Sonic Mania Plus – Switch Review

Sonic Mania was an absolute return to form for the SEGA mascot. But the game was a digital-only release, and fans wanted something tangible to hold. Along comes Sonic Mania Plus, not only a physical sort of “Collector’s Edition” of the original game, but it’s loaded with new characters, new game modes, and spiffy physical extras like a SEGA Genesis-themed game jacket and an art book. It’s still the same great game you played last year, just with added content and that’s never a bad thing.

The core game of Sonic Mania is still the same, but SEGA didn’t just release a physical copy and call it a day. There are two new playable characters from Sonic’s past – Ray the Flying Squirrel and Mighty the Armadillo. Mighty has the Hammer Drop which let him do a downward Spin Attack that can destroy obstacles, and Ray has the Air Glide which lets him glide large distances through midair. Other than that, they play identically to the rest of the main cast. Mighty in particular feels the most useful, but the glide and downward dive of Ray is also pretty handy.

Sonic Mania

 

The new Encore mode is pretty great too. It’s sort of like a New Game Plus, but has its own save files, separate from the base game. Levels are reworked with new gimmicks, and when you see an on-screen prompt, you can switch between any of the five playable characters. It’s become my preferred way to play the game, to be honest. On top of Encore mode, there’s a new four-player version (as opposed to two) of Competition Mode. My wife and kids aren’t too fond of Sonic yet, but they will be by the time I’m done with them… heck, there’s even a save and playback function for speedrunners.

Summary
The new Angel Island Zone is just icing on the cake. If you've already played through Sonic Mania before, there's ample reason to pick Sonic Mania Plus up too, especially if you're a fan of the Blue Blazer. There's enough new content to digest, and the art book is pretty great, even if it's just a little trinket. Now... how long do we have to wait for a proper sequel?
Good
  • Ray and Mighty are wonderful additions
  • A great new zone to play in
  • Four player competitive mode
  • Excellent if little art book
Bad
  • Still can be frustratingly hard at times
9
Amazing
Written by
The Greatest Excite Bike Player of All Time (GEBPAT for short) and Editor in Chief of GameSpace.com and MMORPG.com.

4 Comments

  1. Hello. Great review, but that second screenshot you used isn’t actually official. It’s from a mod we are creating for the game that recreates every Sonic 3 & Knuckles stage. You may want to change that screenshot.

    • Wow! Will fix! And keep us posted on the mod! 🙂

      • Will do! You can find the mod on GameBanana, under the name of Tria Amentia.
        The same goes for our YouTube channel and Soundcloud profile.
        If you use Discord, you can join ours through a link on the GameBanana page, and you’ll get to see exclusive screenshots and be notified when we release the mod.

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