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Frequently Anticipated Questions

Q: Is Sonic: Lock & Load related to Sonic Robo Blast 2?

A: No, Sonic Robo Blast 2 is a completely different project from Sonic: Lock & Load and shares none of the development team.

SRB2 is a project by Sonic Team Jr, whereas S:L&L is fully independent.

Q: Why didn't you just base this off Sonic Robo Blast 2?

A: SRB2's movement isn't great for ULTRAKILL-style FPS gameplay. It would have been a nice base to build off of, but I decided on GZDoom to be the engine for Sonic: Lock & Load.

(Also, I didn't know SRB2 was a thing back then, and, well, I'm kind of too deep into it to switch engines.)

Q: Who even wanted a Sonic first-person shooter in the first place?

A: Me. I wanted it. Next question?

Okay, but the real answer is - I was really into Sonic the Hedgehog, and I just started learning how to mod DOOM. One thing led to another, and I eventually started work on a project called "Sonic the Hedgehog in DOOM", which spiralled into Sonic: Lock & Load.

You can read more about that in the history page.

Q: You know Sonic doesn't use weapons, right?

A: Yes, but:

Q: Why is Classic Sonic in the game?

A: I wanted to bring back the original style from Sonic the Hedgehog in DOOM, Sonic: Lock & Load's predecessor.

Couple that with some SRB2-style movement and you've got a character distinct from Modern Sonic.

Q: Where can I ask about or complain about the mod?

A: You can leave an issue on the GitHub repo.

Q: Why aren't Tails or Knuckles playable?

A: Tails isn't playable because I can't draw for Tails that look good. Knuckles isn't playable because I don't know what gameplay style Knuckles would have.

Q: Can you add Big the Cat?

A: No.

Q: Why don't you make your own assets?

A: Inability to draw good art, and the lack of a real drive to learn how to draw or sprite properly.

(One day, though. For sure. I'm planning on getting a drawing tablet so I can learn.)

Q: Why is Amy's in-game sprite based on her Classic design, but the art used is her Modern design?

A: I forgor.

Q: Then can't you just change her in-game sprite to resemble Modern Amy?

A: I could do that, yeah, but it's not on my list of priorities right now.

Q: Can I play Sonic: Lock & Load with a controller?

A: Yes, of course you can! GZDoom includes support for controllers by default.

You may have trouble adjusting to S:L&L's fast-paced twitchy action on a controller, but it's certainly doable.

A controller with gyro (DualShock 4, DualSense, Switch Pro) helps, you can configure those through Steam Input I think.

It's still recommended you play with a keyboard and mouse if you reasonably can, though.

Q: Can I play Sonic: Lock & Load with a touchscreen?

A: Yes? Good luck trying, though. Not only does S:L&L have additional keybindings (Offhand Attack and Offhand Ability), but it's designed to take advantage of loads of inputs at once or in quick succession.

It'd be like trying to play DOOM Eternal or ULTRAKILL on a touchscreen - it's not going to turn out well.

On Delta Touch, for example, you would have to use the "extra buttons" menu (the panel with the coloured buttons) and map those to in-game inputs.

Is it technically possible? Yes, technically, it is. Is it advised? No, absolutely not. Get a controller for your device, or hook up a keyboard and mouse.

Q: Can I play Sonic: Lock & Load on the Steam Deck?

A: Absolutely! It should work more or less the same as playing it on any other Linux PC with Flatpak. Follow the Linux installation instructions to get it set up.

Keep in mind I don't actually own a Steam Deck to test, but given that it's just a Linux handheld, I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Q: Can I play Sonic: Lock & Load on consoles?

A: If that console has a homebrew version of GZDoom with full or mostly full feature parity with the mainstream PC version as of version g4.11.0, then in theory it should work. But as with everything, YMMV.

I know there exists a GZDoom port for the Nintendo Switch which seems to work well, all things considered.