Sonic Mania Reviews/Impressions Thread

[Mark1]

*No spoilers here. Or put them in Spoiler tags if you must*

Couldn't spot any similar topics but lock if it's not needed or if it exists already.

But since some lucky people have already got their hands on the full game, let's have a thread dedicated to everyone's hands on impressions of the game. Reviews will likely be appearing over the next couple of days as well. So post them here.

It will be curious to see how the different types of fans will interpret this game, see if it's universal all across the board.

Lastly, like with any other Sonic game, respect everyone's opinion on Mania. As there will be fans who will dislike it just as it is the case with Forces.

Review Scores will be shown in the list below:

Metacritic - 86
OpenCritic - 86
 

TheSixthAxis - 100
Sonic Mania surpasses the Mega Drive/Genesis originals. It not only incorporates what made Sonic great, but has the inventiveness to shatter what was possible in a 2D platformer. As a nostalgia trip, it sets the bar for what comes next for the modding community. For those unexposed to what made 2D Sonic great, this is still a solid game in its own right and may create new fans in the process. If being this good took ages, it's about damn time.

Rice Digital - 100
Every new cog in Sonic Mania looks right at home next to the old ones.

Eurogamer - Essential
1992 is alive and well. Christian Whitehead and team turn in a beautiful rewrite of the 16-bit Sonic games with all-new stages.

Tssz/Sonic Stadium review, by Dreadknux and T-Bird - 9/10

https://www.sonicstadium.org/2017/08/tss-review-sonic-mania/

Kotaku
Sonic Mania clearly articulates Sonic's true appeal: Sonic is pure joy, a spinning ball of fun blazing a trail towards the next adventure.

Jimquisition - 95
Read: Oh boy I am not having much luck with video reviews. Something went disastrously wrong with the render. Sorry. Reuploading.

Hobby Consolas - 93
Christian Whitehead deserves an ovation for bringing back a fast hedgehog who had been injuried for a long time. Sonic Mania is a worthy heir to the amazing five 2D platformers the porcupine starred on Mega Drive.

GamesBeat - 93
Sonic's best game in over two decades 

Retro Gamer - 92% 

"Thanks to an intimate understanding what made the 16-bit Sonic games so good, the Sonic Mania team has created an excellent platform game which delivers new thrills and nostalgic comfort in equal measure."

The Games Machine - 91
Sonic Mania is not a perfect game, and the Sonic playstyle is not definitely for everyone. If you love the blue hedgehog, though, you cannot let this one go: it's huge, challenging, full of secrets, with lots and lots of different situations. Hands down, one of the best platformers of the past ten years.

Attack of the Fanboy - 90
Sonic Mania doesn't necessarily mark Sonic's return to his glory days, but there is still much to love about this game and it can easily serve as a foundation for the future of the series if the Sonic Team chooses to continue in this direction.

Everyeye.it - 90
For Sega's mascot fans, Sonic Mania is a real dream come true.

NintendoWorldReport
Sonic Mania is a delightful return to the 2D platforming style that first made the hedgehog a star. The love from the development team for 16-bit Sonic is evident in every moment of the game. Fans of classic Sonic must buy this game, but the excellent level design, music, and graphics will please all people who enjoy a well-thought-out sidescroller.

Spazio Games - 90
Sonic Mania is the return to the 2D gameplay style that the community has been waiting for a long time, and it's one of the revelations of this year. A game made by fans, for the fans.

Gamespot - 90
Sonic Mania methodically uses its sentimental appeal to great effect, but in the process, it heals the wounds inflicted by its most disappointing predecessors and surpasses the series' best with its smart and interpretive design. An excellent 2D platformer, Sonic Mania goes beyond expectations, managing to be not only a proper evolution of the series' iconic formula, but the best Sonic game ever made.

GameSpew - 90
This is Sonic just as you remember, but bigger and undoubtedly better. Is it the best Sonic game? That's hard to say as it comes down to personal preference with regards to stages etc., but one thing is for sure, Sonic Mania is likely to be at the top of many Sonic fans' lists.

Gameblog - 90
Sonic Mania is a solid game that reminds us how amazing in terms of design were 16-bit episodes. We can say this game is unarguably a new classic for the blue hedgehog and that it has to become a reference for the future titles of the franchise.

Gameblog.fr - 90
Sonic Mania is a solid game that reminds us how amazing in terms of design were the 16-bit episodes. We can say this game is inarguably a new classic for the blue hedgehog and that it has to become a reference for the future titles of the franchise.

Meristation - 90
Sonic is back with a unique love letter to the original 16-bit games. Mania is an amazing game, fun, long and with a lot of nostalgic elements. This is the Sonic that 2D lovers were waiting so eagerly for so many years.

Dualshockers - 90
From the beginning to the end, I couldn't seem to put Sonic Mania down. One playthrough, without collecting all the Chaos Emeralds took me about six hours, I never said I was the fastest Sonic player. Sonic Mania has helped me rediscover what it was I loved about Sonic when growing up and it took me back to a time where I could just pick up a game and have fun. This if for Sonic fans everywhere and it will not disappoint.

We Got This Covered - 90
Sonic Mania is a fantastically well-worked continuation of an iconic franchise and a great reminder of why the Genesis games were so well loved. Everybody who has waited patiently for 20-odd years for Sega to get it right again is in for a treat. Top notch.

Metro Gamecentral - 90
A touching, and highly playable, labour of love by fans that understand Sonic The Hedgehog better than Sega ever has in the last 20+ years.

IGN - 87
Sonic Mania is the classic throwback longtime series fans have been clamoring for.

Game Informer - 85
Sonic Mania succeeds in paying homage to the classic '90s entries that so many fans remember fondly, and in the process delivers the best Sonic game in decades

CGMagazine - 85
Sonic Mania earns its spot next to the titles released during Sonic's golden era

GameCrate - 85
Sonic Mania is a wonderful blend of classic Sonic and new ideas, and should serve as an example of the great things that can happen when game companies embrace fan creators. There's no reason Sonic Mania shouldn't be followed by multiple sequels that continue its remixing magic.

IGN Spain - 85
A great return to the 2D platformer's roots.

PlayStation Universe - 85
Sonic Mania successfully takes Sonic back to the formula that saw him become a big deal to begin with. That means it does bring along the flaws in that design as well, but there's no denying this is as good as the Blue Blur has been for a long time.

Destructoid - 80
Sonic Mania is short but sweet. It even functions as a proper Sonic 4 if you don't count the episodic Sonic 4 (remember that one?).

Multiplayer.it - 80
The work done on old and new levels is excellent because it gives freshness to the past while the unpublished ones retain the right retro flavour

Xbox Achievements - 80
A beautifully crafted love letter to Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Mania is everything a Sonic game should be and more. I'd be deliriously happy if SEGA carried on making them like they used to; if it carried on making more games like Sonic Mania.

Game Revolution - 80
Like the Kevin Smith version of A New Hope I imagine almost daily, Sonic Mania is a game made by fans, for fans. And that's not a bad thing. Newcomers may be turned off by the intermittent difficulty spikes, but others may finally understand why many childhoods were spent looking for a kid who had a Sega Genesis.

Push Square - 80
Sonic Mania is the best Sonic game in years, and stands proudly alongside its ancestors as a great 2D platformer. The levels, both remixed classics and brand new stages, are broad and a lot of fun to speed through, while more cautious exploration is also rewarding and just as viable. The feeling of playing an old-school Sonic title is spot on and it's filled to bursting with secrets, Easter eggs, and surprises that will delight fans. If you've never enjoyed Sonic games, this certainly won't change your mind, but anyone with an affinity for the Blue Blur's seminal Mega Drive series can rest assured that this is more than worth your time.

PlayStation Lifestyle - 80
Overall, Sonic Mania succeeds a lot more than it stumbles.

USGamer - 80
Sonic Mania is a brilliant return to form for the series' long-time away from traditional 2D games. Even if a few less remixed stages and more new zones would have been a nice change of pace, Sonic Mania's joyful level of ingenuity even in reimagining familiar sights is a testament to some of the franchise's best days.

App Trigger - 70
Sonic Mania brings Sonic and friends back to the series' 2D roots successfully but also reminds us of many of the issues with early 90s 2D platformers. Longtime Sonic fans will no doubt find some value here, but everyone else is better off playing more modern takes on the genre.

VideoGamer - 70
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.

ArsTechnica
Sonic fans should buy. Curious onlookers should try.

Polygon - 70
Sonic Mania is forcing me to use one of the most forbidden cliches in a reviewer's lexicon. The mileage you get out of it will depend significantly on what you want it to be. As a synthesis and expression of a specific era of Sonic, Sonic Mania is devout toward its inspiration, for devout fans of Sega's beleaguered mascot. If more of what Sonic is what you want, then this is very much that, but more, and bigger, and faster. But for me, as someone with fond memories but key criticisms, Sonic Mania seems content to paint over some of the series' problems rather than fix them, making for a game that falls a little short of what might have been.

Slant - 60
At its best, Sonic Mania makes classic zones from past Sonic the Hedgehog games feel unpredictable again.

 

[Alienrun]

Just so that we are all on the same page...what counts as a spoiler and what doesn't? Are we allowed to give impressions/predictions if we haven't played the game? (Will any spoilers be allowed once the game releases?)

[Mark1]

Just now, Alienrun said:

Just so that we are all on the same page...what counts as a spoiler and what doesn't? Are we allowed to give impressions/predictions if we haven't played the game? (Will any spoilers be allowed once the game releases?)

Anything which hasn't been officially revealed by Sega yet.

Of course, this is to mainly help understand if the game is ideal for someone before purchasing it. Should've been clear on that point too.

[Alienrun]

Seems fair then...I did sadly spoil myself a bit, but I'll give a shot at this impressions thing. (Basically I'll just pretend I don't know what I know...AKA what I thought about Mania yesterday...)

The game looks pretty dope so far! I'm not as hyped as everyone else, given that Freedom Planet is my current favorite game and its probably not going to get topped soon. Sonic Mania will most likely be somewhere in my top 15 though... (I tend to like games that are hard and fast anyways so suffice it to say despite having a lot of nostalgia for Sonic 3 its not what I consider the pinnacle of gaming/platforming).

I could do without the nostalgia pandering though, I do like what I'm seeing in the Act 2's (especially CPZ) and the new zones though. (Hopefully we get more imaginative new zones in the game aesthetically) The level design is the perfect mix of CD and 3. As someone who likes CD best and has 3 as a close second this is quite perfect as an "official" sonic game, it could be better than any we have had so far! (that's not too hard now that I think about it though)

As far as being better than fangames, we'll have to wait and see, my favorites are Boom (sonic 2 hack), Eggman hates furries and Sonic Erazor. All very short but have really good level designs and physics.

What makes mania stand out I guess is that it will be a finished game. Most fangames sadly aren't like that. Time Twisted which was worked on for 12 years is finished, but I had hoped it would be better, here's to hoping Mania is better!

And onto what I'm known for being nitpicky about...

...the music...

...

It's...okay I guess. Like yes its good, especially the special stage music (and the initial trailer music). But aside from that nothing has really shocked me and made me go "Wow! That is awesome/breathtaking!". Though as of late Stardust Speedway is growing on me. (Can't wait to hear Act 2 wink wink) I want something like THIS dammit:

ahhhh! It's a mastapiece!

Anyways, I also like how the artstyle is heavily inspired by Sonic Nexus XG, which reminds me of yet another masterpiece worthy song...

Gosh darn it I want music like this!

Oh well, I'm probably too picky about this anyways...

Last nitpick...

Sonic's model...eh...I just wish it was the sonic 3 one, but that's probably my bias talking right now!

Sonic Mania is going to be the GOTY for me most likely, not because its noteworthy for me, but simply because I don't think I will find anything else better to play!

[Mark1]

3 minutes ago, Alienrun said:

Sonic Mania is going to be the GOTY for me most likely, not because its noteworthy for me, but simply because I don't think I will find anything else better to play!

The fact you are saying this over the likes of Zelda BotW and Mario Odyssey (from the looks of it so far anyway) is quite intriguing. These viewpoints are great, can't wait to see more on Tuesday when I play it ?

[Sonicfan287]

I'll definitely be curious to check out these reviews. As much as I was 99% certain that the game would get exceptional reviews, I now have reason to believe otherwise. Warning: Spoilers ahead. 

Spoiler

While this doesn't bother me and is quite common for platforming games, there seems to be a pretty high spike in difficulty going into the 9th zone. From there, the game looks considerably harder. It's to be expected but I could see critics saying the game is "unfair" and let's face it -- a lot of game journalists are probably as bad at Sonic as the guy we watched Stream the game.... I will admit, there are some cheap level design elements in Zone 9 in particular but the final level looks tough but fair. 

I also think the ratio of old to new may hurt the game and some may claim this is just a remaster of the original classics with a few new levels thrown in and thus give it a 7 score. I hope I'm wrong because I want to see this game succeed critically as well as in sales, but if it gets some low scores, I could understand that since Sonic is always held to an unreasonably higher standard than most others in his genre. 

 

[RK64]

18 minutes ago, Sonicfan287 said:

I'll definitely be curious to check out these reviews. As much as I was 99% certain that the game would get exceptional reviews, I now have reason to believe otherwise. Warning: Spoilers ahead. 

  Reveal hidden contents

While this doesn't bother me and is quite common for platforming games, there seems to be a pretty high spike in difficulty going into the 9th zone. From there, the game looks considerably harder. It's to be expected but I could see critics saying the game is "unfair" and let's face it -- a lot of game journalists are probably as bad at Sonic as the guy we watched Stream the game.... I will admit, there are some cheap level design elements in Zone 9 in particular but the final level looks tough but fair. 

I also think the ratio of old to new may hurt the game and some may claim this is just a remaster of the original classics with a few new levels thrown in and thus give it a 7 score. I hope I'm wrong because I want to see this game succeed critically as well as in sales, but if it gets some low scores, I could understand that since Sonic is always held to an unreasonably higher standard than most others in his genre. 

 

My bet is that people will say the following about the game critically.

• Amazing visuals and presentation
• Tight gameplay with rewarding exploration
• Tails & Knuckles add to the game as a whole
• Original Zones and Most of the Remixed Zones welcome inclusions
• Game relies too much on past zones 
• Difficulty too high in later third of the game
• Special Stages having issues (maybe?)
• Story's connections to other titles not done well (maybe?)
• Average Score: 8 out of 10 for most outlets. Some will give it 9's while more decisive places for sonic (*cough* IGN *cough*) will give it low 6's or 7's.

Edit: Oh, I will be buying the game at launch and reviewing it, so will share more in-depth thoughts when I get my hands on the game...contacting the Sonic PR crew at SEGA is very difficult, so couldn't get a review copy.

[Dejimon11]

I still don't understand how a game getting a 7 is considered a low score lol. That's good man. 

[RK64]

48 minutes ago, Dejimon11 said:

I still don't understand how a game getting a 7 is considered a low score lol. That's good man. 

Poor phrasing on my part, but still. Hope Mania scores 8's as it's 'main' score. No Sonic game in a long while has gotten high marks like that on Metacritic (outside of Racing Transformed) in a while.

[Mark1]

I think because it's a classic game in the franchise which looks the part I suspect Mania will be getting 8s and 9s, with a few outliers based on random hatred towards Sonic or just not a fan of the genre. 

I remember fans crying foul whenever Zelda BotW got a 6 or 7  (personally would have given it a 9.5 or higher but everyone's different)

[Sonicfan7]

So the embargo lifts tonight at midnight? 

[PerfectChaos]

23 hours ago, RK64 said:

My bet is that people will say the following about the game critically.

• Amazing visuals and presentation
• Tight gameplay with rewarding exploration
• Tails & Knuckles add to the game as a whole
• Original Zones and Most of the Remixed Zones welcome inclusions
• Game relies too much on past zones 
• Difficulty too high in later third of the game
• Special Stages having issues (maybe?)
• Story's connections to other titles not done well (maybe?)
• Average Score: 8 out of 10 for most outlets. Some will give it 9's while more decisive places for sonic (*cough* IGN *cough*) will give it low 6's or 7's.

Edit: Oh, I will be buying the game at launch and reviewing it, so will share more in-depth thoughts when I get my hands on the game...contacting the Sonic PR crew at SEGA is very difficult, so couldn't get a review copy.

I suspect there'll also be (mild) criticism at the short length since the game clearly won't be anywhere near as meaty and content-rich as other modern platformers.

Of course, that's forgivable given how quality trumps quantity and Mania looks to bring spades of quality.  

[superman43]

No spoilers.

Let´s just say that after seeing the Green Hill, Chemical Plant and listening to Stardust Speedway Act 1 + Studiopolis and Mirage Saloon... all guys loving Sonic 2D games were hyped... but now that I saw all the zones by myself I must say we saw about 50% of the fun. New zones are good, solid, whatever, a bit crazy maybe... other zones... remade...  are fine, but few were just unnecessary...

[molul]

I've seen most of the leaks in YouTube and I personally think the game is amazing. Even if I disagree with a couple of the reimagined zones, they still look very fun to play, and the new ones look gorgeous. Overall I think it's a wonderful homage to the classics with some new cool gimmicks, and the unlockable stuff is something I always wanted in the series. I still need to play it, but it can be the best classic game, as it takes everything I loved and adds new stuff that couldn't be done on Mega Drive. 

I have to applaud Mania Team for their effort. They did a great job that Sonic Team couldn't have done, so I'm very thankful that this game exists, and I hope this not only leads to more classic games, but also to remastering or making sequels for other great old games like Ristar or Dynamite Headdy. Sega Forever released Ristar this week, and I hope the response is big enough for Sega to consider bringing it back, as it's a very cool and original character.

I thought I could bring some optimism here

[Sonicfan287]

5 minutes ago, molul said:

 

I thought I could bring some optimism here

Not allowed. 

[Badnik Mechanic]

Review embargo lifts tomorrow at 4PM GMT.

Can the OP update the OP with the review outlet scores as and when they come in so we don't have to search pages for scores and the like.

[Mark1]

29 minutes ago, Mayor D said:

Review embargo lifts tomorrow at 4PM GMT.

Can the OP update the OP with the review outlet scores as and when they come in so we don't have to search pages for scores and the like.

Can do that no problem, once out of work I'll update it with the list plus the metacritic link.

[Rodx]

Remembers that they can give a bad score simple because they ''can'' maybe trying to atract people to its site with controversion opinion,and nothing will happens .

[blueblur98]

hello! since tomorrow's review day, i thought i'd start a thread about the forthcoming reviews. we can start this thread with predictions of the reviews. (averages, single outlet scores, etc.)

 my predictions are an 8.5-9.0 average from critics

pretty good across the board

at least one outlet gives it a low score because it's "stuck in the past" and/or because it's a sonic game

users love the game, 9.5 average at least 

some guy hates it because it's not sonic adventure 3

what are your predictions?

[Mark1]

Reviews are coming up now. Check the OP, post any you find so it can be added

[gato]

Well, since no one else posted anything, Playstation Enthusiast gives it a 9/10 

Personally, I'm not really going to be reading reviews but suit yourselves.

[Barry the Nomad]

SEGAbits Review: http://segabits.com/blog/2017/08/14/review-sonic-mania-ps4-xbox-one-switch-pc/

 

[Badnik Mechanic]

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-08-14-sonic-mania-review ---Essential

 

https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/sonic-mania-review/1900-6416729/ 9/10!

It's over NINE!

http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2017/08/14/sonic-mania-review/ 10/10

[KHCast]

Jim gave it a 9.5! His video will be back up soon 

[gato]

AppTrigger gives it a 7/10

IGN, on the other hand, says the game is an 8.7/10