Want to step into the iconic red boots of Sonic the Hedgehog? This fan-built VR experience will let you do just that, and with some serious attention to detail that Sonic fans are sure to appreciate.

Coming to the annual Sonic Amateur Games Expo (SAGE) 2020 in September is a new VR experience that lets you jump into a number of original Sonic the Hedgehog Zones. Called Virtua Sonic, users will be able to fight classic enemies, collect rings and use the terrain to your advantage to achieve high speeds.

As seen in the teaser trailer below, users run pretty similar to the locomotion scheme seen in Sprint Vector (2018), as you pump both arms in a skiiing motion. Users can also brake, jump high into the sky, dash mid-air, and slide along tracks.

“This project’s goal is to push the boundaries of what sorts of experiences are capable in virtual reality, showcasing the potential of the medium as it pertains to high-speed action games,” the developer says, who goes by the handle ‘SuperSonic68‘.

Virtua Sonic is said to support all SteamVR-compatible headsets such as HTC Vive, Valve Index, and Oculus Rift. Its creator however says there aren’t any plans to share it online before its debut at SAGE 2020, which takes place September 5th. We’re hoping we get the full-fat version after that, and it’s not stymied by any of the pesky litigation we’ve seen in other fan-built experiences.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for a playable Sonic VR experience to tide you over, NimSony’s Sonic VR prototype experience is still available for download.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Amni3D

    This is one of the first IPs I wanted to see get fangames for VR.
    Pretty interested!

  • Kevin White

    Imagine bringing this back to 2015 or 2016 and showing it to people who were writing articles about how artificial locomotion was taboo in VR.

    • d0x360

      From day 1 I always wanted free locomotion in VR so I’m so happy that most games support it now.

      I absolutely hate on rails games or games where you can only teleport or snap turn. I want to have full dual analog control and always have.

      I remember playing a demo on the Oculus DK1 that had free locomotion and I was just blown away despite the horrifying frame rate and terrible display of the dk1 lol.

  • d0x360

    Well this project will now be killed.

    Never announce ANYTHING like this until it’s finished. Otherwise there’s a 99% chance it will be taken down.

    Hell even simple things like that guy who made the TNG enterprise ship in ue4 had it taken down… It wasn’t even a game it was just a thing that let you walk through the ship.

    • anonmon

      You’d be right, if it wasn’t for the fact this is SEGA/Sonic. When it comes to Sonic fangames, SEGA does what nintendon’t, among many other companies, to such polar opposite degree it’s staggering how much of a breath of fresh air it is.
      I’d have a look into the development history of Sonic Mania, and the 2011 mobile port of Sonic CD to get a better idea, but the short version of that story is: Neither would exist if it wasn’t for well over a decade of fangames behind them leading to their creation. Some parallels to Valve in that regard.

      • d0x360

        You’re right that Sega isn’t as bad as some but they still have to protect their trademarks.

        The only good thing is this Deb could fairly easily change this from a sonic game to something very similar

        • yeah, as long as it’s just a fan project and they aren’t making money off of it (in extremely lucrative amounts) then SEGA and Sonic Team normally just leave these be. It’s been like 10 years since the last time SEGA ever closed a fan project, I believe.

          • d0x360

            They killed that streets of rage project not that long ago. Thankfully I got it and the first update.

            They legally have to protect trademarks or they lose them and they aren’t going to risk losing sonic nor do I see them hiring this dev to make a VR sonic game

          • Amni3D

            If I’m not mistaken, that’s an incorrect factoid about trademarks that just kind of spread around that they need to take down fan works.

            The Sonic social media explicitly gave people permission to make fan games. SEGA staff show up from time to time during fan game related events.

            The Streets of Rage thing was an exception. SEGA Europe seems to be the bulk of most of SEGA’s bad PR in recent memory.

          • d0x360

            No it’s not one of those weird internet created facts.. believe me I wish it was.

            Sega has to legally protect the trademark. Now that doesn’t mean they have to force the project down but it would mean that Sega has to grant them a license to use Sega’s trademark.

            The problem with that is quality control.. not that modern Sega is full of quality lol.

            It’s a tricky one but legally speaking even if no money is ever made from the project it still runs foul of trademark law and technically copyright but at least with copyrighted works you can argue that it’s transformative media. You unfortunately can’t do that with trademark.

            That’s why companies hate when a trademark becomes common vernacular. For example Tylenol was trademarked and technically still is but because people call all acetaminophen “Tylenol” it has become common vernacular and the trademark can’t be enforced.

            Google’s lawyers are probably running in circles because Google it means to search (not specifically on Google, it just means looking something up) so… It’s already common vernacular which technically could mean Google could lose the ability to sue over said trademark. Could lose being key, chances are they would win for now but in a few more years and as long as people keep saying Google it as a generic term to search for something then eventually they would lose in court no matter how many high priced lawyers they used.

          • Amni3D

            Ah, that makes more sense.
            I do think most companies are *too* aggressive about protecting their trademarks though when there’s no real risk involved. SEGA’s laid back attitude regarding fangames has been working fine so far.

          • d0x360

            Legally speaking if the company knows about someone using their trademark and they don’t do something to protect it then they can lose that trademark.
            It’s weird… It’s different from copyright but semi similar.

            Sega could in theory grant them a license if they can get in contact with the person making the project. They could also demand they remove anything Sega owns.

            The thing with trademarks is they are legally required to do something or they lose said trademark. Copyright is different. You can use copywritten material as long as it’s transformative in some way.

            Unfortunately making a sonic game in VR wouldn’t qualify as transformative because it’s still a sonic video game.

            I really don’t know.. only Sega does but hopefully they decide to work with this person and maybe (like sonic mania) give them the right to make the game and also help with funding, more help with coding and art etc.

  • Alexisms

    Let’s have Super Monkeyball in VR, it’s perfect for it. Sega is so hopeless exploiting or not it’s amazing back catalogue.

  • so uh, first person sonic is great and all, but what I really want is a sonic game like normal where you’re just a floating head following sonic from the normal camera angles. Think Sonic X Lucky’s Tale. The devs could even make your floating head fit the lore by saying you’re looking through a drone Tails built to follow Sonic or something. It’d be easy as cake to make it work.