Sega has released a surprise Sonic murder mystery game for free

Sega has marked April Fool’s Day by releasing a Sonic the Hedgehog murder mystery game for free on PC.

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is now available to download on Steam, described as a ‘point-and-click visual novel’ with “fully hand-drawn landscapes and characters”.

“It’s Amy Rose’s birthday, and she’s hosting a murder mystery party on the Mirage Express,” the game’s synopsis reads.

“When Sonic the Hedgehog becomes the game’s victim, everyone is off to get to the bottom of things. However, something feels a bit off – is this really an innocent game or is something more sinister afoot?”

Players get to create their own character and then interrogate familiar faces from the Sonic universe, as they try to figure out what happened to the hedgehog.

The game’s release follows a social media tease from Sega this week, in which it said it was about to take the Sonic the Hedgehog series in “a new direction”.

Last week Sega announced Sonic Origins Plus, an update to Sonic Origins due to release on June 23.

The update adds 12 Game Gear games as well as new features, including the ability to play as Amy Rose in Sonic 1, 2, Sonic CD and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and the ability to play as Knuckles in Sonic CD.