I don't really need to explain how much Sonic's catalogue of games has divided opinion over the past 20 years. There's been a few titles met with near-unanimous praise, such as Sonic Colors and Generations, but in the general gaming space, the series has been a bit of a laughing stock for some time. And now, one fan wants to change that.
TikTokker Zayneblack has shared footage of their own Sonic fan game. However, unlike other fan projects, this isn't building upon what the main games have done, but instead strays from the formula completely and starts over again. Saying that this is how Sonic "should work in 3D", the game is currently in development, and heavily resembles the old '90s games much more than the blue blur's recent hits.
"I'm making a 3D Sonic the Hedgehog fan game", opens TikTokker Zayneblack. "I think it fixes a lot of the perceived problems that Sonic's faced in 3D".
As you can see in the video, the game is in the very early stages of development. However, since it isn't based on a particular official Sonic game, that's to be expected.
Zayneblack is yet to explain what they believe Sega "should" be doing with the Sonic series, but the footage gives us a good indication of where the game is heading. For starters, it's all non-linear. While most 3D Sonic games have you running in a straight line, weaving away from obstacles and attacking enemies, this interpretation sees Sonic with full freedom of movement, able to explore the stage as he pleases.
On top of this, Zayneblack hints in a previous video that the game was made partially in response to Sonic Frontiers, which had divided fans so far. It's therefore likely that the developer is making many changes from how Frontiers will play, perhaps adding the sense of momentum that some fans fear is missing in the upcoming release.
In any case, we'll have to wait and see what Zayneblack gets up to with this new project. But it's definitely one to keep an eye on.