No One Outruns Death in "The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog"
It was SEGA, in the Steam Store, with an April Fools Joke.
What’s white and blue and dead all over?
Well, SEGA’s biggest mascot, apparently - or at least, that’s the premise for their recent release, “The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog“. It’s a bold move — something that SEGA acknowledges in its trailer for the new title.
In this tongue-and-cheek point-and-click adventure, Sonic’s allies take center stage to try and solve the mystery of his untimely demise in the wake of a murder mystery birthday party gone horribly wrong.
Fans of Aviary Attorney, the Ace Attorney series, or other visual novel mysteries will be familiar with the gameplay loop: you’ll interview party guests and other passengers aboard the Mirage Express — the extravagant train that serves as the game’s setting — gather evidence, and hopefully discover which of Sonic’s nemesis finally caught up to him.
The title is also free, released as an April Fool’s joke this year on Steam. There’s an unexpected punch-line to this joke, though:
it fucking rules.
It’s the highest-rated Sonic game on Steam right now, surpassing even the recent Sonic Frontiers in acclaim.
Fans of the series laud the story writing, art, and character dialogue as excellent, and the love and humor that went into making the game is apparent. I think a lot of people — myself included — love to see it when developers are willing to take things less seriously, and explore some unorthodox, but creative avenues. The enthusiasm for this idea is apparent — it has the heart of something conceived amid laughter and enthusiasm rather than cold corporate calculation.
That’s all for this issue of Side Stories! Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for new episodes, streams, and articles!
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Weeknights as available: Hades, Cult of the Lamb
Thursday: Valorant, GTFO
Saturday Morning: Resident Evil 4 (2023)
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