In an earful for Sonic the Hedgehog fans, he was murdered.

In "The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog," a free visual novel released today by Sega (opens in new tab), Sonic becomes the victim of Amy Rose's murder mystery birthday party. He doesn't just pretend to be killed, he really gets knocked out.

But is he really dead? I did, and it's pretty good for free. The detective work is just "gather evidence and confront the suspect" on-board, but the 2D ring-collecting mini-game you play to "think" is interesting and a bit challenging at the end.

As for whether the game is legitimate, Sega says "you know: everything is legitimate," but adds that "Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog" is "not a Sonic Team title."

However, since they "strongly believe in the power of headcanon," I interpret this to mean that no matter what happens in the game (not saying), Sonic can be dead if they want him to be.