The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog was a lot better than it needed to be. Conceptually it’s a novel Sonic game. I can’t remember a Sonic game that was developed like this. It’s a fresh idea from a small team of people backed by Sega. It wasn’t perfect, it was extremely short, but nonetheless, it was an enjoyable experience.

The story itself is simple. It’s Amy’s birthday and she has booked a murder mystery themed activity on a train. Everyone is given cards that say what they are supposed to do and where they’re supposed to be. Nobody knows what’s on other people’s card. Things get derailed when the train takes a lurching start. Things go black, you wake up in a room in the back of the train with Tails and Amy. You make your way out and see Sonic unresponsive on the floor far from where he was supposed to be. There’s nothing wrong with the story other than it may be a bit too obvious who’s behind everything if you’re familiar with characters from this series.

I didn’t expect FromSoft type difficulty from a FREE Sonic game, but I wish it gave some more challenging scenarios. Your decisions don’t hold much weight as you can’t really fail at anything. If you select a wrong option, Tails will tell you to think again. You can repeat this process until you choose the right answer. When you finally choose the correct answer, a little mini game will pop up.

The mini game was a fine addition, if not maybe a bit repetitive. A 2D Sonic runs across a strip of land and collects rings. If you get enough rings, you will trigger a sequence in which your character and Tails provide evidence to prove or disprove someone’s alibi. If you fail…I don’t know. I didn’t fail any of them. While the mini game was repetitive, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog was over way before it had any time to get on your nerves. If you struggle with the mini game, there are accessibility options that make it easier like taking the pitfalls away or needing less rings to pass the game.

The characters in this game are all as they usually are. Shadow broods, Amy is over excited about things, Tails is smart, etc. However, I think it was nice that your character is given a role in the murder mystery and even has some surface level characterization and dialogue. A much-needed improvement from the bland, tasteless Sonic Forces protagonist.

Music is good, too. I found myself sitting there for a moment during dialogue options listening to the music before I chose anything.

All in all, I’d recommend it. It’s short, free, and a fresh experience for the Sonic series. Is there any reason to not try it out?