The articlegameplay, story, development, reception
Gameplay
Sonic Dash is an endless runner, similar to Temple Run (2011) and Rayman Jungle Run (2012). 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.
Development
Sonic Dash was developed by Hardlight, a development studio under Sega Europe. Hardlight was founded by Chris Southall, a former Codemasters employee who helped to found Sega Racing Studio. According to Southall, Sega's desire to develop more 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 Sonic the Hedgehog and Crazy Taxi games.
Although initially faced with difficulty deciding which to develop, Sega Sammy Holdings president and chief operating officer (COO) 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.
Reception
Review aggregator website Metacritic 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 controls, finding that the "swipe"-based motions worked better than the tilt-based ones typical of the endless runner genre. Edge praised the smoothness of the gameplay and quality of the graphics, but criticized the "cruel" placement of the enemies behind obstacles. Justin Davis of IGN praised the snappy, responsive controls but criticized the enemy placement. Harry Slater of Pocket Gamer said the game's speed makes it more challenging than other endless runners.
