Available for demo this September at the annual Sonic Amateur Games Expo, Virtua Sonic is a high-speed VR experience inspired by everyone’s favorite fast-footed hedgehog in which players zip across custom Zones as they gather coins and defeat enemies using a variety of special abilities.

In the video provided, we can see the player sprinting throughout a handful of colorful environments. In order to run, players pump their arms in a rhythmic motion similar that of existing VR games such as Survios’ Sprint Vector. By swinging downward and squeezing the trigger, players can jump to reach elevated areas; while in the air they can swing their arms backward to engage a homing attack on specific targets or raise them upward to stomp the ground.

Of course it wouldn’t be a Sonic game without the famous “Spin Attack” or “Rolling.” Players can cross their arms, either standing or mid-run, to build up additional speed in order to take on more difficult obstacles, such as near-vertical ramps and the infamous shuttle loop or “loop-de-loop.”

According to the games creator, the idea behind Virtua Sonic is to push the boundaries of VR gaming. More specifically, how to deliver comfortable high-speed movements in VR without triggering motion sickness in the player.

“In my research, I have discovered that it is not necessarily motion itself that gives players motion sickness, but a lack of expectation of how that motion is going to behave,” stated the developer, going by SuperSonic68 on YouTube.

“For example: a roller coaster VR experience is completely out of the player’s control. They have no say in what they do and when things happen to them. Similarly, if a VR motion system moves a player in a way that they don’t expect, that can also disorient them. As such, so long as the player feels in control of themselves at all times, motion sickness should cease to be a hindrance to the player.”

Virtua Sonic will be available for demo this September at SAGE 2020 before launching on all SteamVR-compatible headsets, including HTC Vive, HTC Vive Pro, Windows Mixed Reality, Valve Index, Oculus Rift, Oculus Rift S, Oculus Quest via Oculus Link, and the Pico Neo 2 (Streaming Assistant only).

The developer has confirmed Virtua Sonic will feature custom-made maps only in order to avoid any potential legal trouble. Here’s hoping Sega turns a blind eye to this exciting project.

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