Sonic Dash
Sonic Dash is a 2013 endless runner mobile game developed by Hardlight and published by Sega. It is Hardlight's second Sonic the Hedgehog game, the first being the remake of Sonic Jump in 2012. The game was released in March 2013 for iOS, November 2013 for Android, and December 2014 for Windows Phone and Microsoft Windows, along with an arcade release in November 2015 as Sonic Dash Extreme. It was initially released as a paid application, but was made free-to-play a month after its iOS release.
As an endless runner, the goal of Sonic Dash is to avoid obstacles and enemies while collecting rings. Players can compete for higher positions on leaderboards. Rings, which can be earned through gameplay or purchased in app, allow players access to upgrades and additional characters. Additionally, missions in the game give players an objective to attain.
Hardlight, a British development studio owned by Sega, began developing Sonic Dash after completing Sonic Jump. Selection of the game for development came from the insistence of parent company Sega Sammy Holdings president and COO Haruki Satomi. Although the game received mixed reviews, Sonic Dash has been downloaded over 350 million times and generated over US$10.1 million in revenue. Hardlight continues to support the game with updates, additional characters, and features. Sequels have also been produced based on Sonic Boom and Sonic Forces.
Gameplay
Sonic Dash is an endless runner, similar to Temple Run and Rayman Jungle Run. The player directs Sonic or another character through levels, collecting rings and avoiding obstacles and enemies. Unlike other games in the series, Sonic automatically moves forward at all times, similar to Sonic and the Secret Rings. Players are able to share and compete for position on leaderboards.The game features 3D graphics, including a level set in an environment based on the Seaside Hill level of Sonic Heroes. Rings can be collected throughout the levels or purchased via microtransactions, along with red star rings. Accumulated rings and red star rings can be used to purchase power-ups, upgrades, or unlock additional playable characters. The game also features a mission system, giving players an objective to target as they play the game.
The game features several playable characters from the Sonic universe. Characters are unlocked by purchasing them with red star rings or real-world currency. After the game's release, further updates added additional characters and new features. On October 31, 2013, an update was released that included a boss battle against Zazz, a member of the Deadly Six from Sonic Lost World. A similar boss battle against Doctor Eggman was added in a later update. Several characters from other non-Sega franchises have been added to the game as part of temporary cross-promotional events, available to unlock only during a limited time period. These include the Angry Birds characters Red, Chuck and Bomb during June 2015; the Sanrio characters Hello Kitty, My Melody, Chococat and Badtz-Maru during December 2016; and Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man in February 2018. The Android version of the game also features an exclusive character in the form of the Android robot. Content themed around the 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog film has been added, as well as a "Zone Builder" feature.
Development and release
Sonic Dash was developed by Hardlight, a development studio under Sega Europe. Hardlight was founded by Chris Southall, a former Codemasters employee who also helped to found Sega Racing Studio. According to Southall, Sega's desire for more development of mobile games led to Hardlight's foundation in 2012. Around the time of Hardlight's relaunch of Sonic Jump in October 2012, the studio was working on developing titles in the Sonic the Hedgehog and Crazy Taxi series. Although initially faced with difficulty deciding which to develop, Sega Sammy Holdings president and chief operating officer Haruki Satomi saw a demo of Sonic Dash and liked it so much that he insisted it be developed. Southall stated that the concept for Sonic Dash began with looking at elements of Sonic games and deciding what gameplay aspects would work on a mobile phone. He called an into-the-screen running game an "obvious thing" and not unlike some sequences in the console game series.Sonic Dash was initially scheduled for a Christmas 2012 release, but would not be released until March 2013. In a November 2012 interview with UK toy trade magazine Toys 'n' Playthings, Sega Europe employee Sissel Henno confirmed that Sega would have "several new digital titles" in 2013. On February 28, 2013, the title Sonic Dash was spotted on a listing from a LinkedIn profile. Shortly after, on March 1, 2013, Sega confirmed the game's existence, with an official press release going out on March 4. The game was announced to be exclusively for mobile phones, with iOS being the only platform explicitly mentioned, stating that it would be available on the App Store "soon". Although the game was initially released as a paid application, it was made free-to-play a month later. According to Southall, the decision to make the app free took significant internal discussion. He stated, "Coming from a long console history, the concept of free-to-play for a company like Sega was a hot topic for discussion." An Android version was released on November 26, 2013, and a Windows Phone and PC release occurred on December 3, 2014. An arcade cabinet version was also released as Sonic Dash Extreme, after being revealed at the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando, Florida in November 2015.
According to Southall in a November 2017 interview, Hardlight was continuing to work on updates for Sonic Dash. In a February 2020 interview, new Hardlight studio manager Neall Jones expressed the studio's surprise at the longevity of Sonic Dash, having been downloaded more than 350 million times and earned more than US. He spoke on the implementation of new features to keep the game interesting, as well as additions from the Sonic the Hedgehog film.
Reception and downloads
labeled Sonic Dash as having "mixed or average reviews". Scott Nichols of Digital Spy referred to it as "the best Sonic has played on a smartphone yet", while Jim Squires of Gamezebo lauded the game for being "the first time in 20 years that Sega has put out a Sonic game that you absolutely have to play". David Craddock of TouchArcade compared Sonic Dash favorably to the special stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.Chris Carter of Destructoid praised the game's controls, finding that the "swipe"-based motions worked better than the tilt-based ones typical of the endless runner genre. A review by the staff of Edge praised the smoothness of the gameplay and quality of the graphics, but criticized placement of the enemies in the game behind obstacles "cruelly". Justin Davis of IGN praised the game's snappy, responsive controls while criticizing the level design with unfairly placed enemies. The speed of Sonic Dash
Carter criticized the game for its repetitious nature and in-app purchases that ranged from "not needed" to "pretty damn annoying." In describing the game's leaderboard system, Davis called it "pay-to-win" and stated that "you can literally pay your way to the top of these leaderboards if you’re willing to spend enough premium red rings". Rich Stanton of Eurogamer stated that the game's in-app purchases felt like they were motivated by greed. Edge also discussed the game's catering for in-app purchases. A review for MacLife referred to Sonic Dash as a game that "fumbles the fundamentals and aggravates with heavy-handed in-app purchases."
By June 2015, Sonic Dash had been downloaded over 100 million times across multiple different platforms, and had 14 million players per month. By November 2017, Sonic Dash download count was over 300 million, and was over 350 million by March 2020.
Sequels
A sequel based on the Sonic Boom TV series, Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom, was soft-launched on Android devices in Canada on July 1, 2015, and received a full iOS launch in October, along with a later full Android launch. For the iOS version, the game included compatibility with the Apple Watch via a companion app. Like the original game, Sonic Dash 2 has also received "mixed or average reviews" according to Metacritic.A mobile version of Sonic Forces, Sonic Forces: Speed Battle, was released in 2017. It features similar gameplay to Sonic Dash, but is based around competitive online multiplayer. Within its first five days of release, Sonic Forces Speed Battle had been downloaded 1.3 million times, and reached 2 million downloads within its first two weeks. By April 21, 2020, Sonic Force Speed Battle had been downloaded over 50 million times and reached US$4.2 million in revenue. Ric Cowley of Pocket Gamer called the game "a lot of fun to play, though it's probably best off experienced in short bursts."