Game Review: Sonic Mania

Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game mascot I’ve not had all that much exposure to growing up. The only games of his that I remember playing were the original Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Mega Drive and Sonic Heroes on the PlayStation 2. I don’t think I have any dislike towards Sonic as a character, as I can appreciate he holds a special place in a lot of gamers hearts ever since the 80’s. I think for me though my console and video game exposure meant I never really embraced the blue blur or much of his franchise.  I wanted to try push myself to experience Sonic once more now I’m a bit older so I figured Sonic Mania would be a good choice to go for.  The reason I went with Sonic Mania is it felt like the most appropriate way to experience the very best of the franchise in a game geared towards celebrating the legacy of hedgehog and all of his classic games for a modern audience. 

Celebrating the legacy of Sonic was what developer Christian Whitehead set out to do ever since pitching the concept of Sonic Mania to series producer Takashi Iizuka. Christian was a known name in the Sonic community for his work on remaster ports for prior Sonic games. His whole focus with Sonic Mania was to remix old Sonic levels in line with a collection of new levels to celebrate the franchises legacy all the while paving the way for a future filled with potential. That’s why when Sonic Mania originally released on most mainline consoles in 2017 and then followed it up with a Plus edition in 2018, the entirety of the gaming industry took notice of the title for accomplishing everything it set out to do. 

Sonic Mania’s story follows Sonic and his friends as Doctor Eggman seeks to harness a new power source called the Phantom Ruby. Sending his new robot squad called the Hard Boiled Heavies to retrieve the ruby, it’s up to Sonic and co to chase down Eggman and the heavies before they can use the Phantom Ruby for any nefarious purposes. This journey will take Sonic across several different zones from his past and present as the ruby’s mysterious powers teleport all of those within its vicinity through time. It’s worth acknowledging that narrative is a lesser element in the game’s overall offerings, with no use of dialogue and story beats playing out between level transitions apart from the games opening and closing segments. That’s not necessarily a bad thing in this games case because I feel the game’s intention is to get the player invested within the gameplay mainly and there’s enough of a visual indication with the animations that you can follow the story without much need of prior context or ongoing exposition. 

The games narrative set up to transport Sonic and co to levels both past and presents serves a primary example of the titles most appealing aspect. Each level within this game is visually distinct from one another and while being visually compelling, they also vary from one another on a technical level as well. The game’s visual design of clearly based in Sonics retro era, with a pure 2D 16-bit art style utilised in the best possible way all throughout.  The use of colour and fast paced animation gives the visual style a great balance in keeping the game feeling both retro and modern. Some of my favourite levels in this game stem from their distinct visuals like Studiopolis, Press Garden and Metallic Madness.  The reason I like these levels so much is they have put so much effort into establishing a constant theme running through each frame of their level design.  

The gameplay of Sonic Mania is a tricky subject to address for me. I think on a subjective basis, I don’t think I can gel with the fast-paced mechanics of Sonic when it constantly seems to require you to slow down and platform strategically. I appreciate my personal issues don’t reflect the gameplay’s quality because I understand a lot of people like Sonic’s core gameplay formula. I just feel for me I can’t sync with the clash of gameplay requirements because it often feels like they’re at odds with another. Sonic to me is all about going fast throughout these levels and flowing with the direction and momentum of their terrain design. Some levels in this game while beautifully designed require you to stop and think about how to progress and I’ve never been fond of how it clashes with your speed regularly.  I will praise how much replayability is baked into the game and its levels though. There’s so many secrets tucked away within these environments which actively contribute towards unlocking additional content like behind-the-scenes stuff and even a secret ending.  It’s a core gameplay experience any Sonic fan will appreciate and will keep many fans playing long after their initial runs. 

Despite coming to the conclusion that I’m not built to appreciate Sonic the Hedgehogs core gameplay formula, I don’t think it means I can’t appreciate the true quality of this game. I can see that every single element of this game feels built for the fans by the fans. It pays homage to the franchise’s 2D legacy in all the best ways and I would agree with any sentiments about it being the definitive way to experience Sonic the Hedgehog in a 2D landscape. It’s nice to know that after all these years, the blue blur can celebrate his history in such a compelling fashion and I was happy to have experienced it.