the stage acts as a set piece for Shadow's first encounter with Infinite.

Story
Whilst making a raid on one of Eggman's many facilities, Shadow encountered the Jackal Squad, a group of mercenaries hired by Eggman to guard his base. The group however was no challenge for the Ultimate Lifeform as all but their leader (who was elsewhere) were wiped out by the hedgehog. Surprised by this defeat, Eggman ordered all of his available troops to take out Shadow "by any means necessary".

Reaching the entrance of the facility, Shadow was greeted by the leader of the Jackal Squad, the soon-to-be Infinite. Calling himself "the ultimate mercenary" the jackal lunged towards Shadow, but due to his skill with Chaos Control, Shadow effortlessly dodged the mercenary and struck back with a powerful counterattack. Beaten and humiliated, Shadow left the mercenary, warning him to never show his "pathetic face" around him ever again. Left with both stinging wounds and words, the mercenary questioned his superiority. All he could do was shout helplessly into the night, exclaiming he was "not weak".

Back in the present, Infinite recounts the lasting impact this encounter had on him, claiming that from that day on he discarded his old identity - going as far as to wear a mask to abandon his old face - and obtained power to "make all yield" to him.

Gameplay
Much like the stage it was based on, Eggman's Facility predominantly features water slide sections. Whilst on the water slides, Shadow moves forward automatically. The player will also have limited movement abilities and must avoid falling off the edge of slides and into bottomless pits. While sliding, the player must also be wary of outdated Moto Bugs, who drift down the slide alongside the player; if Shadow collides with a Motobug, he will get knocked around, making navigation on the slides more difficult. Also, while colliding with a Motobug will destroy it, a new one will arrive soon after to take the destroyed one's place. Different from original however, is the inclusion of golden Moto Bugs, who need to be struck three times to be destroyed; upon these Moto Bugs' destrucion they will leave behind a Super Ring.

Description
At the beginning of the stage, the player is thrust from a Ramp into a large water slide. During this section, the player will be accompanied by multiple Moto Bugs, including a golden varient. Halfway through this section, the water slide will split into an alternate path that the player may choose to take.

At the end of this section, the player will hit a row of Springs and be launched into the air where they will be met by a cluster of Nebulas. The player must use the Nebulas to perform chain Homing Attacks in order to reach land. Once back on the ground, the player will encounter a small section with two rotating spiked balls joined together by a pole and a group of Egg Pawns beyond it. Going past this section, the player will be launched to a higher level with a similar layout. This time however, there is a golden Moto Bug. If the player Homing Attacks the gold Moto Bug, it will be knocked further forward, allowing the player to chain Homing Attacks with it. Once defeated, the gold Moto Bug will leave behind a Red Star Ring.

Launching from more Springs, the player will hit several Dash Rings and land on a second water slide segment. At the start of this section, there are several spiked balls rolling down the slide that the player must avoid. After that, the water slide splits into three paths for the player to take. Like before, Moto Bugs fill this section.

Once again, the end of this section launches the player from Springs towards a group of Nebulas, which the player must use to reach the goal. This time, the section also includes balloons that they player can use to reach Dash Rings, which lead to another Red Star Ring and a Rainbow Ring before hitting the goal.

Trivia

 * When Shadow gets airtime during the water slide sections, he will adopt a pose similar to a piece of artwork from Sonic Adventure 2: Battle.