Sonic Maniais currently the talk of the town simply because it’s the first good Sonic the Hedgehog game to release in nearly six years, but all is not right for the PC version of the game. Players have discovered that it can only be played online due to copy-protection software.
The program in question is Denuvo, asArs Technica’s Sam Machkovechdiscovered on Tuesday, August 29. Designed to stop piracy, it doesn’t allowSonic Maniaplayers to play the game if their internet goes down, even if they have booted up Steam in its offline mode. This doesn’t appear to be the intended function of the software, as the game’s Steam pageposted an updatestating that “Sonic Maniais intended to be played offline” and the developers were looking into the issue.
These problems aside,Sonic Maniahas received a rave reception from longtime fans looking for a more traditional platforming experience. Combining stages from the original games with brand-new creations, it’s the closest thing players have seen to a retro Sonic title sinceSonic & Knuckles, and it gives us some cautious optimism for the series’ future. The next game in the series,Sonic Forces, blends elements of 2D and 3D action together in a similar manner toSonic Generations. It also allows fans to live out their DeviantArt fantasies and create their own custom Sonic characters. Just don’t createColdsteel the Hedgehog, as your game console will immediately explode in a fit of rage.
Denuvo began as a relatively robust digital rights management tool, but it has been less effective recently.Adventure gameRimereleased earlier this year on PC in addition to consoles, and it took just five days for someone to figure out a way to remove Denuvo from the game.Players also allegedthat it was actually affecting loading times in the game.Resident Evil 7was cracked in a similar amount of time, though Denuvo says that even just this five-day window makes a difference in sales for publishers, as eager players can’t wait to pirate games.
Sonic Maniais out now for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
