Sonic, that is. Not me, your dear admin. I’ll forgive you if you’ve come to that conclusion. I’ve been preoccupied setting up this rickety website and defending it from malicious actors. C’mon Internet, this is a year-and-a-half old blog about middle-aged dudes beating video games. It doesn’t even have the data to molest!
Dealing with online crabs explains why my first post is about a game I played and beat on April Fool’s 2023, a year and a half ago. If this keeps up (and who are we kidding, we know it will), my next post will be late 2025/early 2026.
Keep me in your prayers.
Anyway.
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog. Bold choice, OG fans of the series may think but as foreshadowed earlier, the game released on March 31, 2023, free on Steam. While the title and initial impressions suggest a departure from going fast, it unabashedly wears its role as an April Fool’s joke, right in the game’s description:
It’s Amy Rose’s birthday, and she’s hosting a murder mystery party on the Mirage Express! When Sonic the Hedgehog becomes the game’s victim, everyone is off to get to the bottom of things. However, something feels a bit off – is this really an innocent game or is something more sinister afoot?
Before you can even imagine how SEGA and Sonic Team sold out, the setting answers what kind of game this is: a “murder mystery” with our titular character as the victim. So he’s not really dead. Or is he?
The Murder starts with you assuming the default character, Barry, who’s been hired by the company hosting Amy Rose’s birthday party. As an employee working the event, it’s your job to tend to the party guests as they arrive and settle in, giving you the opportunity to meet and greet with celebrities like Tails, Knuckles and the rest of the cast. Minus Sonic, of course, since he’s “dead”. But you’re sure to meet him soon!
It’s immediately clear that this game isn’t taking itself seriously at all. No world to save, no great crisis, no damsel in distress. Unlike the trademark quick platforming the series is known for, The Murder delivers a casual, point-&-click, visual novel adventure. There are some action-y parts but they’re just as unserious as the rest of the game, to the point where you can opt to either instantly win or lose these parts though a setting within the debug features. For the entirety of its sub-two hour runtime, the game is completely focused on providing a fun and authentic experience to the intended audience: its devoted fandom.
It’s a love letter to fans, by fans. The team behind the game has no say on any matters Sonic, as noted at the bottom of their description of the game:
*This is not a Sonic Team title, but we strongly believe in the power of headcanon!
Despite signalling to the fandom that the team was in the same position as anybody else, they’ve already generated positive influence. Original characters from The Murder like Barry, the Conductor and his wife (shown above) are slowly making their way into official works.
I could probably explain a little more but the game is about an hour and change. You’ll interrogate the cast throughout different investigations between the planned murder party and the obvious derailed situation looming above it. It’s an easy play that deserves a some love, even if you’re unfamiliar with the Sonic series. Considering the price of admission, there’s really no reason not to try it. Just play it. It’ll take as long as the time it took me to write this.
I’m kinda laying the recommendation a bit thick but it’s so rare to see a successful passion project. I just think it could use all the attention it could get. Hell, I chose to write about this free game, which gives me nothing for the backlog! I’m still a +1239812309 because I can’t stop buying games, despite the entire point of this site. I picked up Final Fantasy XVI and Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance for the PS5 yesterday. It’s not going to stop!
I don’t have a problem!