14 DAY TRIAL // The next installment in the long-running Sonic franchise will be headed to Android and iOS sometime this spring, titled Sonic Runners.
The game will be offered as a free-to-play title with in-game purchases and will feature small stages that you can complete in a minute or two, providing the classic 2D side-scrolling experience that Sonic became famous for, according to Sonic Team's Takashi Iizuka.
The game will be playable with one hand, as Sonic moves forward automatically, and players only need to tap the touchscreen to make him jump.
Of course, it won't be just a Flappy Bird clone, as players will see some familiar mechanics making a return, including collecting rings and looping around stages, not to mention confrontations with the pesky Dr. Robotnik.
Sonic Runners will also come with unlockable characters, in the form of Tails and Knuckles, and is expected to become available sometime later this spring.
Hopefully the boost that Sega needs
The announcement trailer, which you can view below, doesn't have any actual footage of the upcoming game, instead offering a sort of review of the scrolling adventure game's long history.
This won't be the little blue hedgehog's first appearance on mobile platforms, as we have already seen Sonic the Hedgehog 4, Sonic Jump Fever, Sonic Dash, not to mention some 16-bit Genesis era re-releases.
The string of titles Sega has steadily released through the years has made a lot of people discontent with the current state of affairs, calling out for a return to the bygone era of Sonic greatness.
The last few console titles have disappointed their fans, and especially after Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, Sega needs to release something better, or at least different enough, in order to make the franchise float once more.
Hopefully, Sonic Runners will fit the bill. The company has recently made 300 employees redundant and reported refocusing its resources on digital games for smartphones and PC.
