About
Ouroboros Studio made a Sonic the Hedgehog fan game called Sonic Omens. Production on the game started in 2020 and ended in August of the following year. After its release, Sonic Omens was met with mixed reviews and sparked controversy due to its use of altered music from the Cars 2 video game and the decision to put demos of the game behind paywalls.
Sonic Omens, is an ambitious fan game. Several proof-of-concept demos have preceded Sonic Omens, so it’s possible that this isn’t the fandom’s first fling into 3D games. A story mode with playable levels, bosses, and voiced animated cutscenes.
History
Sonic Omens’ creator and YouTuber posted a trailer for the game on February 13, 2020, featuring the game’s first “episode,” set in a zone dubbed “White Jungle,” which has now amassed over 113,000 views.
Scandal Following Publication
On August 12, 2022, a Google Doc by a user named Farkle titled “Ouroboros Downfall” was released by the Twitter account SonicOmens. In it, Farkle proves that Ouroboros Studio kept hiding the beta tests behind paywalls, even on a Russian site named Boosty.
The writer is particularly critical of the fact that advertisements for related products may be seen on the fan game’s page on Game Jolt. Farkle alleges in one portion of the document that BOLT sacked the initial voice actor for Shadow without telling them because the quality of their microphone wasn’t up to par.
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Farkle also writes, “In the past, John has copyright struck people for reuploading his music or producing remixes and mashups,” implying that one of the game’s music producers, John R1se, stole and remixed a song, “Unknown Race,” from the Cars 2 video game soundtrack and utilized it in the game. Partway through the file, it becomes clear that Maria, a 12-year-old girl, has been sexualized by the developers since they gave her a revealing underwear texture that said “naughty girl.”
Warnings Used Cars 2 Music Without Permission and Patreon Previews That Cost Money
In addition to the problematic gameplay, the game’s soundtrack is also problematic. Composer John R1se is accused of plagiarising Oil Rig Race from Cars 2: The Video Game, according to a lawsuit filed by Farkle. R1se allegedly changed the instrumentation and released the song again as his own under the name Unknown Race. The parallels between the two songs are so obvious that Farkle felt compelled to compare them.
One of the more severe accusations in the dossier concerns Shadow the Hedgehog’s surrogate sister, Maria, a 12-year-old girl. According to Farkle, an anonymous watcher of Maria’s model saw the sexily suggestive words “Bad Girl” printed on her briefs. Farkle points out that the fight against the boss obscures the texture, therefore whoever did it was likely joking.
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The Positive
To a large extent, Sonic Omens serves as a “boost” game. This means that Sonic and Shadow are on a level playing field with multiple possible courses of action. They can both double leap, eliminate foes with a homing attack, and boost once the meter is full.
The grappling hook is a new tool for Sonic to employ in Omens, and Shadow can now use his chaos powers as projectiles and activate switches.
The Negative
The premise that Sonic’s speed is limited serves him well in the Adventure games. The more platforming that could be done, the faster he would have to move than the typical platformer hero.
The platforming and obstacles in the Boost games, on the other hand, are centered around making use of and mastering Sonic’s increased speed.
