Sonic Mania Reviews
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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 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 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
Every stage is a carefully-crafted explosion of looping paths and intricate patterns.
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.
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.
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 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 a solid game that reminds us how amazing in terms of design were 16-bit episodes. We can say this game is unarguably a new classic for the blue hedgehog and that it has to become a reference for the future titles of the franchise.
Review in French | Read full review
From the beginning to the end, I couldn't seem to put Sonic Mania down. One playthrough, without collecting all the Chaos Emeralds took me about six hours, I never said I was the fastest Sonic player. Sonic Mania has helped me rediscover what it was I loved about Sonic when growing up and it took me back to a time where I could just pick up a game and have fun. This if for Sonic fans everywhere and it will not disappoint.
Overall, Sonic Mania succeeds a lot more than it stumbles.
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.