Sonic Mania

Sonic Mania is a celebration of Sonic the Hedgehog's classic 2D era, built on an engine that follows on from the Sega Genesis titles, but with modern presentation, new physics, and smoother animation of characters and environments. The game combines reworked levels from the original games - such as Green Hill Zone or Chemical Plant Zone - with original new zones created specifically for this title, while the gameplay is built on fast, fluid movement, ring collecting, and exploring alternate routes through each level in the style of nineties platformers, where route familiarity leads to noticeably faster runs. The levels also frequently hide alternate paths and bonus sections that reward thorough exploration and repeated playthroughs of the same zone.

On PS4 the title runs at a stable high frame rate, which makes the fast, acrobatic sections even more precise and pleasant to control than in many of the original games. The pixel-art graphics are elaborately detailed, and the soundtrack, created with an emphasis on fidelity to the style of classic Sonic titles, ranks among the most praised elements of the game across both reviews and the fan community. The gameplay offers three playable characters with different abilities - Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles - adding variety to repeated playthroughs of the same levels.

Sonic Mania was received at launch as the best 2D installment of the series in many years, and was called by many players and reviewers a return to the qualities that made the series famous in the nineties after a string of divisively received modern entries. The development team gathered around Christian Whitehead, studio Headcannon, and PagodaWest Games proved that respect for a brand's legacy can also produce a commercially successful result. Today the game is considered one of the high points of the 2D platformer genre on PS4, and a model for how to handle nostalgia sensitively without the result feeling like a mere memory.

Why play it: For fans of classic Sonic from the nineties - a return to the qualities that made the series famous, created directly by fans with a sensitive relationship to nostalgia, without feeling like a mere memory.