Note: This review is more so referring to the original creepypasta and a reflection on modern horror games, not a traditional review of the game.

Not sure why, but I decided to play through this again. But when I finished it, I sort of came to a realization.

Whenever I look back on this game and the creepypasta it was based on, I'm only reminded of how it somehow gained completely asinine popularity. I've realised that this and other creepypastas of the same era are likely the earliest blueprint for the generic "It's a game about that thing you enjoyed from your childhood, but now it KILLS you!!" brand of horror that has infested the internet. You've seen it everywhere. And while I thought the idea was somewhat unique back in 2014 when the first Five Nights at Freddy's game released, nearly 8 years later the whole genre is extremely played out and uninteresting.

Granted, this style of horror is mostly popular with children whos parents let them on the internet too early. And you know what? I can't really blame them for enjoying things like this. I'm not going to criticize actual children for having a different opinion. Let them have their fun. I'm only blaming the perpetuators of the genre itself, mostly because they keep creating blatantly obvious ridiculous scams that were only ever made because the developers knew that they would make a shit ton of money while putting in minimal effort. Like, that shit "Poppy Playtime"? No. While I would love to jump on that game and write a scathing review for it, I'm not falling for that shit. Its so obvious what they're doing, and sadly it has actually worked out for them.

So this ended up creating an irritating trend that's somehow stuck around for 9+ years. But something interesting that's happened is, in this year of 2022, this game had a resurgence in popularity. Nearly a full decade later, we're still clinging to this rotten corpse of a fad, and it has looped all the way back around to this.

Sonic.EXE, to me, has become a monument to creatively bankrupt horror storytelling. Which is a bit strange to say, seeing as the game is only around 5 minutes long and the only "horror" it attempts are ineffective jumpscares. But considering the effect it has had on popular horror games over the last decade, I think that giving it that title is pretty appropriate.

Anyway, this is a relatively pointless rant that I've written here. But these thoughts about children's horror have been brewing in my mind for a while, and I really just wanted a place to write out all my thoughts on it. At least this game reminded me that Klonoa 2's soundtrack exists, so that's something, I guess.