The Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise is always expanding in new and exciting ways, whether it be with comic books, live action movies, mobile games, animated series, board games, or something else entirely. Now, the folks at Sega have even released audio drama podcast series canon to the Sonic lore.

This eight-episode audio series, titled The Chaotix Casefiles, follows Team Chaotix as they solve one of their biggest mysteries ever. Let’s take a look at if this new venture proves that trying new things with their most popular IP is worth it or not.

Spoilers warning for The Chaotix Casefiles are below.

The Good

The Chaotix Case Files puts fan-favorite side characters in the spotlight, which is always a lot of fun. This isn’t just the case with Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, and Charmie Bee. The Babylon Rogues, Tangle the Lemur, Whisper the Wolf, Sage, Gemerl, Vanilla the Rabbit, and others also get plenty of love. Sonic, Tails, and others are still present, but it’s cool to see characters getting attention who usually don’t. That alone is enough of a reason for fans to get excited to listen to this.

There are also fun character interactions the audience doesn’t always get to see like Espio and Rouge the Bat or Vector and Tangle. Between this and side characters getting their chance in the spotlight, there’s no shortage of fantastic fan-service throughout the story. Best of all, the entertaining fan-service never takes away from the story. In fact, it actually helps to drive it forward.

The mystery the story follows is legitimately a great one. It’s filled with suspense and surprises. There are also plenty of clues for the audience to play along and see if they can put things together themselves. It’s a mystery that makes sense within the world of Sonic and doesn’t use any forced, out-of-nowhere surprises. It’s fun to play along, and it’s a joy to see the Chaotix actually solve an intriguing mystery.

It’s also quite nice to see, or hear, the Chaotix receive some character growth. They each have something they’re self-conscious about, and the podcast series has them grow and learn as the story progresses until they overcome these self-doubts. Satisfying character arcs are always welcome, especially when it’s with characters you wouldn’t expect to see that from.

Where this series is audio-only, the voice acting and sound design need to be top-notch. Thankfully, both are. The voice actors, most of which have played these characters in the video games, all do a fantastic job at bringing emotion and charisma to the roles and making them feel lifelike. The audio design sounds so good and is planned out well-enough that the audience can truly “see” the action as it plays out. It’s all done brilliantly.

Long-time fans of the franchise can rejoice. This series fits nicely within the overall story of Sonic the Hedgehog while also expanding its lore. It pushes the canon forward in ways that fans will definitely get excited about. It’s an overall blast for those of us who love all things Sonic.

The Bad

The story does feel a little too formulaic at times. The Chaotix find a clue, it leads them to another Sonic character, and they ask them what they know about their mystery. The first handful of episodes are like this, and it does start to feel a bit exhausted as a result. Thankfully, the story does eventually put a stop to this trend to keep things exciting.

While it’s super exciting to see an adventure that stars the Chaotix Detective Agency and characters like Tangle and Whisper, it does make certain characters feel absent. It’s nice to see such a wide variety of characters, but no Amy Rose or Shadow the Hedgehog and only a tiny bit of Knuckles the Echidna does feel…weird. Their absences are extremely felt, especially in an Avengers-like team battle in the final episode.

Conclusion

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaotix Casefiles is a fantastic listen. It’s hard to just listen to one episode at a time. It’s exciting and suspenseful, with a great, well-written mystery and plenty of phenomenal character moments. It dives further into the canon than anyone would have expected, making it a blast for fans. Sure, it does become a little too formulaic at a certain point, but it’s still entertaining. Sega needs to produce more audio drama series, either for the Chaotix or for their other characters, as soon as possible.

Rating: 9.5 / 10

Read Next: ‘Sonic Rumble’ Review