Sonic Mania Reviews
Sonic Mania is both fluid and fun, and reminds us all of what a Sonic game should be. This is a game by Sonic fans, for Sonic fans.
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.
It took two decades and change, but a team of developers has shown they understand what made the old Sonic games great with Sonic Mania, even if nostalgia is sometimes too much of a driving force.
Sonic's best game in over two decades
Sonic Mania is a brilliantly staged celebration of the past that acts as a true sequel to the Genesis line of games.
Whether you like the old Sonic games or the new ones, or even if you've never played one before, Sonic Mania holds plenty of fun for everyone.
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 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 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 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
Sonic Mania is a love letter thoughtfully crafted for fans of the series' early romp in 2D, which the game follows to perfection. Admittedly, some of the game's mechanics have not aged well and might be cumbersome for some. If you love the classic gameplay, however, and want to experience it through larger areas littered with multiple paths and secret nooks and crannies, you'll want to spin dash your way to this one.
Fast-paced best-of all the classic Sonic Games with Megadrive flair, some new levels and boss battles.
Review in German | Read full review