Sonic the Hedgehog was murdered

(Image credit: Sega)

This won't be easy for Sonic the Hedgehog fans to hear, but he was murdered.

In The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, a free visual novel released by Sega today, Sonic is the victim in a murder mystery birthday party for Amy Rose. He's not just pretend murdered, though: he really gets knocked out.

But is he dead, for real? You'll have to play the game to find out. I did, and it's pretty good for a freebie. The detective work is just on-rails 'collect the evidence and then confront suspects with it' stuff, but the 2D ring-collecting minigame you play to 'think' is entertaining, and even slightly challenging near the end.

Regarding whether or not the game is canon, Sega says, "You know what they say: everything is canon," but adds that The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog "is not a Sonic Team title."

They "strongly believe in the power of headcanon," however, and I take that to mean that, whatever happens in the game (I'm not saying), Sonic can be dead if we want him to be dead.

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.