Rivals Confirmed for Sonic Boom

Amidst the hullabaloo of Gamescom 2014 last week, SEGA confirmed on their blog that both Shadow and Metal Sonic will appear in the new Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric on Wii U. Eagle-eyed fans might have already noticed glimpses of Metal Sonic in earlier promotional videos, but this is the first news on Shadow being a part of the game.

For a game already mired in controversy over character redesigns, this also may mark the biggest departure from the original characters. Yes, Metal Sonic looks pretty much as awesome as he ever does, but take a look at Shadow. He’s smiling. What’s that all about?

In addition to a few other pieces of concept art and screenshots, SEGA also dropped a new Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric trailer while they were at it…

You can also get an exclusive Sonic Boom figure when you preorder either Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for Wii U or Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for 3DS. US residents can snag it with a preorder at GameStop while Canadian gamers can get theirs at EB.

While I’ve never been much of a Shadow fan, smiling or otherwise, I’ve always liked Metal Sonic’s design and I’m stoked to see him return. How about you guys? Are you happy with the new concept art? Pumped over the new trailer? Will the exclusive figure offer entice you to preorder the game? Do you hate Sonic and are just clicking on this story to troll?

Hit up the comments and let us know your thoughts!