The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
Key artwork
Developer(s)	Sega Social Team
Publisher(s)	Sega
Producer(s)	Michal Miexriir Shafrir
Designer(s)	Greg Batha
Programmer(s)	Greg Batha Michal Miexriir Shafrir Katie Chrzanowski
Artist(s)	Ellen Alsop Min Ho Kim
Writer(s)	Ian Mutchler
Composer(s)	Troupe Gammage Joel Corelitz
Series	Sonic the Hedgehog
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	macOS Windows
Release	March 31, 2023
Genre(s)	Visual novel, point-and-click adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2023 point-and-click visual novel video game developed by Sega Social Team and published by Sega for macOS and Windows. The player converses with various Sonic the Hedgehog characters to investigate Sonic's apparent murder on Amy Rose's birthday.^[1][2][3] Sega released the game as freeware on March 31, 2023, to coincide with April Fools' Day.

During investigation segments, the player can examine objects in the room in order to obtain evidence. Once enough evidence has been gathered, the player will be able to interrogate the other characters in the room, and must present the correct evidence in order to confirm or refute the characters' claims. Once the interrogation is complete, the player will be able to advance to the next room. During interrogations, the player will occasionally enter a "Think" minigame. In these segments, the player controls Sonic in an auto-running game using an isometric perspective, and must collect rings while dodging oncoming hazards. The player must collect a target number of rings in order to advance to the next phase of the interrogation, with these minigames rising in difficulty as the game progresses.

To celebrate Amy Rose's birthday, she and her friends Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Espio, Vector, Rouge, Blaze, and Shadow gather in the Mirage Express, a train designed for special events, to participate in a murder mystery game. The player controls a new quokka employee aboard the train, who is directed by the conductor to assist the participants as needed. Shortly after the game is meant to begin, the train speeds up suddenly and causes the player, Amy, and Tails to be thrown back into a storage room and knocked out.

When they reawaken, Amy, Tails, and the player return to the dining car to find Sonic, seemingly actually deceased. While Amy begins investigating on her own, the player accompanies Tails as they move between the different themed cars, interrogating each of the participants to verify their alibis. Progressing through a saloon, a library, a casino, and a lounge, Tails and the player reach the conductor car at the front of the train.

Using evidence they gathered along the way, Tails and the player determine that Espio was the villain of the murder mystery game, and knocked Sonic out with a blowdart. Unbeknownst to Espio, he had been following instructions given by the train itself, which is revealed to have been converted into a giant badnik by Doctor Eggman. Upset with the conductor for planning to retire and leave it behind, the train plots to deliver everyone to Eggman's base in exchange for a bounty, which it intends to use to force the conductor to stay with it forever.

Everyone is dragged back to their cars and locked inside. With the player's help, Sonic, who has recovered, spindashes through the doors to free everyone and reach the conductor car. Racing alongside the train, Sonic and the others attack it until the Flicky powering it is freed, and Espio retrieves it as Amy destroys the train. Before the train deactivates, the conductor promises to never forget his memories with it.

The group disembark at a station, with the conductor reuniting with his wife and beginning his retirement, now accompanied by the Flicky. Sonic buys a cake from a nearby bakery, and everyone wishes Amy a happy birthday. At his base, Eggman is left to lament his plan's failure.

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog was developed by the Sonic brand's social media team, led by the current social media manager, Katie Chrzanowski.^[4][5][6][7]

According to the review aggregate website Metacritic, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog received "generally favorable reviews".^[8]

Grayson Morley on Polygon praised the game for how it went beyond expectations of a free April Fools' Day joke game with its art, humor, music and sincerity.^[9] Eurogamer noted that the game was received positively by players, with its Steam user reviews in its first weekend of release garnering it an "overwhelmingly positive" rating.^[10]

According to Chrzanowski, the game received over one million downloads in its first week of release.^[11]