Sonic the Hedgehog was murdered

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RIP Sonic, who is dead.

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(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 Wilde
Tyler Wilde
Editor-in-Chief, US

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.