Sonic Mania Plus Gives Extra Life to Best Sonic Game in Years

Last year’s Sonic Mania blew the doors off the losing streak Sega’s blue mascot has been on for decades. With the exception of a few middling-to-okay platformers, Sonic has been struggling to find his identity in a world without Sega consoles. However, the fan-led development of Sonic Mania has brought the character back to his roots. A year later, and it’s still one of the best things to ever happen to the series. What’s more, Sega has promised a beefed-up re-release later this month. The re-release, titled Sonic Mania Plus, introduces some new content and will be available digitally and physically.

Sonic Mania Plus: Fresh Content for a Fresh Game

The new Plus version of the game includes some interesting new content. First, the new Encore game mode remixes a number of the world from the base game. These remixes range from feeling like entirely new levels to some minor tweaks. For the most part, the minor changes are excuses to show off the powers of the new characters. Mighty the Armadillo and Jay the Flying Squirrel join the cast, each bringing their own special abilities. Mighty can ground-pound to damage enemies or open hidden passages. Jay can fly at high speeds, but is hard to control, much like the cape from Super Mario Bros 3. Both new characters are playable in the base game as well as Encore mode!

Pricing and Release

Sonic Mania Plus will be launching on July 17^th in two forms: one physical, and the other digital. The physical copy will be $30 and comes with an art book. This is great for gamers who prefer to have hard-copies of their games, ensuring they aren’t tied to servers or updates to be playable. For those who already own a digital copy of the original Mania, though, the update is only $5. That brings the total to $25 overall for those who just want the digital copy of the game.

In either event, this is a great deal. If you haven’t tried the game yet, we recommend the physical copy. The gorgeous box art and art book, coupled with the bonus of owning the game, are worth five more bucks. Alternatively, if you own the game already, spending five dollars to get the new characters and remixed single-player is a no-brainer. Either way, you have to check out this new release!