This isn’t just a throw-back, or some piece of nostalgia-bait. Sonic Mania almost single handedly manages to erase 20+ years of questionable history with that iconic wag of Sonic’s finger. What very easily could have been a simple cash-in on the current wave of nostalgia plaguing every orifice of the current gaming landscape went so much further than my wildest expectations. Long time, die-hard fans of the franchise may be a little disappointed by its decision to ditch nearly the entire extended cast, but they can surely find solace in the huge number of in-game cameos to be found! Taking Sonic back to its basics was necessary, and putting more focus on immersive levels and smooth gameplay was far more important! Sonic Mania ditches the story emphasis of more recent Sonic games for a rather basic plot, much to its benefit. Words barely do Sonic Mania’s visual presence justice. They take much inspiration from the earliest Sonic games, but have been reimagined more than enough to make them feel fresh and exciting. The game’s levels are a visual and technical marvel, with their enormous designs illustrated beautifully. The ‘controls’ portion of the options menu even features a pixelated diagram of the Nintendo Switch controller! The attention to detail in every corner is impressive. If you’ve been living under a rock for the past 26 years it offers you great insight into what you’re about to play, whereas long time fans may beckon fond memories of the classic Sonic cartoons!Įven the menus totally fit the retro motif of the game. This is soon met with a stunning hand animated cut-scene featuring our three heroes, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. The very moment you boot up the game and see that big, beautiful pixelated SEGA logo, the nostalgia wave hits you like a typhoon. I possibly had more fun playing this in bed late at night than I did on my TV! To contrast TV play, where I noticed a considerable amount of lag on a few separate occasions when the screen is ‘busy’. Though it must be said that having Tails with you does alleviate some of that difficulty.Ī Switch exclusive feature allows you to take this game portably, and from my experience the performance in handheld mode is spot on. This will pose less of a problem in the future as you become more accustomed to the levels and boss patterns, but early playthroughs may encourage certain levels of frustration by sudden jumps in the game’s difficulty. This bonus round sees Sonic chasing a UFO and uses a distinctive 3D-style pixelation effect that is, well, effective!Īt times the game can be difficult, and while I’m a firm believer that games should pose an adequate challenge to the player Sonic Mania’s difficulty seems scattered, if not inconsistent, especially where water levels and some boss battles are concerned. If you’re lucky (I hear the kids sometimes call it ‘skill’), you’ll get to activate a bonus mission and chase down one of those elusive Chaos Emeralds. This includes a rather delicious Mean Bean Machine stand-off. These range from the traditional ‘jump on their head’ platform-clichés to more inventive battles. An online version of this mode is definitely something the developers should look into in the future.Īs you progress through each of the game’s roughly a dozen levels, you’ll encounter a number of diverse and fun boss battles. This mode is unfortunately only available as a local 2-player option. This pits 2 players in a head to head stand-off. It’s a welcome addition to the game that will help flesh out its longevity.įinally, there is Competition Mode. You can then compare these scores on leaderboards with people all around the world. The game also features a time attack mode, where you can challenge each act of each level to try and set the fastest score. Mania mode can be played locally with a 2nd player controlling Tails! Although there isn’t much of a story to speak of. Mania Mode is the game’s core ‘story’ mode. The game is broken up into a few different modes. Sometimes he runs really fast, sometimes he takes his time and explores a bit. The game is primarily rooted in the template set forth by the original game. Please note that this is a *SPOILER FREE review of the Nintendo Switch version of Sonic Mania*. Would this be his saving grace, or would Sonic be forever doomed to a life of mediocrity? Read on and let’s find out! One could argue that Sonic never again reached the heights of his Mega Drive days.Īs a result, a great deal of attention has been focused squarely on Sonic Mania. Marred by a slew of questionable, or even horrendous games. Sonic, much like his parent, SEGA has had a rather tumultuous history. It is currently available for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Playstation 4, with an impending PC release. Sonic Mania was released on August 15th 2017, and retails for £15.99, or $19.99.
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