New LEGO Sonic 2024 set is a seriously deep cut

LEGO Sonic Shadow the Hedgehog is here – and his first set throws it back to a niche game that only serious Shadow fans will remember.

Shadow the Hedgehog made his first appearance in the 2001 installment Sonic Adventure 2, the final Sonic game released for a Sega video game console. He made an instant good impression, becoming one of the most popular Sonic characters and sparking a fandom that’s alive and well today. It’s no surprise then that the LEGO Group has now featured Shadow as a minifigure (as confirmed by German retailer JB Spielwaren), complete with his very own set: 76995 Shadow’s Escape.

What might surprise some, however, is the deep cut that the LEGO Sonic designers are apparently alluding to. Sega aimed to capitalise on Shadow’s popularity with Shadow the Hedgehog the video game in 2005, fleshing out the black hedgehog’s backstory and aiming to attract an older audience. The game therefore introduced shooter elements and some darker themes than Sonic had previously featured, cementing Shadow’s legacy as the moody, emo foil to Sonic’s Blue Blur character.

While 76995 Shadow’s Escape doesn’t feature any weapons, in line with the LEGO Group’s child-friendly content rules, the colour scheme and some other features of the set certainly remind us of 2005’s Shadow the Hedgehog. The set includes a brick-built capsule (from which Shadow escaped from Dr Robotnik, sparking the amnesia-fuelled mystery he needs to unravel in his titular game) and his black bike, the Dark Rider. This vehicle first appeared in Shadow the Hedgehog and came back in later Sonic games, becoming Shadow’s signature mode of transport.

The presence of the capsule and the Dark Rider, as well as Dr Robotnik’s Rhinobots, suggest that 76995 Shadow’s Escape is set early on in Shadow’s story, perhaps just after his initial escape from Dr Robotnik. The LEGO Group is really throwing it back to pay homage to the moody hedgehog – and it pays off in a grey, black, and red set that matches Shadow’s aesthetic perfectly.

6995 Shadow’s Escape will be on sale for €20.99 from January 1, 2024, although international prices have not yet been confirmed by the LEGO Group.

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