One of my favorite Next Fest demos turned out to be this speedrunner's delight modeled after 3D Sonic games, which just added ranked multiplayer races

If there are 0 fans of Sonic the Hedgehog's early 3D outings from the Dreamcast days, I am dead twice over, because someone will almost certainly have to kill my over-enthusiastic ghost. Granted, the games did have their problems—levels were too cramped to accommodate your top speed, alternate characters came with less fun playstyles, and the camera was about as bad as any early-'00s platformer.

Games starring the infamous hedgehog look a whole lot different now, but I think the Sonic Adventure games tease a lot of untapped potential. It seems I'm not alone, as I found in the demo for Rollin' Rascal which just got an update for the current Steam Next Fest.

The game's similarities to the Blue Blur's 3D outings are numerous—and unsurprising given that lead developer Gabriel Gonzales worked on Sonic GT, a relatively elaborate Sonic fangame. Rascal seems like a bigger and better version of GT with the Sega characters filed off, taking Sonic Adventure-esque momentum physics and supplying the player with sprawling levels stuffed to the gills with ramps, slides, and grind rails.

Playable characters Rascal and QT can both run super fast, jump and air dash, curl into a ball and bounce, and dive forward while preserving momentum. The sense of frantic speed is impressive, and because levels are so huge, you aren't constantly brought to a halt so you can bash a few enemies or watch a cutscene where cartoon animals argue with one another. Running through loops has rarely felt this good, and once you get a feel for the movement tech, you can bypass obstacles with ease by rocketing past at mach speeds.

And while I got a taste of Rollin' Rascal's superlative feel in a previous demo, I was surprised to try this new one and see an extensive suite of online modes, including ranked multiplayer. Races are lengthy, complete with Mario Kart-y item boxes, and benefit from the game's great fundamentals, but it doesn't look like many people are online at the moment. My lone race was just me against one other player.

It's not a perfect demo: The camera clips through the ground sometimes, there are little bugs here and there, and the levels feel like they're missing some enemies or more robust objectives than merely getting to the end. Still, it's an impressive showing, and I'm eager to see what the finished game looks like.