The creator of Sonic and the Fallen Star, an excellent Sonic fan game from 2022, has just announced their next project, Sonic and the Moon Facility. The trailer debuted at Kaze Emanuar's F3 2023 games presentation, a showcase event featuring various ROM hacks and fan games. And, from the looks of it, it seems set to be another excellent effort from fans of the iconic Blue Hedgehog.
The game is being developed for PC and is the work of the developer StarDrop, with assistance from @Vgf_88, @GabeShenanigans, and Hollie Taylor. It is being pitched as "Classic Sonic meets Mega Man Zero 3" and as a "quasi-sequel" to Sonic and the Fallen Star (though, playing Sonic and the Fallen Star isn't apparently a prerequisite for enjoyment).
It will feature 8 zones, with more mechanical/urban environments appearing in this game compared to the naturalistic ones seen in Fallen Star. There will also be cutscenes for each zone transition, with footage of these presumably being the animations teased inside the announcement trailer.
As for the level design, the developers have stated:
"A lot of people had issues with levels being too simple in Fallen Star, which StarDrop has addressed tenfold. The levels will utilize more gimmicks and generally be a lot bigger with more platforming.
"The best level in Fallen Star is not as good as the worst level in Moon Facility. I've played enough of the game to tell you that much. Really excited to see you guys play all the new levels!
"I will say, there will still be a "flow state" in this game. The levels are generally faster than Classic Sonic levels. But we've achieved the speed with new gimmicks this time, and the pacing is a lot more spread out so it doesn't feel like you're gunning it ALL the time."
Want to stay up to date with its progress? You can follow Sonic and the Moon Facility's Twitter at this link. The developers won't be releasing a demo of the game this time around, but a story trailer will eventually be released in the future.