Sonic Mania Reviews
Like the Kevin Smith version of A New Hope I imagine almost daily, Sonic Mania is a game made by fans, for fans. And that's not a bad thing. Newcomers may be turned off by the intermittent difficulty spikes, but others may finally understand why many childhoods were spent looking for a kid who had a Sega Genesis.
A touching, and highly playable, labour of love by fans that understand Sonic The Hedgehog better than Sega ever has in the last 20+ years.
Christian Whitehead deserves an ovation for bringing back a fast hedgehog who had been injuried for a long time. Sonic Mania is a worthy heir to the amazing five 2D platformers the porcupine starred on Mega Drive.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Sonic Mania is short but sweet. It even functions as a proper Sonic 4 if you don't count the episodic Sonic 4 (remember that one?). As long as the same team is in charge I can easily deal with one of these every few years or so while Sega tries to strike Sonic Adventure gold again and again with their 3D iterations.
Sonic Mania surpasses the Mega Drive/Genesis originals. It not only incorporates what made Sonic great, but has the inventiveness to shatter what was possible in a 2D platformer. As a nostalgia trip, it sets the bar for what comes next for the modding community. For those unexposed to what made 2D Sonic great, this is still a solid game in its own right and may create new fans in the process. If being this good took ages, it's about damn time.
Overall, Sonic Mania succeeds a lot more than it stumbles.
Sonic Mania is a brilliantly staged celebration of the past that acts as a true sequel to the Genesis line of games.
Sonic Mania doesn't necessarily mark Sonic's return to his glory days, but there is still much to love about this game and it can easily serve as a foundation for the future of the series if the Sonic Team chooses to continue in this direction.
Sonic Mania is still a long, wonderful return to form for the series that fans and newcomers alike should enjoy. Hopefully the upcoming Sonic Forces can maintain this level of quality, like Sonic deserves.
It has taken a fan game to bring Sonic back to where he belongs – a two-dimensional platformer full of thrills, spills and 90s gaming nostalgia
Sonic Mania is the Sonic game fans have been wanting. It hits all the notes (and problems) the originals had. But it is also why the series has remained relevant for so long. It delivers speed, fun, and chaos (no pun intended) all in one package. It also finally removes the stigma that all Sonic games are terrible. Let's hope Forces is as well polished and enjoyable as Mania is.
It's hard to write a bad word about Sonic Mania. It's a complete, classic package, at a great price. Each character you play as feels just as you remember it, but sharper. Each classic stage starts as you remember it, and then transforms into something completely new. Sonic Mania is a love letter to fans and a testament to the Blue Blur himself - a modern classic that Sonic fans old and new have to experience.
Every stage is a carefully-crafted explosion of looping paths and intricate patterns.
Sonic Mania is an almost perfect mix between new ideas and the same gameplay from the Sonic games on Mega Drive. A must have for any Sonic fan.
Review in Swedish | Read full review
Sonic Mania is the best Sonic game in years, and stands proudly alongside its ancestors as a great 2D platformer. The levels, both remixed classics and brand new stages, are broad and a lot of fun to speed through, while more cautious exploration is also rewarding and just as viable. The feeling of playing an old-school Sonic title is spot on and it's filled to bursting with secrets, Easter eggs, and surprises that will delight fans. If you've never enjoyed Sonic games, this certainly won't change your mind, but anyone with an affinity for the Blue Blur's seminal Mega Drive series can rest assured that this is more than worth your time.
Sonic Mania successfully takes Sonic back to the formula that saw him become a big deal to begin with. That means it does bring along the flaws in that design as well, but there's no denying this is as good as the Blue Blur has been for a long time.
Sonic Mania is a franchise's identity found. It's simple, it's straightforward, it's what Sonic should be. The developers have gone back to the drawing board and have given new life to a franchise hat was on its last legs just a few years ago. This may be new life into the series, and here's hoping that it continues to be so.
Sonic Mania is for everyone, and everyone should buy it. It succeeds at being a love letter to SEGA's classic days just as much as it succeeds at being a smartly designed video game with all of the reasons in the world to return to it over and over again. Older fans will love it, newer fans will love it, parents can play it with their kids.
Sonic Mania distills Sonic down to its basic elements, resulting in a wonderfully lean Hedgehog throwback. Unfortunately, DRM issues prevent Sonic Mania from blazing a truly excellent trail.
It was so simple, yet so difficult. Sonic Mania succeeds where others did not: it delivers the gameplay experience of the original games with a format made possible by today's technology and an immense wealth of creativity that when put together make this an exquisite Sonic game, a fitting follow up to the 16-bit originals and one to leave a legacy for the future.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review