Name: Sonic Mania Plus
Developer: Christian Whitehead
Publisher: SEGA
Released: 17.07.2018
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Reviewed on: PlayStation 4 Pro
Acquired: A copy of this game was provided from publisher for review purpose
I absolutely love 2D-Sonic! I have countless hours with Sonic 1, 2, 3 and Knuckles. So Sonic Mania Plus is right up my alley. And when Kim told me he had gotten ahold of a copy, I rolled around at the speed of sound, to get the game as early as possible! Let’s find out if it was worth all the speeding tickets!
Story
As usual Dr. Robotnik plans to rule the world, and when a sudden dimensional breach occurs in the atmosphere, causing a unique energy wave signature to appear on Angel Island, he sees his chance. Realizing it could be a source of unspeakable power. Luckily Sonic and Tails is already on the way there in the Tornado.
By all means, this sounds a lot like the story of pretty much any other Sonic games, but it simply works. Gone are the humans from Sonic 06, and I get the same joy from the first games in the series.
8/10
Graphics
First and foremost, let me say how beautiful this game is. Yes it’s old school and in has a 16-bit style, but that’s just how I like Sonic to look! The game flows really well too, and for the first time in many years I never encountered any game breaking bugs in a Sonic games! By all means, there are some small glitches here and there, but all in all I am surprised by how polished this game is!
I have to mention that Sonic no longer have sports tape on his shoes, and that Knuckles is no longer a buff dude-bro – all to my excitement!
9/10
Gameplay
I have some great news here! The gameplay is amazing! Did you like the first three Sonic games? Then you’ll love this game too! I’m willing to eat a napkin if you don’t (and yes, we’ll film it and put it on YouTube if so happens.).
The game is lots of fun, but it’s also very easy to learn. Of course I messed up at certain points, but it was always my own fault, and not because of a badly designed world/enemy. There are some difficult parts of the game too, of course. But it never felt impossible, and therefore never got boring, since I always felt like I could make it next time!
9/10
Controls
The control are very simple, but they do what’s important. You have an action button, and that’s pretty much it. Just like in the good ol’ days in other words. Obviously you have the opportunity to steer what direction Sonic moves as well, and I found this to be precise and easy to master. You might say that a game should use more than one button (plus the directional buttons) but when the controls work as well as they do in Sonic Mania Plus, there’s no point in changing it – it’s true what they say, don’t mess with something that works!
8/10
Replay Value
Sonic Mania Plus not only allows players to play through the levels as different characters, but also features an “encore” mode, which allows players to re-play earlier levels, but with new gameplay elements. An excellent way to keep the replay value high!
8/10
You can check out our review policy right here, if you wonder how we set our scores.
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Story 8
8/10
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Graphics 9
9/10
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Gameplay 9
9/10
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Controls 8
8/10
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Replay Value 8
8/10
Verdict
One thing that’s important to know is that this is not a brand new game, it’s very much like Sonic Mania, but with some extra features. The game is lots of fun to play, it looks amazing. And most importantly it feels like a Sonic game should! Take a note Sonic Team; Christian Whitehead and his team knows how to make Sonic himself again!
Overall
8.4/10
User Review
( votes)Pros
- Extremely fun
- Looks good
- Has that old Sonic feel
- Good replay value
Cons
- Some glitches
