Sonic The Hedgehog Official Redesign Slammed As "Utter Abomination" By Fans

Published Aug 25, 2026, 10:33 AM EDT Ewan is Deputy Editor for ScreenRant's gaming section. He still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase, and knows more about The Legend of Zelda and Doctor Who than is probably healthy. Ewan oversees the content operation of ScreenRant's gaming output, working with a talented team of writers and editors to cover everything from the latest GTA 6 news to the indie games you need on your radar. Former Editor of GAMINGbible, Ewan also has words at Kotaku, Den of Geek, NME, and UNILAD. He's appeared on various podcasts, including VGC's and BBC's Let's Talk About Tech. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Over the years, Sonic The Hedgehog has had a ton of unique looks. From his original appearance as an adorable lil' chubby fells speeding around Green Hill Zone, to the original monstrous design for the live-action movie that was ultimately scrapped, he's no stranger to a redesign. As iconic as his basic look is, there have been plenty of variations on it over the last 35 years. Of course, Sonic The Hedgehog fans are an opinionated bunch (I say this with love), so it's never surprising to see them react strongly to a new design for the Blue Blur. Remember, this is a fanbase that got a major Hollywood studio to throw out an entire design for a movie and start again. All of this to say, the latest redesign for Sonic has not gone down too well. Sonic Looks Like He Might Be Ill As you're probably aware by now, Fortnite Override recently released as the latest update to the popular battle royale. The theme of this latest season is video game legends, which makes for a really impressive crossover of characters from franchises like Cyberpunk 2077, Crash Bandicoot, The Witcher, Spyro, Street Fighter, and Mega Man. Everyone's favorite blue hedgehog has also joined the party as a playable character, but there's a catch. To work as a playable character in Fortnite, Sonic has had to be stretched out a little, which looks... kind of odd. In the interests of fairness, I can absolutely see why they needed to do it this way, and it's still very clearly Sonic. I honestly don't have much of an opinion on it one way or another. The internet does, though. "There is actually not a single good thing I can say about this design," writes one frustrated fan on Reddit. "The quills look so off, the waist looks weird, the mechanical features feel out of place, and he’s just too freakishly tall." Another adds: "I think his regular form is relatively decent, though some parts certainly look off. However, the Super Sonic version looks abysmal. The shape and size of the quills just looks weird as hell, almost makes him look like a poorly molded, off-brand toy, and the yellow color doesn't mesh too well with the cel-shading." Apparently, a tie-in comic was released to explain why Sonic looks so different. Apparently, this is not actually Sonic the Hedgehog, but an android copy made by Doctor Eggman before being reprogrammed by Tails to give it Sonic's personality. For all intents and purposes, then, it is Sonic. But also not. Fascinating. If you want to check out this brand-new Sonic The Hedgehog for yourself, the latest season of Fortnite is still going on, so get in there and fill your boots. Movie(s) Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie (1996), Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024) TV Show(s) Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Underground (1999), Sonic X (2003), Sonic Boom (2014), Sonic Prime (2022), Knuckles (2024) Video Game(s) Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog CD, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Colors, Sonic Generations, Sonic Lost World, Sonic Forces, Sonic Frontiers , Sonic Shuffle, Sonic Advance 1, Sonic Advance 2, Sonic Advance 3, Sonic Rush, Sonic Rush Adventure, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood First Film Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie (1996) Character(s) Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Dr. Eggman, Mighty the Armadillo, Ray the Squirrel, Vector the Crocodile, Charmy the Bee, Espio the Chameleon, Shadow the Hedgehog, Big the Cat, Rouge the Bat, Metal Sonic Comic Release Date 229797,248991,248992