The Game Census
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - Episode I cover art

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - Episode I

SEGA · 2012-01-19

SteamXboxMicrosoft Store

Franchise: Sonic The Hedgehog · Modes: Single player · Perspectives: Side view

Releases: Oct 12, 2010 (PlayStation 3), Oct 15, 2010 (Xbox 360), Oct 15, 2010 (Wii), Mar 01, 2013 (BlackBerry OS), Jan 19, 2012 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

The sequel fans have waited 16 years for is finally here - Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I! Featuring enhanced gameplay elements, including the classic Sonic Spin Dash, and the versatile Homing Attack, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I picks up right where Sonic and Knuckles™ left off. Dr.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - Episode I is a $4.99 game released in 2012, estimated to have 500,000 .. 1,000,000 owners and a Mostly Negative sentiment across 3868 reviews.

1
playing now
40%
positive of 3.9k reviews
Mostly Negative
steam's rating (official)
500,000–1,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
75/100
critic score (5 outlets, IGDB)
60/100
IGDB user rating (56 ratings)
150h
to beat · completionist 220h
silver
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Unsupported
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Unsupported
$4.99
steam price (US)

1 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 12:00 UTC (census sample)

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I is a 2010 platform game developed by Dimps, with assistance from Sonic Team, and published by Sega. It is a sequel to Sonic & Knuckles (1994), following Sonic as he sets out to stop a returning Doctor Eggman. Like the Sonic the Hedgehog games released for the Sega Genesis, Episode I features side-scrolling gameplay, with movement restricted to a 2D plane. The player races through levels collecting rings while rolling into a ball to attack enemies. The game also features special stages in which the player collects Chaos Emeralds and online leaderboards comparing level completion times and high scores.

Health check

Healthy
  • · 1 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 250 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~31/week).
  • · Review velocity up 68% vs the prior 8 weeks.

Health tier since 2026-08-28

Estimated sales: 156k–312k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 3,906 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

Microsoft Store$9.99

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $1.71 at GamesPlanet UK (2020-04-10)via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $9.99 · on sale 39 of 55 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
353520182026Week of 2018-01-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 35 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 15 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

1412026-09-15 13:00 — 1 players2026-09-16 21:00 — 3 players2026-09-18 04:00 — 2 players2026-09-19 12:00 — 3 players2026-09-20 19:00 — 10 players2026-09-22 03:00 — 3 players2026-09-23 11:00 — 5 players2026-09-24 18:00 — 5 players2026-09-26 02:00 — 9 players2026-09-27 09:00 — 2 players2026-09-28 17:00 — 3 players2026-09-30 00:00 — 7 players2026-10-01 08:00 — 4 players2026-10-02 15:00 — 4 players2026-10-03 23:00 — 7 players2026-10-05 07:00 — 8 players2026-10-06 14:00 — 6 players2026-10-07 22:00 — 8 players2026-10-09 05:00 — 5 players2026-10-10 13:00 — 5 players2026-10-11 21:00 — 14 players2026-10-13 04:00 — 4 players2026-10-14 12:00 — 1 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
264Jul 2012Aug 2026Jul 2012 — avg 12 · peak 28Dec 2012 — avg 17 · peak 102May 2013 — avg 10 · peak 22Oct 2013 — avg 10 · peak 27Mar 2014 — avg 22 · peak 94Aug 2014 — avg 11 · peak 24Jan 2015 — avg 10 · peak 25Jun 2015 — avg 13 · peak 37Nov 2015 — avg 9 · peak 27Apr 2016 — avg 9 · peak 25Sep 2016 — avg 9 · peak 19Feb 2017 — avg 7 · peak 20Jul 2017 — avg 11 · peak 38Dec 2017 — avg 8 · peak 19May 2018 — avg 5 · peak 13Oct 2018 — avg 5 · peak 21Mar 2019 — avg 11 · peak 37Aug 2019 — avg 7 · peak 14Jan 2020 — avg 9 · peak 25Jun 2020 — avg 11 · peak 37Nov 2020 — avg 10 · peak 25Apr 2021 — avg 9 · peak 23Sep 2021 — avg 9 · peak 24Feb 2022 — avg 11 · peak 26Jul 2022 — avg 8 · peak 19Dec 2022 — avg 8 · peak 21May 2023 — avg 6 · peak 15Oct 2023 — avg 7 · peak 18Mar 2024 — avg 6 · peak 17Aug 2024 — avg 5 · peak 16Jan 2025 — avg 10 · peak 24Jun 2025 — avg 6 · peak 14Nov 2025 — avg 5 · peak 15Apr 2026 — avg 5 · peak 13Aug 2026 — avg 7 · peak 19
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Price history

$9.99$1.822015-01-012026-10-092015-01-01 — best price $4.992016-01-21 — best price $2.492016-12-23 — best price $4.992017-06-27 — best price $7.632018-01-18 — best price $4.992018-10-01 — best price $9.992019-02-04 — best price $2.492019-07-09 — best price $9.992019-10-01 — best price $7.362019-12-26 — best price $1.942020-01-23 — best price $7.722020-02-13 — best price $2.492020-05-29 — best price $1.852020-09-10 — best price $2.492020-11-12 — best price $9.992021-01-21 — best price $2.492021-08-18 — best price $8.242022-03-02 — best price $7.782022-08-17 — best price $7.482023-01-05 — best price $7.492023-05-04 — best price $3.852023-06-30 — best price $1.952023-08-25 — best price $2.492023-11-21 — best price $2.122024-02-11 — best price $6.292024-06-28 — best price $4.422024-09-02 — best price $9.992024-12-19 — best price $4.422025-02-27 — best price $9.992025-04-30 — best price $4.472025-06-27 — best price $4.992025-09-29 — best price $4.992025-12-03 — best price $6.292026-02-26 — best price $9.992026-04-23 — best price $4.952026-07-09 — best price $6.292026-08-27 — best price $4.562026-10-09 — best price $9.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

2961162026-06-01 — 148 pageviews2026-06-05 — 160 pageviews2026-06-09 — 145 pageviews2026-06-13 — 155 pageviews2026-06-17 — 181 pageviews2026-06-21 — 165 pageviews2026-06-25 — 150 pageviews2026-06-29 — 142 pageviews2026-07-03 — 129 pageviews2026-07-07 — 143 pageviews2026-07-11 — 147 pageviews2026-07-15 — 151 pageviews2026-07-19 — 171 pageviews2026-07-23 — 138 pageviews2026-07-27 — 133 pageviews2026-07-31 — 123 pageviews2026-08-04 — 118 pageviews2026-08-08 — 164 pageviews2026-08-12 — 136 pageviews2026-08-16 — 160 pageviews2026-08-20 — 159 pageviews2026-08-24 — 150 pageviews2026-08-28 — 151 pageviews2026-09-01 — 151 pageviews2026-09-05 — 169 pageviews2026-09-09 — 200 pageviews2026-09-13 — 144 pageviews2026-09-17 — 141 pageviews2026-09-21 — 146 pageviews2026-09-25 — 156 pageviews2026-09-29 — 136 pageviews2026-10-03 — 156 pageviews2026-10-07 — 129 pageviews2026-10-11 — 137 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Completion

12
achievements tracked
75.6%
earned "The Story Begins"
6.7%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsSingle-playerPartial Controller SupportFamily Sharing

5 supported languages: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish - Spain

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

2D2.5DActionArcadeColorfulEpisodicAdventureFast-PacedPlatformerSingleplayer

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

VaganteChildren of MortaToby: The Secret MineExceptionPLANET ALPHAForgotton AnnePikunikuSemblance

Similarity via IGDB.

Wikipedia ↗Official site ↗