The May 27 Sonic Central presentation has come and gone. In it, fans got a good look at the next year of Sonic, including some merchandise and crossover DLC with a few other games. Of particular note were the announcements of the Sonic Collection, featuring upgraded ports of Sonic 1, 2, 3, Knuckles, and CD, as well as Sonic Colors Ultimate. Colors looks to be the main Sonic 30th anniversary game, as it appears to be a massively upgraded version of its original release. However, one game has been a particular talking point compared to the others. A Sonic 2022 project has been announced.
People are talking about it not just because it's the first big, new 3D Sonic game since Forces in 2017, but because its CG reveal trailer had essentially no information. It's not at all clear what this game is going to be, and the fandom is abuzz with possibility. All that was shown is Sonic running through a forest, and then being surrounded by a some sort of energy with a cyberspace look. Sonic boosts away, and an overhead shot shows him drawing a ring around some trees with his speed trail. There isn't much to work with there, but surprisingly enough, there's already a couple credible-sounding leaks that might explain what's really going on.
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Almost immediately after Sonic 2022's trailer was shown, a 4K trailer was leaked, and it had some very interesting information squirrelled away in its metadata. There were references to Photoshop files, a separate .mov file for the glitch effect, and a name that probably indicates this trailer was in the works for quite a while. This makes sense, considering the fact that this trailer was probably delayed for months, possibly even a year. Sega intended to host monthly streams throughout the second half of 2020 to lead into the next big Sonic game and Sonic's 30th anniversary, but they were cancelled due to the pandemic.
The most interesting part of this datamined trailer, however, was a recurring name in the textual metadata: Sonic Rangers. There is a very good chance that this is either the name of the final game, or the working project title. Sonic the Hedgehog is no stranger to code names, as both Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and Sonic Forces went by them: Sonic 4 was known as Project Needlemouse, before it was explicitly coined Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. Sonic Forces, was known as Project Sonic 2017 for a while before it's true name was revealed. Sonic Rangers was supposedly meant to be known as Sonic 2022 for a while to build up intrigue.
This is an interesting title, as it could imply the existence of multiple "rangers" protecting whatever area or world Sonic is in. This could mark the return of the Avatar from Sonic Forces, or it could be referring to Sonic's other friends. It may even be referencing a faction that's new to the Sonic universe, but stands with Sonic in opposition of Robotnik due to the latter's hyper-industrial havoc. This could mean that there are multiple playable characters, but it could just as easily not. Sonic is no stranger to doing most of the work in a larger operation, especially after Forces. It will be interesting to see what exactly this leaked title means, or if it's a true title at all.
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Upon seeing this leak, the Sonic fandom did some digging and quickly discovered a surprisingly relevant leak from January of this year. This comes from an anonymous leaker on 4chan, and describes a focus test for a new Sonic project called Sonic Rangers. With a lack of information from the official reveal trailer, this old post is potentially the information bomb that some fans were hoping for. Still, it is an anonymous forum leak, and its expressed concerns over content and design could be addressed or irrelevant by the time the game actually comes out, so take this all with a grain of salt.
If the leak is to be believed, Sonic Rangers is reportedly an open-world, action-platformer with very light RPG mechanics. It takes the majority of inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and supposedly uses a similar layout for its world. Enemies and bosses are scattered around a large map, as well as small puzzles and platforming challenges.
There was a supposedly a single tower in the region with some sort of rock character at the top, and the Sonic equivalents of Koroks were apparently led to it after being found. Completing puzzles and beating enemies gave Sonic experience, which could be traded for new abilities. Buying abilities is not new to Sonic, but what is new is the new move "spincycle." Apparently, by holding a button, Sonic can trace a line behind him to draw a circle and destroy enemies inside it. This sounds a lot like the ability shown in the reveal trailer, adding some credence to this leak.
Defeating the bosses spread throughout the open world would reward orbs, which could be used to open a portal to "cyberspace," similar to the effect in the teaser. Gameplay reportedly takes the form of a more traditional Boost Sonic stage in cyberspace. Apparently, completing these stages fast enough will unlock a Chaos Emerald. There was a second demo present at the location test that showed what seemed to be the final boss, who was fought by Super Sonic. Some sort of ghost girl apparently helps the player throughout this battle, but details are unclear.
An interesting side note is that throughout these two demos from January, new voice acting from Roger Craig Smith was present. This leak was posted shortly before Roger's initial announcement that he would no longer be voicing Sonic, presumably indicating that this was to be his last time in the role, but as of a couple days ago he is back voicing Sonic again. It bears repeating that all of these gameplay leaks are subject to change, but for now they paint a surprisingly cohesive picture of what fans could see once Sonic 2022 makes its next appearance.
Sonic 2022 is in development.