“Do you want to play with me?”

Others have posited that Sonic Exe is a form of "SCP" (Special Containment Procedures) game, inspired by the popular creepypasta franchise that revolves around anomalous objects and entities. The game's use of glitches and distorted graphics has led some to speculate that Sonic Exe is actually a form of "virtual haunting," a digital manifestation of some kind of supernatural entity.

Here’s a ready-to-use for a Sonic.exe fan game. You can copy/paste this into the Game Jolt editor and tweak the details as needed.

Key elements of this original game established the tropes for the entire genre: