While most Sonic games have stuck to the tried and true formula of racing through each level at lightning speed, the creative team behind Sonic Unleashed made the decision to not only slow down the world’s fastest hedgehog, but turn him into a “were-hog” in the process. This version of Sonic sacrificed speed for raw brute strength, transforming into a “werewolf” whenever the darkness came… a game mechanic that meant we were playing as two very different variations of Sonic while advancing one singular story. So why didn’t we see Sonic continue to exist in this “unleashed” state? Simple… the whole point of the game was to repair his world and get rid of his “were-hog” side. This wasn’t a problem he had to accept, it was a disease to be cured.

Even as followers of Christ, we all experience moments when we feel out of control and at the mercy of our darkest impulses… but these urges to give in to anger, envy, pride, lust, or bitterness will only result in pain and regret. Our flesh will always try to rise up when we’re surrounded by darkness, tempting us to transform into the very thing we’ve been set free from… and when this occurs we shouldn’t be surprised, discouraged, or doubt our salvation. It is a reminder that it is only the active presence of Christ in our lives that gives us the strength to run free in His light.

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:18-19, 22-25

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