After being denied the pleasure of playing this on the 15th due to the PC version being delayed, I was crestfallen but I had to give in and watch others play, because I needed to see if the game was good. After watching several people enjoy Sonic Mania I felt relieved and waited steadily for today, the release to feel for myself. And I must say, it was worth it.

Sonic Mania is absolutely amazing if you're an old sonic fan, it has several of the old favorite levels that have had so much polish put on them they feel like they're new, not to mention there's always a level where there IS something new and exciting, and the new zones themselves are all beautiful and interesting, both in design and play, and every zone has music scored by Tee Lopes, who has mastered the old sonic magic of "Every song in the game is amazing to listen to" as well as managing to make the old songs sound better than before, a daunting task to be sure.

If you're not an old sonic fan, the game will probably not hold as much charm for you considering how much of it is a love letter to a long-suffering community. However, you can still find yourself a solid 16-bit platformer with interesting level design and tight controls, that is easily worth 20 dollars. It's an absolute steal at that price, and everyone in Team Mania, Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, Pagodawest games, they should all be very proud of themselves for giving Sonic a shining beacon of hope to lead the series into the future. Not just "A Good Sonic Game" but an actual legitimately Good Game.

After being denied the pleasure of playing this on the 15th due to the PC version being delayed, I was crestfallen but I had to give in and watch others play, because I needed to see if the game was good. After watching several people enjoy Sonic Mania I felt relieved and waited steadily for today, the release to feel for myself. And I must say, it was worth it. Sonic Mania is absolutely amazing if you're an old sonic fan, it has several of the old favorite levels that have had so much polish put on them they feel like they're new, not to mention there's always a level where there IS something new and exciting, and the new zones themselves are all beautiful and interesting, both in design and play, and every zone has music scored by Tee Lopes, who has mastered the old sonic magic of "Every song in the game is amazing to listen to" as well as managing to make the old songs sound better than before, a daunting task to be sure. If you're not an old sonic fan, the game will probably not hold as much charm for you considering how much of it is a love letter to a long-suffering community. However, you can still find yourself a solid 16-bit platformer with interesting level design and tight controls, that is easily worth 20 dollars. It's an absolute steal at that price, and everyone in Team Mania, Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, Pagodawest games, they should all be very proud of themselves for giving Sonic a shining beacon of hope to lead the series into the future. Not just "A Good Sonic Game" but an actual legitimately Good Game.