Sega Murders ‘Sonic’ And Pulls A Fast One On Fans With A New Official Game

On April Fool’s Day, companies love to  prank the public with wild announcements that will make people stop and do a double-take. Sega took it up a notch this year by declaring that it would take one of its most popular titles in a “bold new direction”: by killing Sonic.

The lightning-quick Blue Blur seems to have finally met his demise in a legitimate and free game that the company released on Steam over the weekend, taking this April Fool’s joke to the next level.
 
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog takes place during Amy Rose’s birthday as she hosts a murder mystery party on the Mirage Express. Right at the height of things, it would seem as if Sonic is the night’s first victim.

Your character is a new entrance to the team, and you will have to work alongside Tails, Shadow, Knuckles, and the rest of the crew to interrogate the guests and Amy Rose herself to get to the bottom of this mystery. As things start to unravel, you will begin to wonder if there isn’t something more sinister happening at the party.
 
The whodunnit is played in a traditional visual novel format with hand-painted landscapes, characters, and mini-games sprinkled throughout as you navigate through suspects and clues.
 
So is this all canon? Yes and no. The team makes a special note to state that the official Sonic Team did not create it. However, they do “strongly believe in the power of headcanon,” which pretty much leaves this game up to your interpretation.

Either way, there’s still murder and a train filled with suspicious characters for you to get stuck into. So you better go fast and get solving!

 
 
 
[via Kotaku and IGN, screenshots via Sega/Sonic the Hedgehog]