Sonic Mania Reviews
Sonic Mania is a delightful return to the 2D platforming style that first made the hedgehog a star. The love from the development team for 16-bit Sonic is evident in every moment of the game. Fans of classic Sonic must buy this game, but the excellent level design, music, and graphics will please all people who enjoy a well-thought-out sidescroller.
From the beautiful and lively opening animation to the start screen, it immediately felt both comforting and fresh like putting on a pair of brand new pajama pants. I'm glad they took a chance on getting developers who originally started work on Sonic ROM hacks because they really nailed the feeling. This is what nostalgia should feel like and hopefully this leads to more excellent reboots of Sega properties.
Sonic Mania is the best Sonic game in over a decade and is one of the best Sonic games of all time.
Retro fever has been burning brightly for years, resulting in a glut of shameless nostalgia grabs. As someone who was ambivalent toward Sonic the Hedgehog, I can safely say Sonic Mania isn't one of those. Rather than being the game's centerpiece, nostalgia is a foundation built to support the character, visual, audio, and design tropes that made Sonic great instead of forcing the franchise to be something it wasn't and never should have been.
It’s a fantastic entry for the franchise, and it certainly has helped to reinvigorate my interest in the character going forward.
A great return to the 2D platformer's roots.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
At its best, Sonic Mania makes classic zones from past Sonic the Hedgehog games feel unpredictable again.
Sonic Mania is easily the best game of the speedy blue hedgehog in years. Not only that bit it is also one hell of a game that pays tributo to all of the franchise history itself. If you are a Sonic fan don't even doubt about it, go and get it as fast as you can.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Sonic Mania is nothing short of a triumphant return to the spectacular roots of the Sonic franchise
Sonic Mania is one of those games that your childhood has always dreamed of.
With Sonic Mania, Christian Whitehead and his team have done exactly what fans have wanted for years: start with the old and incorporate the new, keeping great level design, heart-pounding music and charming art direction. Sonic's back.
Sonic Mania is a fantastically well-worked continuation of an iconic franchise and a great reminder of why the Genesis games were so well loved. Everybody who has waited patiently for 20-odd years for Sega to get it right again is in for a treat. Top notch.
A fantastic entry and a long awaited proper comeback for Sonic. The new levels are fresh and full of ideas and the tuning in the "old" levels is nothing short of amazing. A must for all the 2D Sonic fans.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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.
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
This is Sonic just as you remember, but bigger and undoubtedly better. Is it the best Sonic game? That's hard to say as it comes down to personal preference with regards to stages etc., but one thing is for sure, Sonic Mania is likely to be at the top of many Sonic fans' lists.
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.
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.
Sonic Mania is a wonderful blend of classic Sonic and new ideas, and should serve as an example of the great things that can happen when game companies embrace fan creators. There's no reason Sonic Mania shouldn't be followed by multiple sequels that continue its remixing magic.
