If a while ago you had told us that one of the best Sonic games of recent years would be a visual novel dedicated to the "death" of the blue hedgehog, we would have believed it was a joke and, if we thought about it, we would not have been wrong too much. In fact, on the occasion of April Fool's Day, SEGA has decided to surprise all fans with a new free game available on Steam at this address: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog.
In its two-hour adventure you can find a little bit of everything, including jokes, quotes and even a touch of sentimentality, certainly more than you would expect from a work created as a joke. But is it worth playing? Discover the answer in ours. Review of The Assassination of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Murder on the Mirage Express
La history It revolves around the Mirage Express, a train designed for events and parties. The occasion is the birthday of Amy Rose, who, as a true crime podcast enthusiast, decided to throw a crime party. The guest list is long and includes many familiar faces from the saga such as Tails, Shadow, Knuckles, Vector, Rouge and more. Each of them has been given a role to play and, above all, one of them has been designated a murderer: he will have to "kill" another guest and, once the "corpse" is discovered, the journalist Amy and the investigator Tails have to Find out who the murderer is.
Sonic is the intended victim. and we'll have to find out who did it. But who are "we"? He is not a member of the hedgehog gang, but a new character who on his first day of work at the Mirage Express finds himself with only one job: make sure everyone has fun and is safe. However, at the moment when the train accelerates sharply, we end up locked together with Tails and Amy in a closet and there we have to solve our first "case".
La game structure It's very simple and will be repeated for each train car: by clicking on the objects on the screen you will discover a handful of clues and once you have found them all (Tails tells us) the interrogation begins. The character in question will have to be convinced through evidence to reveal his alibi for Sonic's "death."
The individual sequences are always very obvious and most of the investigative reasoning will be done by Tails. Therefore, it will always be obvious which is the correct track to select, but even in case of error there will be no consequences. However, once we find the correct one, we will have to complete a small platform minigame, making this visual novel a true Sonic game.
It's a minigame very basic in which you must collect enough rings before completing a path, jumping and moving along the path to avoid spikes and chasms. In general it is very simple, except in the final phase where the difficulty increases, with chaotic sequences and very high requirements to pass.
In practice it is theonly flaw of the game, which didn't need to become so complex at all. However, try again and again for a few minutes, until he manages to complete the sequence and discover the ending of The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Art and mysteries
We do not want to give spoilers, taking into account that in the two hours of gameplay that await you there is little to discover and any anticipation would ruin the game. plot, but in general we can assure that it is a fun adventure, in which almost all the characters are used appropriately (let's talk about you, Blaze), with small scenes that adapt to their original characterization adapted to a context slightly above the lines .
It's also nice to see Sonic and his friends from a external point of view, that is, that of a normal person who comments with admiration and sometimes even a little confusion about the way our heroes think and act.
Obviously we shouldn't expect an investigative adventure worthy of Agatha Christie, but we must not forget that it is always a small free game created for April Fool's Day. That is why we are also pleasantly impressed by the assistance response at work, especially at the visual level. The beautiful sets are full of detail and are pleasant to admire, although never particularly large. Furthermore, in this absurd train there are many different carriages, so the variety is also notable.
Conclusions
Tested version PC with Windows digital delivery Steam Price 0,00 € Holygamerz.com 8.0 Readers (5) 8.3 your voteThe Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is a simple and short visual novel, but enjoyable, graphically refined and, above all, completely free. The platforming minigame could have avoided the final difficulty increase, but if you love the blue hedgehog you should give it a try.
PRO
- Graphically accurate
- well used characters
- Free
AGAINST
- Final difficulty increase
