While this is an officially licensed Sonic game, this is something hosted on Roblox. As such, it isn't considered an entry for the 52 Game Challenge. But it CAN count for the extra Big Challenge. Considering there is no other way I would be able to talk about this game, makes sense for Speed Sim to be my April Fool's bonus entry so I can save the real games for the challenge. So... Welcome to Episode Big!

BONUS GAME: SONIC SPEED SIMULATOR (PS4/XBOX ONE)

Getting into this game was... Weird. I had no intention to play Roblox, and I still don't beyond this title. This game was an enigma, hardly any Sonic fans talked about BECAUSE of the same apprehension. It's Roblox, who cares?

But after getting my Xbox Series X, I tried to make it my dedicated Sonic machine. This includes installing Roblox and giving it a shot considering at the time, Roblox on consoles was an Xbox exclusive.

And... It's a weird, addicting experience.

There isn't technically much to this game, it's just all about running around, getting XP to become faster at running around, and then run around some more. Its not the most content rich game out there. And its definitely the most monetized Sonic game you can play on console due to the nature of it being a Roblox title. The grind IS the game, the game IS the grind. And I can see how that can't resonate well with people.

But I'm a guy who has roots in the casual MMO spectrum. Failinhearts is a name that comes from my old Club Penguin account. And Speed Sim kinda scratches a strange itch. If you see it as like, an MMO like Club Penguin but with Sonic characters, complete with weekly events and tons of costumes, pets and characters, I honestly kinda dig it.

There is always something new to get every week, a new character to add to the collection. It does keep itself fresh in terms of giving me a reason to come back. Some updates are better than others, but as of late, there are a lot of new worlds and mechanics being introduced on a rather frequent basis that shake up the gameplay loop.

And the gameplay loop is pretty damn smooth. Characters control beautifully, and the races and worlds are designed in a way to accommodate their speed. There is just a relaxing feeling to just roaming around environments with tons of people at the speed of sound. Then you add races and boss raids to the mix and there is now this competitive multiplayer aspect.

But the real reason this game keeps me hooked? The fanservice, dear god the FANSERVICE. The fact that I can play as so many characters in 3D in an officially licensed Sonic project is such a dream come true. Sure, are they glorified skins of Sonic? Absolutely. But even then, slowly but surely characters are starting to get different gameplay properties that make them more distinct and worth trying.

The fact that Neo Metal Sonic is playable is something I still can't wrap my head around, it's surreal. There are so many characters, Extreme Gears, Chao, pets, even homages to Archie and Sonic X are all here and accounted for. It's also the only game where you can freely roam around Shatterspaces from Sonic Prime, like New Yoke and No Place.

It's not a game for everybody, but it's a game I always look forward to checking out to see just how far I can ascend my characters, and always gives me a good kick of Sonic every week.