Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Windows Central
Windows Central
Technology
Samuel Tolbert

New Sonic the Hedgehog visual novel lets you solve Sonic's murder — and it's free

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog Knuckles image

What you need to know

  • Sega released a new game called The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog. 
  • This visual novel tasks players with figuring out what's going on with Sonic's apparent death. 
  • The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is available right now for free on Steam.

No, this isn't a joke. 

In celebration of April Fool's Day, Sega shared the news that there's a new visual novel called The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog available on Steam for free. This would be your usual run-of-the-mill April Fool's Day joke, except for one small detail: It's a real game. You can check out the launch trailer below:

This point-and-click adventure has you playing as Amy Rose, who is holding a murder mystery party for her birthday. When Sonic appears to die though, things take a serious turn.

Due to the low requirements — the game requires a nugatory 2 GB of RAM and 500 MB of free space — you'll hardly need one of the best gaming laptops to check out The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, just any basic Windows PC.

The game's Steam page is appropriately self-aware, noting that this isn't a Team Sonic title, but that you can believe in the power of headcanon. If you're looking for a big change of pace after playing Sonic Frontiers, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is available right now for free.

Windows Central's take

A large number of April Fool's jokes done by companies simply aren't funny. Every now and again there's a real gem though, and that's the case here. Well done, Sega. 

As a sidebar, because of how many companies dismissively use the genre of visual novels for their April Fool's gags, it's refreshing to see a company actually release the game in question. Visual novels can be really great and I honestly wish more companies would release small spinoffs or experimental titles using that format. 

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.