Sonic Mania

Lords of GamingRobert Kellett

9/10

Celebrating the series 25th anniversary, Sonic Mania promises a glorious return to the hedgehog's classic Genesis roots.

KeenGamerStephen M Morin

9/10

Sonic returns to his roots in this fresh throwback to Sonic's golden era in the 90s. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all return to spin-dash across 12 remixed and new zones to uproot Eggman and his maniacal desires. Nostalgia meets modern gaming in Sonic's new adventure that is sure to launch him back into gamer's hearts and budget. Zoom!

GamingTrendKyle Movius

90/100

With excellent level design, smooth animations, impressive pixel art, and a bunch of brand-new twists on classic-style gameplay, Sonic Mania manages to feel both old and new at the same time in the best way possible. 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.

Gaming NexusNicholas Leon

9/10

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.

Before diving into why Sonic Mania is a triumph, though, I’d like to point out that simply releasing a 2D Sonic game has never been a guarantee of AAA quality. Some of the problematic 2D outings date back to 1992 with Aspect’s version of Sonic 2 for the Game Gear. Sanzaru Games’ Sonic Boom titles tried to distinguish themselves by trading high speeds for plodding pseudo-puzzles that lacked both challenge and imagination. The Dimps-developed Sonic Advance series presented great moments of classic gameplay with subtle improvements, but even these fell below Sonic Team’s efforts of the ea…

GameWatcherChris J Capel

9/10

In the nearly 20 years since Sonic Adventure, it turns out all Sonic needed was a developer who actually understood what made a good Sonic game. Mania is a joyous non-stop celebration of everything you ever loved about Sonic The Hedgehog, with perfectly designed levels, and controls that feel just right.. Yes far too many of the Zones are remixes of classics rather than brand new, with a sharp difficulty spike at the end, but Sonic Mania remains fun all the way.

Worth PlayingCody Medellin

9/10

Sonic Mania brings fans back into the 2D world of platform games with nostalgic pixel-style art and core classic gameplay by reimagining iconic Zones and Acts from Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD and Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles.

GameSpaceGareth Harmer

9/10

Regardless, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Sonic Mania, and it’s a clear example of just how successful fan-created passion projects can be when they’re nurtured by a studio. I’m also hopeful that the 2D journey doesn’t end here either, but encourages Sega to continue further down this road with even more new content in the future. In the meantime, 3D fans have Sonic Forces to look forward to when it launches later this year.

Pure NintendoTrevor Gould

8.5/10

Siding with the Genesis over the SNES back in the early 90s, I'm well acquainted with the blue blur at his 2D best. In fact, titles like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 an

PC GamerAndy Kelly

82/100

The best Sonic game in years.

VideogamerColm Ahern

7/10

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.

GameLusterRobert Scarpinito

0/10

It’s been a long while since Sonic the Hedgehog received manic praise. The once-equal rival of Nintendo’s iconic red plumber has been an empty husk arguably since Sonic Adventure 2 in 2001. Almost every classic and modern Sonic game since has been mediocre at best, with Sonic Generations providing the only glimmer of hope for the desperate franchise.