Close Menu
  • News
  • Features
  • Summer Game Fest 2025 Coverage
  • Guides
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Gaming News
  • Entertainment News
  • Tech
  • Podcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
X (Twitter) YouTube RSS
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
The OuterhavenThe Outerhaven
  • News
  • SGF 2025
  • Features
  • Guides
    • Elden Ring Nightreign Guides Hub
  • Previews
  • Reviews
    • Video Game Reviews
    • Anime & Animation Reviews
    • Comic Book & Manga Reviews
    • Films & TV Reviews
    • Tech Reviews
    • Tabletop and Card Game Reviews
    • Toy Reviews
  • Gaming
    • PlayStation
    • Nintendo
    • Xbox
    • PC Gaming
    • Retro Gaming
    • Tabletop
    • Virtual Reality
  • Entertainment
    • Anime & Animation
    • Comic Books & Manga
    • Films & TV
    • Original English Light Novels DB
    • OELN DB
    • Culture
    • Books
    • Toys
  • Tech
  • Podcasts
    • A-01 Podcast
    • Nintendo Entertainment Podcast
    • Spectator Mode Podcast
The OuterhavenThe Outerhaven
Home»News»Gaming News»Sonic Mania Review (PS4)

Sonic Mania Review (PS4)

By Clinton Bowman-ChristieAugust 17, 2017

The return of Sonic…. & Knuckles

Since Sonic Mania was announced during E3 2016, the excitement from Sonic fans everywhere has been insane. People have been looking forward to this title as SEGA, Christian Whitehead and Simon Thomley have been unleashing new zones and features, and the excitement kept building and building. Now that the game is available to all, does the dreaded Sonic Cycle take hold, or does Sonic Mania live up to the hype?

Game Name: Sonic Mania
Platform(s): PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Steam
Publisher(s): SEGA
Developer(s): Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, PagodaWest Games, Sonic Team
Release Date: August 15, 2017 (Consoles); August 29, 2017 (Steam)
Price: $19.99 – Standard Edition, $69.99 – Collectors Edition | Amazon

Just want to see the review score? Click here!

Sonic Mania Flying Battery Zone
Seem familiar

Dr. Robotnik is back at it again, and he’s brought some friends…the Hard-Boiled Heavies! Sonic Mania puts you in the role of either Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles “Tails” Prower or Knuckles the Echidna, as you investigate some dimensional energy readings coming out of Angel Island. Sonic Mania takes you across 12 levels, some of which are brand new and some being remixes of other stages, as you try to stop Dr. Robotnik.

The typical Sonic 2D fare appears here, with some additional flair that will certainly please everyone. You race through the stages, bashing badniks and collecting rings and power-ups while avoiding speed traps such as spikes and pitfalls. At the end of every act, there is a boss battle, similar to Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on the Genesis, but that’s just where the similarities begin. Taxman and Stealth do a fantastic job putting elements from classic Sega properties into Sonic Mania, such as the previous 2D Sonic titles, Daytona USA, Puyo Puyo, Club Sega in Akibahara and more. Hell, Fang the Sniper, Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polar Bear appear in one of the stages as a massive throwback.

Something that I personally noticed was that a lot of the remixed stages, aside from being longer and more difficult, are combinations of different stages from the previous Sonic games. One such example is the Chemical Plant Zone, specifically Act 2. In Act 2, there are certain chemicals you can bounce off of. This is similar to the electrified ground panels in Sonic CD‘s Wacky Workbench, which send you flying high. Another Wacky Workbench throwback, the Tesla coils, make their appearance in the Flying Battery Zone, which also has elements from Sonic 2‘s Wing Fortress and Sonic 3 and Knuckles‘ Death Egg Zone. Stardust Speedway has of my favorite mashups, with elements of Sonic 3 and Knuckles’ Marble Garden and Mushroom Hill. Even some of the new stages have these too, with Mirage Saloon having elements of Sky Chase from Sonic 2, and Press Garden hosting elements from Sonic 3‘s Launch Base.

Sonic Mania Death Egg Robo
Welcome Back Death Egg Robo

Aside from the main stages, in typical Sonic the Hedgehog fashion, the special stages make a comeback. Blue Sphere from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 makes a comeback, where you collect all the spheres to clear the stage. Unlike in Sonic 3, clearing these stages nets you bonus 25th-anniversary coins that unlock different secrets that you can use in the No Save option. This slightly irked me when I realized that it was the only way you could play a certain secret mode. The other bonus stage, where you get the Chaos Emeralds, you have to chase the ufo around a track, similar to Sonic the Hedgehog CD. The handling is just as dodgy, and one false move can send you careening into a time up situation.

The boss battles are quite inspiring and nostalgic as well. Of course, things are slightly different, such as Chemical Plant’s Act 2 boss battle being a round of Puyo Puyo (especially since Puyo Puyo Tetris was just released on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in April.)  Stardust Speedway and Oil Ocean’s bosses are familiar, yet different in a good way. Even the battles against the Hard-Boiled Heavies are inspired, yet challengingly enjoyable.

Sonic Mania Mirage Saloon Zone Act 2
Simplistic yet breathtaking

The visuals are breathtaking, to say the least, the backgrounds especially so. Just one look at the background of the Mirage Saloon Zone, and you’ll be taken away by the desert landscape and the insane amount of detail put into it. Even the foreground sprites look beautiful and detailed, akin to the Sonic games of days past. In an added bonus, you can set up the video mode to reflect being broadcast on a CRT television, which is a nice touch.

Replay-wise, you’ll want to come back to these stages multiple times, as even the remixed stages have multiple paths that you can find to access a multitude of secrets. Competition mode will take you and a friend via local multiplayer through various stages in a race to the finish, and time attack mode will help you if you want to speedrun the game (which will definitely happen down the line.) Don’t forget the secrets that are in the game, either. They’ll definitely spice up the game.

Review Disclosure Statement: Sonic Mania was provided to us by SEGA/Sonic Team for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please go review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy for more info.

Affiliate Link Disclosure: One or more of the links above contain affiliate links, which means at no additional cost to you, we may receive a commission should you click through and purchase the item.

Summary

Even though it’s not the Genesis version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 or  Sonic Advance 2, Sonic Mania does a lot of good things right. Christian Whitehead and Simon Thomley put out a beautiful love letter to Sonic fans from the Genesis and Advance eras of Sonic 2D platformers. The nods to all of SEGA’s classic titles, the innovative boss fights, the merging of several classic levels, all of it proves that to capture the pure essence of Sonic the Hedgehog, sometimes it is good to simply go back to the basics…

& Knuckles.

Overall
4.5
playstation 4 sega sonic sonic mania Sonic Mania Review sonic team
Avatar photo
Clinton Bowman-Christie
  • Facebook
  • X (Twitter)

Teacher's Assistant by day, passionate gamer and wrestling fan by night. This describes Clinton to a T. A Brooklyn, New York resident for all of his life, gaming, Power Rangers, football, basketball and wrestling pretty much comprise a lot of his free time.

Related Posts

Mario Kart World Producer Breaks Down Roster Choices

Donkey Kong Bananza Already Topping Amazon Sales Charts

Nintendo Switch 2 Sales In Japan Have Already Eclipsed Certain PlayStation and Xbox Consoles

NetEase Unveils Blood Message, a Cinematic Action-Adventure

Donkey Kong Bananza Gets Multiple Commercials, Demo Playable In Stores

Wait, How Is Metroid Prime 4 Beyond “Out Now?”

Latest Posts

Pre-Ordering Opens for 4 New Boys’ Love Titles from Manga Planet

June 21, 2025

Mario Kart World Producer Breaks Down Roster Choices

June 21, 2025

Donkey Kong Bananza Already Topping Amazon Sales Charts

June 21, 2025

Nintendo Switch 2 Sales In Japan Have Already Eclipsed Certain PlayStation and Xbox Consoles

June 20, 2025

Anime Review: The Beginning After the End

June 20, 2025

NetEase Unveils Blood Message, a Cinematic Action-Adventure

June 20, 2025

Donkey Kong Bananza Gets Multiple Commercials, Demo Playable In Stores

June 20, 2025
About Us • Our Team • Contact Us • Privacy Policy • Review Policy • Ethics Policy 
Work With Us • Reviews on Open Critic • Reviews on CriticDB
Copyright @2025 The Outerhaven Productions

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.