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A million people investigated The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog

Sega's April Fools virtual novel, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, has accrued over one million downloads and soared up Steam's highest rates games chart.

Espio the Chameleon from Sonic, a purple cartoon character with one horn on his nose, stands wearing a theatrical outfit holding a rose

Meant as a simple April Fools joke, Sega’s The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog has soared up the Steam charts, making it one of the best detective games of 2023. Yes, I’m serious.

According to Sonic the Hedgehog social media manager Katie ‘MiniKitty’ Chrzanowski, the fun-filled point-and-click novel has over one million downloads, and currently sits at number 61 on Steam’s all-time highest rated charts.

“Over 1,000,000 of you have grabbed The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog and it’s currently the number 61 highest rated game on Steam of ALL TIME,” she writes in an April 5 tweet. “Absolutely unreal. Thank you all so, so much.”

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As an avid fan of all things Sonic (I recently purchased a tiny African Pygmy hedgehog who is named after said Blue Blur) it’s nice to see a Sonic game actually do well – although don’t tell my tiny spikey guy that, I don’t think he’d be impressed. Sonic Frontiers was, well, weird, and there hasn’t been a Sonic adventure of late that has piqued my interest in any way, shape, or form.

This, however, had me from the get-go. The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog has the essence of a great Sonic game – we’ve missed that. I could wax lyrical for hours about just how fun it is, but honestly, go and try it for yourself. It’s literally Sonic meets Poirot – what isn’t to love about that?!

If you do pick it up, we have a rundown of whether or not The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is Steam Deck compatible so that you can channel your inner super sleuth on the go. If the point-and-click format is more up your alley that fact-paced action-adventure games, we have a list of the best visual novels to keep your mind whirring.