The blue blur has a new game out, and while it's free, I wouldn't get too excited, as Sonic Rumble is getting truly slated on Steam. Players are deeply unhappy about the release, as the absurdly priced skins and an overabundance of microtransactions squeeze out whatever little fun could otherwise be had.
A Fall Guys-esque party game, Sonic Rumble pits cute, toy-like versions of the iconic hedgehog and his pals against each other in different arenas in order to gather rings. Though it seems simple, the whole thing favors deep pockets as better skins yield more rewards, and dailies give limited currency, inspiring quite a bit of consternation.
"You win by having more rings, get more rings by buying legendary characters," writes one Steam reviewer. "You win by having better moves, it also costs money to get different moves." The price range to buy skins without grinding sits at between $40 to $60, and the in-game advertising is extremely full-on.
"It'd be one thing if it was just kept to the shop where you didn't see it, but it's always in your face," says another Steam reviewer. "They want you to buy those ludicrously expensive skins so you can pay to win to get those higher scores and get better ranks."
Some are even disappointed by how little it seems like a Sonic game. "Nearly nothing about Sonic gameplay carried into this game, except the characters," reads a bullet-point in a highly-rated review on Steam.
Rovio Entertainment is the studio behind Sonic Rumble, and you may recognize the name as the team that created Angry Birds. Sega acquired it in 2023, and there's a mobile version to go with the PC release, which goes some way towards explaining the in-game monetization.
"In what world can you get a whole, fully featured, actually fun racing game for less than the price of two skins here," questions another review, short and to the point. If you're looking for something multiplayer featuring Tails, Knuckles and the rest of Sonic's cohort, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is definitely the better option right now.
