The four levels that are brand new (Studiopolis, Press Garden, Mirage Saloon, and Titanic Monarch) are some of the best designed Sonic levels ever. We saw something similar in Sonic Generations, so the impact was lessened. If I had one small caveat to recommending Sonic Mania, it's that the levels are still mostly modern reinterpretations of the classic levels. This is on top of a game that's already fantastic fun and well worth checking out if you somehow haven't yet. This works so well with the level design in the brand new "Encore" mode, which changes up some of the level designs and revamps how lives work. Ray the Flying Squirrel now glides like a fat plumber with a yellow cape, and Mighty the Armadillo drills through rock, while his armour protects him from spikes.
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It's no secret that Sonic has too many friends, but it's the ones that came with Sonic Mania Plus that really brightened my day. Its creator, Christian Whitehead, went on to create the definitive version of Sonic CD, but it's Sonic Mania that got Sega's nod, with the Plus add-on reintroducing some old friends.
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But one of the more popular mods came in the form of Sonic Megamix, which introduced new characters and moves. Robotnik is capturing animals, to another where you go fishing.
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Decades after Sonic the Hedgehog came to PC, the modding scene had shown some incredible creativity, from a version of Sonic 1 where Dr. With Sonic Mania, a modder was put in charge of creating a new Sonic game with official backing. One a day, every day, perhaps for all time. Have You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives.