| Sonic Rumble | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Sonic Rumble Review Overview
What is Sonic Rumble?
Sonic Rumble is a multiplayer party battle royale game developed and published by SEGA. Announced in May 2024, it was previously scheduled to release on May 8, 2025 for PC (via Steam), iOS, and Android platforms, before being delayed to November 5, 2025. This title marks the first Sonic the Hedgehog game developed jointly with Rovio following SEGA’s acquisition of the company in 2023.
The game features 32-player online matches divided into three rounds: an initial race (Run), a secondary mode (Survival, Hunt, or Team), and a final Ring Battle. Players can obtain various characters and skins based on the many characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe through microtransactions, each with varying levels of rarity and bonuses depending on said rarity. Furthermore, the game also features periodic events and game modes that will add more content to both cosmetics and gameplay.
Sonic Rumble features:
⚫︎ Free-to-Play Party Battle Royale
⚫︎ Multiple Stages and Game Modes
⚫︎ Microtransactions
⚫︎ Obtainable Skins and Characters From Various Sonic Universes
⚫︎ Mobile and PC Crossplay
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Sonic Rumble’s gameplay and story.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Steam |
 App Store |
 Google Play |
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| Free-to-Play | |||||
Sonic Rumble Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Simple Gameplay Memorable Music PC and Mobile Crossplay |
Microtransactions Certain Modes Are Coin Flips Shallow Gameplay |
Sonic Rumble Story - 3/10
It’s not surprising that Sonic Rumble doesn’t have a narrative or a story to go off of, as it’s more of a party game. That being said, it does feature different locations that you run around in and the many characters from other Sonic media, aside from the games. However, there are no descriptions of these areas or characters, so there’s literally nothing to go off of.
Sonic Rumble Gameplay - 7/10
Sonic Rumble is a simple and fun party game that you can play on both mobile and PC. For what it’s worth, the simplicity of the mechanics and variety of the stages and game modes, as well as the amount of content it offers, is undeniably fun for anyone who’s looking to play a party battle royale. It isn’t deep, save for the fact of effectively using your skills, and it’s better that way since it focuses on being able to enjoy it on any platform.
Sonic Rumble Visuals - 6/10
The visuals aren’t amazing, but they do at least convey the Sonic identity. The main highlights of the visuals are the vibrant colors and the designs of the various cosmetics and skins. However, the animations leave much to be desired, since they look very lackluster compared to even some of the older games in the series.
Sonic Rumble Audio - 9/10
The jazzy renditions of the iconic tracks that the franchise has are amazing. So amazing, in fact, that I would say that the music is the aspect that carries the game the most. Each track is memorable, even the one that plays in the main menu, and sets the vibe perfectly for you to enjoy each game. While the sound effects are great as well, the lack of voice acting is a big missed opportunity to really amplify the game’s vibe.
Sonic Rumble Value for Money - 7/10
While the game is free-to-play and has the content to back it up, the overall price of cosmetics is egregiously high, like upwards of $50 to $60. On top of the skin prices, the game also has two different passes (Event Pass and Season Pass) for players to purchase, with these being constantly flashed at you after every game. The game isn’t necessarily pay-to-win, except for the ability to buy and upgrade skills earlier, but the prices are way too high, paired with the predatory currency exchange.
Sonic Rumble Overall - 64/100
Sonic Rumble is fun for what it offers: a simple party battle royale that doesn’t take too long or overstay each game. However, it doesn’t go beyond what you see at face value, as it doesn’t offer depth other than mindless running around. Unfortunately, it also has some of the most absurdly high prices of microtransactions, as well as the most overbearing ways to entice players to purchase them, which makes it a hard game to support other than to play a few games to waste time.
Sonic Rumble Review: Fun Waste of Time But Not Much Else
Sometimes, gamers just want to have fun.
No complicated narrative with twists and turns that’ll make you want to stew on a single plotline or nuanced gameplay that makes you think about every decision during combat. It's even better if you can play it with friends, especially with how popular multiplayer games have become lately.
Games like Lethal Company, R.E.P.O., PEAK, Among Us, and Fall Guys are some of the games that became popular without going too deep and just having a fun concept, especially since they were perfect for the streaming scene with their short-form gameplay. With the popularity of this genre of game at an all-time high, it’s no surprise that many try to replicate the success of these games.
Now in 2025, SEGA’s endeavor to expand the Sonic the Hedgehog brand has led them to explore a multiplayer party battle royale by the name of Sonic Rumble. With the series’ unique take on platforming, it doesn’t seem like the worst idea, especially given that they’ve already tried a sort of platformer racing game before.
That being said, the game is finally out, especially after it got delayed multiple times. And as a fan of most things Sonic-related, it’s my duty to check it out, regardless of whether it’s amazing or not. So let’s dive in to see if SEGA found themselves another hit the same way they did with Sonic CrossWorlds, or if it’s another dud to add to the long list of Sonic’s massive catalog.
From Green Hill to Chemical Plant
Sonic Rumble takes place in a twisted toy world created by the evil Dr. Eggman named Egg Toy Land. There, he created toy figures of Team Sonic and other characters so that they would compete against each other. With Eggman confident that he can take down Sonic with his new creations, Sonic knows that he can beat Eggman in his own game and decides to play with toy figures as well.
As expected, the game lets you play as one of your favorite Sonic characters, provided you’ve obtained them. Characters like Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, Silver, Espio, Vector, Blaze, and Big are just some of the characters that you can play as in the game. To add to this, the game adds several different versions of a character in the form of skins.
The game itself doesn’t exactly have a narrative outside of the game’s initial trailers. It’s not like it’s needed, but with the number of characters there are in the Sonic universe, it would’ve been appreciated to know who some of the characters are. I’m sure that players who haven’t tried the other Sonic games wouldn’t be familiar with characters like Wave, Storm, and Jet.
The games do take place in the series’ iconic zones like Green Hill, Chemical Plant, City Escape, and more. These also have multiple versions for each game mode, which is probably the most surprising part. For context, Green Hill alone has a total of eight different iterations, three that can be found in each of the first and second rounds, and two different versions for the third round.
Not only that, but each of the different iterations has different gimmicks from one another, even if they are under the same game mode. Continuing the Green Hill example, Green Hill Run 2 and Green Hill Run 3 are different in the sense that the former focuses on verticality with springs and windmills, while the latter has a multitude of Dash Panels, ramps, and other hazards.
May The Best Ring Collector Win
Now, let’s talk about the actual gameplay. It’s quite obvious that a game like this should at least have an engaging gameplay experience, and for what it’s worth, it does. The main game mode of Ring Survivor has 32 players compete in a series of 3 rounds. The first and third rounds are fixed game modes of Run and Ring Battle, respectively, while the second round is either a Survival, Hunt, or Team challenge.
For Run, players must reach the goal before the others, with the round ending once 16 players have reached the goal. The second round challenges are more of a direct competition, as Survival has players determine who can last the longest, Hunt has players gather the most amount of points, and finally Team is where two teams of 8 compete to qualify for the final round with a series of unique team-based challenges. Finally, Ring Battle is where the final 8 players run around the arena to collect the most rings possible within the given time. The one with the most rings wins the entire game.
It’s important to note that while the ring count isn’t as important in the final round, the first two rounds do let you collect rings as well. In addition to this, your placement on these rounds also gives you bonus rings, which heavily impact your total ring count leading up to the final round. This means that you actually want to place decently in the first two rounds, other than just aiming to qualify, as it’ll make the third round much easier for you.
The controls themselves are straightforward to understand, as everyone moves at the same speed and has a double jump for movement. In addition to that, the game also features an "attack" function, which is used to attack hostile NPCs, break certain objects, or, under certain conditions, harm other players.
There are also Skills included in the game, which add a little more nuance to the gameplay, but not as much as you’d think. They’re mostly used as a buffer to protect you from harm or as an additional way to steal rings from other players outside of attacking them. In some of the runs I got to play, I barely even used them other than for a temporary speed boost or an extra way to remove rings from my opponents.
Additionally, certain characters have exclusive skills as well, but these are gated by needing to be bought in the store or unlocked through Battle Pass progress. Some skills are also only usable in certain game modes, meaning that making an "optimal loadout" will take a fair amount of grinding or currency. In my experience, there weren’t any overpowered exclusive skills, but this can easily change as the game gets more and more characters.
Awesome Music Renditions
Before I get into the nitty-gritty of the gameplay, I just need to dedicate a section to its music. I’ll always praise the music of the Sonic franchise, especially since the series has continually changed genres throughout the years. Sonic Rumble’s music takes the iconic tracks of each zone and jazzes them up for an entirely new feel.
I didn’t expect to hear a jazz instrumental version of Escape From the City in the City Escape Zone, and I’m glad I did because I didn’t know how much I needed to hear it until I did. And it extends to the game’s main menu as well, as it only took me about an hour until I started humming the tune to myself already.
Now, if only we could get Mirage Saloon and Studiopolis into the game…
Losses Can Feel Cheap
So with the actual gameplay loop out of the way, certain game modes can feel like they’re mostly just based on luck. Hunt, in particular, feels the most luck-based, since you don’t exactly control when and where the power-ups show up for you to use.
One particular example is the Desert Ruins Hunt, where players don’t actually hit each other to win but break jars to earn points instead. The game can just outright not spawn anything near you, or it becomes a case of who has the better ping when players go for the same jars.
The final round of Ring Battle can also feel very swingy, as it becomes a case of who can get the shield or attack power-up. For context, an attack power-up lets you hit a player to steal 300 rings from them, which becomes a massive swing when the deficit becomes tight in the final seconds of a match.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that you’re not invulnerable during an attack animation, meaning that other players can attack you as well. Meaning that the rings you just gained are immediately stolen from an opponent. Sure, there’s a sense of strategy with the use of Skills and power-ups, but you’ll still need to rely on the game actually spawning the latter to help you survive or steal rings from everyone else.
Insane Microtransactions
With the game being free-to-play, it’s unsurprising and expected that it has a ton of microtransactions included. However, there’s a certain kind of shamelessness that’s involved, where every time you come back to the main menu, a gigantic pop-up appears telling you to buy a Score bonus pack. Now, I don’t necessarily have a problem with games needing to turn a profit, but it is annoying when it’s in your face almost all the time.
But all that aside, the actual prices of the currency exchange as well as the skins themselves are the biggest offenders when it comes to microtransactions. Common to Epic skins aren’t necessarily hard to come by, especially since the game does give you a ton of different skins very early on in the Starter Shop. But players, like myself, would probably want to play as their favorite character instead of someone else.
To put it simply, higher rarity skins come with a certain score bonus, which in turn makes it easier to get higher ranks on stages and accomplish certain missions. This leads to having a much easier progression compared to a completely free-to-play player.
So the main thing to ask, really, is if the game is pay-to-win. Technically, no, but having access to more Skills and exclusive character Skills and being able to level them up early can lead to wins. I, personally, haven’t seen a skill single-handedly decide a match, but it is entirely possible to do so, given that some skills can affect the rankings of the first two rounds.
Is Sonic Rumble Worth It?
Good Way to Waste Free Time, But Not Much Else
Sonic Rumble is good for what it is: a simple, free-to-play platformer party battle royale. The length of its gameplay is perfect, especially since the genre thrives in having short-form gameplay to constantly keep you playing. However, if you’re looking for something that actually plays like the mainline Sonic games or something that has a little more depth in its gameplay, you won’t find it here.
Fans of the franchise might be disappointed by how the game doesn’t play similarly to the series, especially since the movement is quite disappointing. I won’t go so far as to call it an outright cash grab, since SEGA did add a good amount of variety to the gameplay with its game modes and such, but the prices of the microtransactions are criminal.
It’s a free game, so you don’t really lose anything by playing it other than time. But I won’t recommend engaging with its monetization at all due to the absurd prices. The free-to-play aspects of the game may make the progression slow, but it’s not meant to be a game to be taken seriously anyway, since it’s more of a for-fun title than an outright competitive title.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam |
App Store |
Google Play |
|||
| Free-to-Play | |||||
Sonic Rumble FAQ
How do I get Movie Sonic in Sonic Rumble?
Movie Sonic is a free skin given to the players due to the game’s successful pre-registration campaign. To obtain the skin, simply check your mail after completing the tutorial.
Does Sonic Rumble Have Crossplay?
Yes. Mobile and PC players can choose to play with or against each other.
Game8 Reviews
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Sonic Rumble Product Information
 |
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| Title | SONIC RUMBLE |
|---|---|
| Release Date | November 5, 2025 |
| Developer | SEGA |
| Publisher | SEGA |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam), Mobile |
| Genre | Party |
| Number of Players | 32 (Online) |
| ESRB Rating | E |
| Official Website | Sonic Rumble Official Website |
Good read!!