Sonic.EXE is one of those games that have been circling the internet for many, many years at this point. Originally based off of the creepypasta, this fictional story told the tale of an individual playing a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog, except everything about the game was wrong. The game was supposedly haunted, with the titular main character of Sonic being some kind of murdering horror, who killed other Sonic characters in violent ways. Essentially, it was a haunted version of Sonic the Hedgehog, and whoever played it would never look at the game the same way since.
To keep a long story short, Sonic.EXE is a widely available download for free that does its best to emulate the horror of that creepypasta while being easily playable for anyone who wishes to. The game isn’t particularly long, which is great if you’re looking to see what the big deal is about, as at this point, both the game and the story are rather infamous.
How to Download Sonic.EXE – The Game
You can stream it or you can download the film from Game Jolt. Click on the Download button at the end of this review. Check out also our reviews of the two Sonic movies – Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
The Game Review
Gameplay
In terms of the actual gameplay, there really isn’t much to it. When you start the game, you’ll be asked to select from one of three different characters: Tails, Knuckles, and Dr. Robotnik. From the start, you’ll only be able to select Tails and once his story is done, the same can be said for Knuckles, and then Dr. Robotnik. It’s less of a character select and more of a “this is who you’ll be playing” scenario.
Once you’ve selected your character, all you pretty much have to do is hold down the ‘D’ key to travel to the right of the screen. As you progress through more of the stage, it will become increasingly unsettling and gruesome in some sense. Inevitably, Sonic will show up, not looking so good, and he will proceed to hunt you down; eventually killing that character. You’ll then move on to the next character and repeat the cycle until the game comes to its conclusion after a few short minutes.
In terms of the actual gameplay, there really isn’t much to it at all. There’s no platforming or anything like that. You just go through the stage and progress the game’s “story” if that’s what you want to call it.
Graphics
Where the game really shines, however, is in the audio and the visuals. The game is designed to make you feel uncomfortable, haunted, and maybe even scared at times and the audio and visuals do a great job of that.
Visually, the game does look like Sonic the Hedgehog if the game had been horrifically changed around to fit the narrative of this game being a haunted video game. It’s clear that the game is pretty much just a sophisticated romhack of Sonic the Hedgehog, but that’s what makes the visuals work as well as they do.
Audio
In terms of the audio, while I’ll admit that it is way too loud at times and needs to be turned down; the sound is legitimately unnerving and is not something you’ll want to listen to for long periods of time. This is the exact reason it works so well. Throughout the experience, the audio never lets up on being creepy, all the way from beginning to end, and is definitely a highlight for the game as a whole.
Conclusion
Overall, the game’s a fun five minutes if you’re into creepypasta and are looking for something to give you a bit of a scare; something the visuals and audio do a great job to accomplish. Outside of that, though, as an actual game, there really isn’t any gameplay to it that could be considered fun, so be sure to temper your expectations on that front.
