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Minecraft celebrates Sonic’s 30th anniversary with new DLC

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Minecraft and Sonic the Hedgehog have come together for a new collaboration, which starts today. To celebrate Sonic’s 30th anniversary Minecraft players can play as the blue hedgehog in a new DLC that recreates the spirit of the iconic franchise. The Sonic Character Creator item is free to download on the Minecraft Marketplace starting today.

Minecraft - Sonic the Hedgehog DLC - Nintendo Switch

The DLC creates procedurally generated levels for players to speed across that are inspired by the Green Hill Zone, Chemical Plant Zone, and other famous Sonic the Hedgehog levels. The trailer shows off 3D levels, as well as side-scrolling levels. Sonic can be seen rolling into a ball and moving faster, and Knuckles is shown flying in the air. The new Character Creator items appear to have more functionality than basic Minecraft skins.

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According to the Minecraft site, the levels are filled with rings to collects and bosses to fight. Players can also get their hands on a Sonic skin, as well as skins for Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Shadow. Besides the playable characters, the DLC will also include iconic enemies and fan-favorite characters like the Chao.

There will also be a two-week-long event hosted by The Hive that will be filled with mini-games and feature a full server-hub takeover. Tails’ biplane and Shadow’s motorcycle are featured in the trailer, suggesting that players can drive these iconic vehicles. The Hive promises that there will be something special happening on one of the weekends and encourages players to check in so they do not miss out.

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Andrew Zucosky
Andrew Zucosky
Andrew has been playing video games since he was a small boy, and he finally got good at them like a week ago. He has been in…
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Sometimes you just want to create a cute holiday vibe in your home, letting you curl up next to a roaring fire. That mission can be tough if you don't have a fireplace, though. That's where yule log videos come in. You can head over to YouTube and load up any number of cozy yule log videos simulating that experience.
There are plenty of traditional yule log options for you to choose from, but what if you're a gamer? Perhaps you won't settle for anything less than a neat gaming-themed fire that will make your younger cousins think you’re very cool and have the rest of your family concerned about your life choices. If that applies to you, here are six great gaming yule logs you can fire up this holiday weekend.
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Let's start with an old standby. If you want a good-natured, uncomplicated gaming fire, look to the blocky world of Minecraft. Released in 2016, this two-hour YouTube video lets you watch a fire burn in a holiday-decorated Minecraft cabin. While it lacks the realistic graphics of The Last of Us Part II and it plays the same fire sound effect every couple of seconds, this will do if you’re looking for a gaming-themed yule log that almost anyone can recognize. It's official, too -- it says so in the title. 
Happy Holidays featuring Charlie the Yule Dog from Marvel's Midnight Suns
Happy Holidays featuring Charlie the Yule Dog | Marvel's Midnight Suns
Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Marvel, but it’s this neat comic book universe that has spawned some movies and video games. The latest Marvel game, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, even got a Yule Log of its own almost an entire year before it was released. The official video is titled Charlie the Yule Dog, so I don’t really think I have to put in that much comedic effort here after that pun. I just want to highlight that it’s nice for a game to give such a fledgling universe of characters some time in the spotlight.
AVGN's Yule Log of Video Games
AVGN's Yule Log of Video Games
Are you celebrating Christmas with people who really don’t like video games? Then you can try to convince them that you, a gamer, are actually on their side with this yule log from the Angry Video Game Nerd. This timeless classic is over an hour long and shows video games burning over chiptune music. Warm your family's weary bones by the flames of Bonk's Adventure and Beavis and Butthead's Sega Genesis game.
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https://twitter.com/sonic_hedgehog/status/1598000246772023296

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What stuck out to me the most during my playthrough is how Sega uses the game to reflect on some of the best (and worst) moments in the Sonic series in some cutscenes. Despite marking the beginning of a new era for the Sonic the Hedgehog series, the Blue Blur's latest outing never forgot to honor where he and his friends have been in the last 31 years (or how long they’ve actually been together and fighting Dr. Eggman canonically since time passes differently in their world).
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