Not even the titular hero ofSonic the Hedgehogcan outrun the McDonald’s Grimace Birthday Shake meme, at least not according to a new social media post. All month long, McDonald’s has been celebrating the birthday of Grimace, the kind and fun-loving purple monster that was first introduced in the 1970s as Ronald McDonald’s best friend. To commemorate the milestone, McDonald’s is offering up a special Grimace Birthday Meal that includes a purple Grimace Birthday milkshake. In addition,McDonald’s recently shadow-dropped a new video gamestarring Grimace that replicates the retro 2D platformers of the Game Boy Color era.While the game is a fun novelty, it seems the centerpiece of Grimace’s birthday celebration is the Grimace Birthday Shake - which has spawned a morbidly humorous meme on social media outlets like TikTok. Over the past few days, fans have been sharing videos of themselves trying out the milkshake before “dying” horribly, either being “poisoned” by the shake itself or suffering some other tragedy seemingly brought on by the supernatural powers of the drink as part of social media skits. While this might not have been the kind ofpublicity McDonald’s was hoping to geton Grimace’s birthday, these memes have become quite popular - and even a certain video game icon with a need for speed is getting in on the bleak fun.RELATED:Sonic Frontiers DLC Story Spoilers Leak OnlineEarlier this week, the officialSonic the HedgehogTwitter account shared its own take on this bizarre Grimace Birthday Shake meme with a screenshot of Sonic laying dead on the floor after trying the milkshake. This image was actually taken fromThe Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, a free-to-play visual novel that Segareleased on Steam to celebrate April Fool’s Dayearlier this year. The only difference is that the spilled drink in the screenshot has been colored purple to match the Grimace Shake - it was red originally. The official McDonald’s Twitter account soon responded to Sonic’s latest “death,” with Grimace thanking “Mr. Hedgehog” for his birthday wishes.
Sonic’s official Twitter account has become well-known for sharing funny posts, teasing upcomingSonic the Hedgehoggame reveals, and even conducting in-character interviews with popularSonicfigures like Tails, Dr. Eggman, and the Blue Blur himself. It was the Sega Social Team that developed the aforementionedMurder of Sonic the Hedgehoggame, which earned high praise from fans thanks to its tongue-in-cheek writing and overall charm.
Sonic has also recently celebrated a few milestones of his own, as Sega hosted a special Sonic Showcase Central 2023 livestream late last week to celebrate the Blue Blur’s latest birthday. This year also marks the30th anniversary of fan-favorite Amy Rose, who is set to return as a playable character in bothSonic Superstarsand the upcomingSonic Frontiersstory DLC.Sonic the Hedgehogfans have a great deal to celebrate in 2023, but they might not want to do so with a McDonald’s Grimace Birthday Shake considering Sonic’s latest misfortune.
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