Sonic.EXE: The Destiny
is a fangame by Lucsan 2015 focused around the Sonic.exe creepypasta, which saw release on 17th January 2024.
The game follows Tails, Knuckles, Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic as they are terrorised by a bloodthirsty monster who's out to kill them for unspecified reasons. However, these motives, and the paths these four take, will define their future and have an impact on their lives forever...
This fangame contains the following tropes:
- Acrofatic: Eggman does a lot of platforming on the levels he stars in.
- All the Worlds Are a Stage: A variant of this happens in both the Worst and Best Endings.
- In the Worst Ending, Sonic traverses through various segments of levels in the Null Space mindscape, including Green Hill and Star Light (representing Eggman), Oil Ocean and Metropolis (for Tails), Hydrocity and Launch Base (based around Knuckles), Tidal Tempest (for Amy), and finally Wood Zone (seeming to be based around the Great Forest due to representing the Freedom Fighters).
- In the Best Ending, Knuckles goes through a shorter version of this, wandering through one of Eggman's bases and Tidal Tempest. The boss battle afterwards utilises both Hidden Palace Zone and Labyrinth Zone as illusion-formed locations.
- Apocalyptic Log: Whilst traversing Desolated Desert, Tails can come across various notes left behind by Fang discussing what he himself had experienced at Exruby's hands. And after he wrote his last note that Tails finds under his hat, it's safe to say that he got killed.
- Artistic License – Geography: As Tails notes at the beginning of Desolated Desert Zone during his route, deserts have a really low, though not impossible, chance of rain coming down. It serves as a good sign for him and the player that something's really not right.
- Beam-O-War: After the Best Ending's final fight, Metal Sonic and Exruby engage in one (complemented by "Dragon Crisis"), the former also backed up by Super Tails, Super Knuckles, and Eggman carrying the Master Emerald to give a boost. Ultimately, the resulting wave of energy powers down Exruby and seemingly dooms him, whilst sending the heroes to another universe.
- Bittersweet Ending: Many of the game's endings border on this, and even the Golden Ending is only this at most.
- Sacrifice (Worst Ending - Best Outcome): Sonic is able to pull an Heroic Sacrifice to seal himself AND Sonic.exe/Exruby inside the Master Emerald, therefore ensuring his terror can't go any further. However, it doesn't change the fact that almost Everyone Dies in this ending. At the very least, compared to the Betrayed ending, Mighty and Ray are still safe from harm.
- Guardian's Last Stand (Knuckles Solo): This ending has Knuckles turn into his Super form with the Master Emerald, willing to face down Exruby one-on-one, the two's fates uncertain. The post-credits image seems to hint that Knuckles managed to escape, and Exruby is left unable to get after him.
- Reversed Outcome (Eggman and Metal Solo): Eggman ultimately manages to escape to Metropolis Zone, though Metal Sonic is forced to pull an Heroic Sacrifice to get rid of, or at the very least stall, Exruby to get him off the doctor's back.
- Dead Island (Tails and Knuckles Duo): The two heroes manage to escape from Exruby's attempt on their lives, but are now stranded on a parallel Angel Island full of zombies. Even the post-credits image doesn't shed any positive light on their outcome, with them shown still trying to desperately escape the mirrored island.
- Despair Escape (Tails and Eggman Duo): Tails, after fending off the corrupted Knuckles, manages to save Eggman and ensure his efforts to stop Exruby weren't All for Nothing, and Exruby is seemingly destroyed with the Death Egg. Even still, it's shown in the post-credits image that the outlook for the two geniuses isn't any better than it once was.
- Beyond The World (Best Ending): All four of the heroes succeed in defeating Exruby, but are now seemingly stranded in another dimension, and without the Master Emerald as well. They're now forced to take shelter while they work out another plan, and there's no telling whether or not Exruby was killed, or if Sonic is okay.
- Blatant Lies: Throughout the game, Exruby ridicules the cast for apparent selfishness and leaving Sonic to die on purpose. However, this couldn't be any further from the truth. The Worst Ending's best possible outcome has Sonic justify that they would never leave him to perish deliberately, and various flashbacks show that Tails and Knuckles genuinely believed that Sonic made it out in one piece with Mighty and Ray before they discovered the Awful Truth.
- Call-Back: In the earliest demos for the game, Aquatic Ruin served as Tails's first level on his adventure. In his solo route, however, it comes back as the level he's forced to go through in his attempts to survive.
- Chekhov's Gun: One secret flashback Knuckles can find (which causes his death) depicts him preparing to teach Sonic a special technique that should only be used if absolutely necessary, as it's the equivalent of an Heroic Sacrifice. In the Sacrifice ending, Sonic utilises that very technique to seal him and Exruby inside the Master Emerald to well and truly stop the Phantom Ruby demon's threat for good.
- Convection, Schmonvection: Multiple. It's based on Sonic the Hedgehog, after all.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Tails and Knuckles both suffer this should they fall in their main routes.
- If Tails is overpowered in Virtual Reality, he finds himself in a more normal Green Hill surrounded by critters, supposedly in the clear... but then Exruby shows up, revealing the malevolent nature of these critters and sending them to devour Tails alive.
- If Knuckles is overpowered while trying to escape the illusions, Exruby makes his last living moments hell; blowing out his eyes, ripping his arm off, watching him suffer for it, and then finally putting him out of his misery by cracking his head open.
- If Metal Sonic fails before he even reaches Eggman, Exruby is quick to decapitate the doctor using the robot's head.
- If Eggman is caught by Exruby, the latter gouges his eyes out, rips off his limbs and leaves him impaled on a spike.
- If you take a wrong turn on Knuckles' Solo route, he goes to Hidden Palace, and he can face one of two outcomes there, both equally fatal.
- Should you go right, Knuckles notices a lot of lava flowing, and notes that it usually never flows that high. Suddenly, "Tails" comes out of the lava and begs for Knuckles to help him, because a copy of himself is trying to replace him. Knuckles falls in the lie and extends "Tails" his hand, but the latter reveals his true colors, taking out a black tentacle he grabs Knuckles by the neck with, dragging him into the lava pit.
- Should you go left, you will run into a dead end, shortly after which Exruby paralyzes Knuckles in place, and scolds him for being so naïve. He then teleports the both of them to Azure Lake, dropping Knuckles to the bottom of the water, and then going to him in order to restrain him to the ground, as he slowly drowns to death.
- Leaving Knuckles to run around in hell itself takes the cake, being what happens if you kill Eggman on their duo route.
- Demoted to Extra: Despite the roles they play in the story, Amy, Cream and Sally are not featured anywhere in the finished game's main story, only appearing in flashbacks shown at certain points.
- Developer's Foresight / Gameplay and Story Integration: Naturally, since Eggman and Metal Sonic have no reason to hurt their own Badniks, and vice versa, damage inputs on both ends are disabled for the Badniks in all levels where one of these characters are playable.
- Downer Ending: A few of the game's endings border on this.
- Betrayed (True Worst Ending): Sonic goes mad from the revelation and agrees to help Sonic.exe/Exruby on his mission, after which they return to the real world in Green Hill, and Exruby uses the power of the Master Emerald to make Sonic a new body. Exruby then shows Sonic his demonized friends, and Sonic kills them both again. Afterwards, they meet up with Mighty and Ray in Emerald Hill, and kill the both of them in cold blood. Yes, you just caused Sonic to kill the remaining survivors.
- Trapped (Worst Ending - Worst Outcome): Sonic is unable to defeat Exruby inside his mind, and thus gets trapped by the demon inside of a dark hall. Sonic sees his fallen friends' souls across this hall as he attempts to escape, but just when it seems he'll manage to do so, Exruby breaks the floor below him, dropping him inside of a hellish pit. Sonic tries to run for his life, but he only manages to come across different demonized versions of Tails, Knuckles and Eggman, and after a while, Exruby appears to remind him that he is trapped in this nightmare, shortly before jumpscaring the player. While almost Everyone Dies in this ending, possibly including Sonic himself, compared to the Betrayed ending, Mighty and Ray are still alive, although for how long is left to interpretion.
Exruby: YOU ARE TRAPPED HERE- Facing the Truth (Tails Solo): See Heads I Win, Tails You Lose (no pun intended) down below.
- Welcome To Hell (Knuckles and Eggman Duo): The two manage to escape from Exruby's attempt on their lives, but are now stranded on the Fire and Brimstone Hell. Eggman is unconscious, and as Knuckles tries to think of what to do, Exruby appears and tells him that this place is, indeed, what they call "hell". Both survivors are then surrounded by flaming skulls as Exruby further sinks Knuckles in doubt whether to leave Eggman to die or take the risk to save him. The screen then scrolls up as Exruby laughs and the skulls let out a roar, the two's fates uncertain even by the ending card, which is pure black, in contrast with other endings.
- Left Alone (Knuckles and Eggman Duo, Eggman Dead): Eggman is murdered by the creature, after which we see Knuckles running into the depths of hell. Exruby decides to leave him to run around hopelessly inside this place, as this will make him suffer even more. After bidding a last farewell to the Echidna, he disappears, sealing Knuckles' fate. The same ending card as the above ending is used for this one.
- Face–Monster Turn: If the characters die, they are turned into dark, evil versions of themselves.
- Fighting Your Friend: In earlier demos of the game, Tails is forced to fight Cream, who had undergone a Sanity Slippage from unknown means. This also happens a few times in the final game depending on which route you're on:
- In the Tails Solo ending, Tails is forced to fight Sonic in his evil Super Form.
- At the beginning of the Knuckles Solo ending, Knuckles has to go through a now-corrupted Tails to keep the Master Emerald safe.
- Finally, in the Tails and Eggman Duo ending, Tails has to evade a now-corrupted Knuckles early on, and then later has to fight him while the doctor keeps Exruby occupied.
- Fire and Brimstone Hell: One is featured in the Despair Escape and Welcome To Hell / Left Alone routes, where Exruby sends Metal Sonic, and Knuckles & Eggman respectively in their routes. And while Metal Sonic manages to escape, Knuckles and Eggman, in their duo route, are ultimately trapped there, their fates left uncertain.
- Haunting the Guilty: Exruby's ultimate motive for terrorising the heroes (and villains) is due to Sonic's demise in this game's storyline. And Sonic himself can either play this straight or outright subvert this depending on what route you're doing down.
- Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: For the final encounter in the Facing the Truth (Tails Solo) ending, no matter how long Tails lasts against Fleetway Super Sonic (or if he manages to hold out long enough), he's still doomed to die either way at the hands of his friend.
- Named by the Adaptation: While Sonic.exe is referred to as just that in this game and out of it for consistency, this iteration of the monster is dubbed "Exruby" in the fandom to distinguish him from other EXE takes, in part due to his ties with the Phantom Ruby.
- Noodle Incident: A note hidden in Echidna Ruins mentions a time when Sonic (whether accidentally or for a light-hearted laugh) broke one of the palace decorations, the note being a self-reminder to punch Sonic next time. Knuckles gets a good chuckle out of remembering this, recalling that it was some time ago. However, recalling one memory he had with Sonic took so long that Exruby killed him while he didn't have his wits about him.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Though Eggman is fully aware that Exruby is nothing like Sonic, he still compares the villain's annoyance to be on par with his arch-nemesis, considering the damage left on Metal Sonic after the Best Ending's final fight.
"Tails... That thing isn't Sonic... BUT IS AS ANNOYING AS HIM BECAUSE HE DAMAGED ONE OF MY BEST MACHINES!"
- Unwinnable by Design: Eggman's levels will end up resulting in this if Metal Sonic is destroyed in Scrap Brain's depths, meaning that Exruby can go unimpeded to claim the doctor's life.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Simply put, placing the Phantom Ruby in a thunderstorm next to Sonic's grave wasn't the smartest idea on Eggman's part.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Exruby pulls this on Cream in the Final Demo should Tails die, making her disappear from existence before her insanity gets further out of hand.
