From the moment thatSonic Maniawas first announced, fans of theSonic the Hedgehogseries were excited to see a return to the 2D platforming of old. As it turns out, the reception toSonic Maniaupon its release has at least come close to matching those expectations, with the game sitting on a rather high rating across the board.
The news was shared by the officialSonic the HedgehogTwitter feed, taking to the social network to share exactly how wellSonic Maniahas been received. At the time of the Twitter post, the new game was sitting on a very impressive Metacritic score of 86, while the user score was even better at a rating of 9.2. All in all, this givesSonic Maniathe hugely impressive place as the highest-ratedSonicgame in a whopping 15 years.
The lastSonicgame to beat a score of 86 was 2002’sSonic Advance, with the Game Boy Advance title getting a rating of 87 overall. It’s easy to see whySonic Maniahas managed to reach such heights, too, with plenty of love for the game’s excellent retro platforming and a clear passion for theSonicgames of old, as shown by theSonic Manialaunch trailer.
This is certainly the reception that Sega had been hoping for withSonic Mania. It’s been a turbulent few years for theSonicfranchise in general, and it was clear thatSonicand Sega needed a successful 2017to try and get the blue hedgehog back on track. ShouldSonic Maniacontinue on this trajectory, and fan support continue for the game, then it’s certainly a strong step in the right direction for Sega.
Of course, there’s still one version of the game still to come, after thePC release ofSonic Maniawas delayeduntil July 28, 2025. However, if the PC launch matches those on home consoles, then it’s likely that the game will end up in a strong position for the foreseeable future.
After that, of course, will be the release ofSonic Forces, the next 3DSonicrelease that is due to hit stores by the end of 2017. Given the praise forSonic Mania, however, it’s likely thatSonic Forcesis going to have to pull something special out of the bag to beat it.
Sonic Maniais out now for PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, and releases on June 28, 2025 for PC.
