During Summer Game Fest 2026, SEGA made multiple announcements and reveals like Crazy Taxi: World Tour, but a seemingly low-profile indie title might surprise everyone.

SONIC PICO PARK is a new Sonic‑licensed game developed by TECOPARK and inspired by the hit co‑op puzzle game PICO PARK that features puzzle-driven co-op action, all with a Sonic twist. After the reveal, we had the chance to jump into a 30-minute hands‑on session, and it quickly became a wildly unexpected, fun experience despite its simplicity.

SONIC PICO PARK Hands-on Preview

At its core, SONIC PICO PARK is incredibly simple: everyone must reach the goal together. In between the starting point and the goal, however, is a puzzle that requires cooperation between the team to overcome, and it becomes especially harder when you’re playing with people you’ve never even met before, much more so if you don’t even speak the same language.

Each of the eight levels we played featured a unique puzzle that required teamwork, timing, and a surprising amount of coordination. While there are some rather straightforward levels, some will require coordination. Sometimes we had to stack ourselves like a totem to reach a high ledge, while another level tied us all together with a piece of string while attempting to fetch a key from a ditch.

As you can imagine, SONIC PICO PARK can get pretty chaotic, but it is undeniably fun. Hilarity ensues, and even though the game is surprisingly simple and the levels are bite-sized, it is very engaging as players yell instructions, laugh at mistakes, and celebrate finishing the level.

Because this is a Sonic game, one level placed Tails in the spotlight, as he needed to fly across and even carry the other team members to finish the level. It remains to be seen what the other characters’ “abilities” are, but if this is any indication, each character could have their chance to shine.

SONIC PICO PARK is unfiltered co‑op joy. It is easy to pick up and play, and with some puzzles being easy to figure out, executing the plan is where things go haywire in the craziest way.

SONIC PICO PARK is scheduled to release in 2026.