Sonic Rumble is the first mobile multiplayer party game in the franchise, featuring a toy world setting, numerous playable characters, and quick battle royal fun anywhere, anytime. It has also been announced that it will be released on PC. We have managed to try a demo during Tokyo Game Show and here are our thoughts.
The First of its Kind
Sonic Rumble’s premise is set in a toy world where everyone in the Sonic universe are toy figures in a game world spearheaded by Dr. Eggman. The demo we played was on PC and we used an Xbox controller to play the game (as it will also get a PC release).
Sonic game director Makoto Tase and creative officer Takashi Iizuka have emphasized in our recent roundtable interview how they wanted everyone from all ages and all walks of life to be able to have fun and accessibility in playing this Sonic party game.
This is the first mobile multiplayer game in the franchise that includes all of the characters in the Sonic universe which you can play as. Your collected rings will enable you to unlock cosmetics and other accessories that you can use to customize your characters in-game. And while there will be some microtransactions in-game, it’s usually for the cosmetics and other added features.
The game developers want everyone to have a fair playing field in this game and enjoy and immerse themselves in the delight and community building this party game has to offer.
All’s Fair in Love and Rumble
Up to 32 players at the same time can play together and try to survive in various stages and challenges to reach the top rankings. Winning or being eliminated will depend on whether the player will meet the minimum game mode objectives.
During our gameplay demo, there were three stages to play and you may be eliminated if you did not reach the minimum amount of rings or did not accomplish the stage’s objectives. Each stage had a short playing time, so there was a bit of time pressure, but this added to the thrill and excitement of playing against numerous players all around the globe.
The short playing time is a good factor of the game since it is a mobile game, and players will most probably be playing this on the go, or if they need short bursts of fun in between day-to-day business.
It is also good to note that while there are random assignments of players, you can also invite your friends in-game and play in a private group/room of your own. We suggest playing this game while being on a group online call for added fun and immersion.
Cute Toy Designs
The character designs for Sonic Rumble are very distinct from the other Sonic franchise iterations. The overall look fits the game theme of being in a toy world where the characters look cuter–perhaps they exhibit a more ‘chibi’ take. We find this quite adorable and refreshing and we are looking forward to what new cosmetics the game will provide for the characters.
Unfortunately during our demo opportunity, we were not able to check out the customizations in-depth, however we can assure you that the user interface and game layout are pretty much similar to what we are used to in the other Sonic games. Even the stage maps are easy to navigate and compact for a mobile game.
Initial Verdict
This game may not focus on the ‘speed’ that we are used to in Sonic games, however, the multiplayer party royal rumble and community experience factors are the main highlights of this mobile game, and we recommend this game for the fun experience that ties everyone globally together–anytime, anywhere.
You can download this game via mobile app stores when it gets released globally in the latter part of the year with constant live updates (and possible collaborations with other IPs) moving forward.