First announced for release in May alongside an early-access beta, SEGA’s upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog “arcade royale” spin-off was finally released to mobile and PC today, November 5. Sonic Rumble’s early access period raised quality concerns for the development team, leading to the postponement of its release. Today, fans online have already begun expressing mixed opinions on the game, as the modern-day trappings that many mobile games face have seemingly sunk their teeth into Sonic Rumble as well.
Sonic Rumble is an online battle royale game that sees up to 32 combatants take on the role of toy versions of Sonic the Hedgehog and friends within the confines of Dr. Eggman’s new Toy World. Players will have to fight through varying minigame challenges spanning solo to team-based ring survival challenges and races with the ultimate goal of being the last competitor standing—the typical battle royale style popularized by games like Fortnite and, most similarly, Fall Guys. Despite being in the same genre, Sonic Rumble differs from other battle royales in its permanently unlockable skill system, which gives players access to equipped movement abilities and utility that not every player will have at the beginning of their time playing. This is a staple of mobile games, unfortunately; however, it is a fully free-to-play feature.
One of Sonic Rumble’s largest complaints from fans regards the abundance of downloadable content skins, which introduces a possibility for pay-to-win mechanics to enter the mix. Where the game’s skills system is entirely “play-to-win”, certain allegedly “pay-to-win” features have been detailed by user reviews online. These accusations are that these paid cosmetics positively impact a player’s ranking in a way, leading to players with paid content on their account being advantaged compared to others who haven’t. The contention here stems from other user reviews combating this claim of pay-to-win features with the fact that, at the end of the day, winning or losing in Sonic Rumble is entirely left up to an individual player’s skill. As one Steam user explains in a recent review of the game, it is entirely possible to enjoy Sonic Rumble while only paying $0. Their review goes on to explain that free-to-play players can hold out hope for improvement in the future, as it seems that the developers are bringing back previous premium pass skins and items from the game’s early-access period in exchange for red rings and Omni Fragments—two of Sonic Rumble’s unpaid in-game currencies earned by simply playing.
Fans of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise may have mixed feelings surrounding the recently released Sonic mobile game, Sonic Rumble, but mobile game fans are sure to have a blast grinding through this challenging new arcade battle royale experience.
Sonic Rumble can be played for free worldwide on mobile devices and PC via Steam and the Google Play Store starting today, November 5.