Sonic Rumble

Sonic Rumble is currently available in the form of a so-called "pre launch" for iPhone/iPad, with the remaining formats coming in the summer.

It's now apparently Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends' turn to stumble around obstacle courses in the style of Fall Guys and Stumble Guys, a popular genre that over time seems to have thinned somewhat in its range and relevance but still very much has some kind of presence. With that in mind, it's no wonder Sega is looking in this direction, but at the same time, the move feels unexpected. Does the Sonic franchise really fit into this context? The quick answer is... no. But let's delve a little deeper here anyway, even if the game itself offers no depth at all.

Actually, there's no difference at all compared to the other games in the genre, except that this one is dressed in Sonic's clothes. You have to be the first to finish after avoiding a series of obstacles, or you have to outlast your opponents on some platforms that spin or have floors that disappear under your feet. You get the idea. We've seen it before and there's not much that's unique here. Sure, we come across the occasional classic Sonic bumper that makes you get pushed around the levels like a little pinball, and you get to run around and collect some gold rings in classic Sonic fashion from time-to-time too. At risk of sounding like a slightly senile parrot, it's the same thing we have seen before but in a new guise.

I'm a little saddened by this arrangement. Sonic is overall a fantastic franchise with a lot of great games and films that are surprisingly good. It's clear what they're after here, and that's not surprising at all really. It's a strategy that, unfortunately, is shattered by greed, as the goal of Sonic Rumble is to unlock new cosmetic items and new characters, and with this we fall into that other horrible hole characterised by microtransactions. Sonic Rumble doesn't, in any way, require you to pay money to play the game, but when the target audience is obviously children, you know how the talk will go at home with those who have youngsters who play Sonic Rumble; "Dad, can I get £5 so I can buy new skins? There's a really cool Sonic character who's black and red."

Yes, we'll give some credit for the music, graphics, and general design. But's that's not a shock really, as this is Sonic we're talking about. There's classic Sonic music, a design style recognisable from previous Sonic iterations, and on top of that, it's actually very pretty as long as you remain stationary. However, as things speed up the frame rate drops significantly it leads to quite an ugly experience. I hope this is something they can fix because it doesn't work to have it this way when the game is actually orientated around the fact that it should be fast, and you need to be on your toes to make the right decisions.

Otherwise, I didn't think the game was much to harp on about. The performance issues can't even be blamed on my lack of quality hardware, as I've been testing the game on an iPhone 16. I also found it to be generally quite a cluttered experience and difficult to see what you were doing. In my case, it became more of a kind of roller coaster where I let myself be sent around the track and, oddly enough, I managed to win a number of times without knowing what I was doing. It didn't leave a lasting impression. I'd recommend finding another Sonic game if you're in the mood for something like that, because this one isn't very good.

Mobile games are always a gamble. Sometimes you find the gems that manage to keep you entertained for long periods of time, but more often than not, they're cash grabs with poor game mechanics. Sonic Rumble is not terrible. If you can overlook the fact that it's messy and suffers from choppy frame rates, there's a game that at least works, and will definitely entertain people of younger ages. For me though, as a Sonic fan, it's hardly something I will be championing in the future.