Ok, sure, most of the gameplay is basically just SegaSonic The Hedgehog, but even then this game had zero right to be as good as it was. It all starts in late June when I actually download the game since I had heard of it years back near it's release, but never had the chance to try it because I didn't even know what Steam was or even any places to get the game (this game is a steam exclusive I think) because I hadn't had much freedom on the internet to where I would stumble upon Steam. But now the time has came where I actually did get Steam, so I downloaded the game to please my younger self. And since I've matured since then, I've grown out of Sonic The Hedgehog and stumbled into more anime/manga territory like Dragon Ball and Jujutsu Kaisen. But since I got Steam like I've mentioned a trillion times by now, I finally got the game in late June. Unfortunately, I did not play the game until literally tonight, and boy was I in for a surprise. For an April Fool's game, I never expected a game to actually pique my interest this much, especially with how much I've grown out of STH. But still, this game is one of the most interesting games I have ever played, and the plot is great where you think you finally caught onto someone being the impostor and realizing at the end that your intuition was wrong. My personal tip is at all costs, go into the game blind. Don't click Community Hub, just jump in blindly. That's how I went in, and I had a thrill and you probably will too if you also go in blind. Overall this game is a solid 9/10 and I feel like a sequel is absolutely neccesary, and if a sequel is agreed on here are some things I would definitely appreciate:
First and foremost, upgrade the length of the game to something like 5-7 hours instead of a measly 2 hours. Second, we should get some new characters. Additions I would just love are Fang, Bean, Bark, Charmy, and the long forgotten Silver. Third on the list is instead of having the player and Tails be detectives, we could have Espio, Vector and Charmy doing the detective work, since that's their whole deal as a group. Fourth, the gameplay should be expanded beyond just being similar to SegaSonic The Hedgehog. While the gameplay worked for what the game was trying to be, a sequel has the opportunity to make the player actually feel like a detective. Instead of mainly running through stages, the player could investigate crime scenes, collect evidence, question suspects, and piece together what happened. A perfect way to do this would be to take inspiration from games like Ace Attorney. The player could spend time gathering clues and building a case, then eventually have a big confrontation where you present evidence and prove where someone's story falls apart. Imagine finding out a character's alibi is impossible because you found a clue that directly contradicts what they said. That would fit Sonic perfectly. The plot could also move away from the train setting while keeping the same mystery feeling. Instead of everyone thinking Sonic was murdered on a train, Sonic could "die" somewhere else and everyone believes something actually happened to him. The goal wouldn't just be finding out who killed Sonic, but figuring out what really happened and why someone wanted everyone to think Sonic was gone. Having the Chaotix as the main detectives would also make this work even better. Vector could handle interrogations, Espio could sneak into areas and find hidden evidence, and Charmy could discover clues that nobody else would notice. Tails could still be involved as the person helping analyze evidence and create gadgets, but the Chaotix should get the spotlight since being detectives is literally their thing. A sequel has a lot of potential because the first game already proved that a ridiculous idea like "Sonic murder mystery" can actually work. If Sega ever decides to make The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, I would love to see them take the same charm and humor from the first game but expand it into a full detective adventure.
In conclusion, this could be only my opinion, but this game really helped me reminisce about simpler times where my only worry in life was the Pacer Test. 10/10. Essential game for every Steam user on the face of the Earth.
