Iffy – and hastily redesigned – character models aside, Sonic is set to have a big year in 2020. Sega’s mascot will star alongside Jim Carrey in his first feature-length movie, which is due out in February. But if a recent tweet from Sega’s official Sonic account's anything to go by, we’ll be getting another Sonic video game this year, too.
Posted on New Year’s Eve, Sega’s video looks like a standard promo at first glance, but eagle-eyed fans have since discovered a message hidden within its 49 seconds of footage. According to Nintendo Life, it goes like this:
> It began in 2015
> A glimmer of a flame
> Growing with each success
> Enduring every challenge
> Within this, my last puzzle
> Remember the words
> Ignis aurum probat (Latin for ‘Fire tests gold’)
> This next chapter belongs to you
So what does all that mean? The year 2015’s clearly a big clue, though worryingly, the only new Sonic games released then were mobile titles Sonic Runners and Sonic Dash 2, and it’s unlikely a sequel to either of those will have too many fans waving their arms with excitement.
A quick trawl through the Sonic archives does, however, reveal another significant event in 2015: it was the year development began on Sonic Mania, widely regarded as the best series entry in ages. Given the warmth of that game’s reception, it’d be understandable if Sega’s been clamouring for a sequel to it.
