Sonic Dash

Gameplay

Sonic Dash is played as an endless runner, similar to the Temple Run and Rayman Jungle Run video games. In the game, the player directs Sonic through levels, collecting rings and avoiding obstacles and enemies. Unlike other games in the series, Sonic automatically moves forward at all times, similar to Sonic and the Secret Rings. Players are able to share and compete for accomplishments such as "fastest time" or "longest distance".

The game features 3D graphics, set in an environment based on the Seaside Hill level of Sonic Heroes. Like its predecessors, rings can be collected throughout the levels or purchased via microtransactions, and accumulated rings can be used to purchase further content in the game, such as items, upgrades, or additional playable characters. The game also retains the objective system from Sonic Jump; players are granted a permanent score multiplier increase for every set of three objectives completed.

Throughout the levels, red star rings can be found, although players can purchase them as well. They are used to buy new characters to play as, all from the Sonic universe, which currently includes Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Amy, Blaze, Silver, Rouge and Cream. The Android version of the game also features an exclusive character in the form of the Android robot.

On October 31, 2013, an update was released that included a boss battle against Zazz, a member of the Deadly Six from Sonic Lost World. A similar boss battle against Doctor Eggman was added in a later update.

In a June 2015 update, the game was renamed Angry Birds Sonic Dash Epic for a three-week promotion, and allowed playability of three Angry Birds characters, Red, Chuck & Bomb, as they appear in the game Angry Birds Epic.

In a March 2016 update, Espio was added as a playable character in celebration of Sonic Dash's third anniversary.

In July 2016, to coincide with the series' 25th anniversary and in celebration of achieving 200 million downloads, an update added Classic Sonic as a playable character alongside Green Hill Zone as a new level, complete with the stage's original 16-bit soundtrack.

A special promotion during December 2016 added playable Sanrio characters including Hello Kitty, My Melody, Chococat and Badtz-Maru.

Development

In a November 2012 interview with UK toy trade magazine Toys 'n' Playthings, Sega of Europe employee Sissel Henno confirmed that Sega would have "several new digital titles" in 2013. On February 28, 2013, the title Sonic Dash was spotted on a listing from a Linked In profile. Shortly after, on March 1, 2013, Sega confirmed the game's existence, with an official press release going out on March 4. The game was announced to be exclusively for mobile phones, with iOS being the only platform explicitly mentioned, stating that it would be available on the App Store "soon". On the day of the iOS release on March 7, 2013, Sega's website confirmed that Hardlight is developing an Android version of Sonic Dash, although they didn't announce the date of release. However, there were issues during development, mostly on Android, because it required testing for bugs and issues before getting it released. On September 19, 2013, Sega Europe stated that the Android version's release date would be announced "soon", with it eventually releasing on November 26, 2013.

A sequel based on the Sonic Boom TV series, Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom, was soft-launched on Android devices in Canada on July 1, 2015.

Reception

Aggregator Metacritic calculated a score of 69 out of 100, based on 26 reviews, labeling it as having "mixed or average reviews". Destructoid gave the game a 7 out of 10, praising the game's control, finding that the "swipe"-based motions worked better than the tilt-based ones typical of the genre, but criticized the game for its repetitious nature, and in-app purchases that ranged from "not needed" to "pretty damn annoying." IGN gave the game a 6 out of 10 score, similarly praising the game's control, while criticizing the cheap level design and "pay-to-win" aspect of the game's leaderboard ranking system. Eurogamer gave it the same score, noting that the game felt rushed, and that the in-app purchases felt like they were motivated by greed. Touch Arcade gave the game a 3.5 out of 5 score, comparing it favorably to the special stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Digital Spy referred to it as "the best Sonic has played on a smartphone yet".

Critics were ultimately divided on the game's merits; Gamezebo lauded the game for being "the first time in 20 years that Sega has put out a Sonic game that you absolutely have to play", while MacLife referred to it as a game that "fumbles the fundamentals and aggravates with heavy-handed in-app purchases."

As of June 8, 2015, Sonic Dash has been downloaded over 100 million times, with an average of 14 million players every month.

Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom

A sequel, Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom, was soft launched on Android on July 1, 2015 and iOS on August 18, 2015. At that time, the game was only officially available in the Canada and Ireland app stores. It is affiliated with the French-American television series and separate franchise of the same name. It was made available worldwide to iOS users on October 8, 2015 and Android users on October 16, 2015.