🔞 ADULT: Id/voidflakes/recommended/ - Uncensored 2025

NOTE: I most certainly WILL change this review to be positive, but ONLY if Sega come to their senses.

This is absolutely, without a doubt, definitively the very best Sonic game to come out in TWENTY ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ YEARS. Why it took this long, and for a bunch of fans to get together (NOT Sega themselves) and bring Sonic back to his original and top form, is anybody's guess. The quality and attention to detail is simply astounding. I'm honestly gutted to have to give this a negative review, because the game itself is absolutely fantastic. The developers have put so much time and effort into making this the perfect experience, and it has come so, SO close, only to be ruined by the disgusting behaviour & greed of Sega.

Incidentally, this Sonic game is fan-made and NOT developed by Sega, only PUBLISHED by them. Understand that it is ENTIRELY because of Sega that I give this game a Negative review. I have nothing but positivity and love for the developers, and refuse to join the "get a refund" crowd because I want to support them. I will, however, still download a DRM-free copy of the game when available. Also, because I want Sega to stick their failed Anti-Consumer-- uhh sorry, "Anti-Piracy" - policy up their arse. I paid for the game, I should damn well be able to play it without issues resulting from bad 3rd-party software.

POSITIVES

Almost everything simply feels 'right'. The physics, the acceleration, pumping halfpipes, the bouncing and pinballing off objects, character and badnik movement... It's all perfectly on point. It feels natural and fitting alongside the original 16-bit games, making everything smoother, easier on the eyes, with more colour shading and far less jagged lines, which all work together to make the game look new and fresh, while maintaining it's true faithfulness to the original games. Level effects and environmental interactions are FANTASTIC - things like smashing glass, and one thing I'll only mention as "get a fire shield in later levels!" ;)

GURTA GHU FUHRRRST!!!! You can get some SERIOUS speed going, and finally the screen can keep up with Sonic! No more having to memorize the entire zones' layout in order to complete it without ever seeing Sonic on-screen. Which was kind of a big thrill being able to go *that* fast, but it wasn't always the most helpful :p

No more quickly switching controllers if you need Tails to fly you around - you can gain minor control over him using your Player 1 pad!!! :D He doesn't seem as capable of carrying you around in Mania as he did in S3&K, and controller-swapping back in the day seemed to give better/more precise control over the flight model.. But maybe that's just me. The main problem I have with it is having to press Down+Jump to release, instead of simply jumping. It's less accurate and requires fat-thumbing the D-pad if you want to jump directionally.. Anyway, being able to use Tails as an air taxi is and has always been a very awesome thing!

The bosses are interesting and provide a nice mix-up to the gameplay, and it's especially fun to have two "running/racing" bosses. Many of them combine the appearance and/or actions of previous bosses with new ideas, a couple of which are hilariously funny to play against! CATERKILLER!!!!! xD I think it's a pity the Stardust Speedway boss isn't more similar to the Sonic CD version, but the 'multiple stage boss fight' thing is brilliant.

Experiencing the thrill of speeding through a huge underwater section and JUST breaking the surface as your Docky-Docky counter reaches zero!!! Holy crap, I made it! xD

NEGATIVES

So, why the hell am I giving it a Negative review? Let me make that abundantly clear with just one word: DENUVO. We accept that we're already in DRM Hell when buying games on Steam, and there is one reason and ONE REASON ONLY why we accept this: Steam DOES NOT NEGATIVELY AFFECT GAMEPLAY. Many people, like myself, begrudgingly accept that we're pretty much forced to use Steam these days if we ever want to play a new release, but given the choice would much prefer all our games to be Standalone without other parties pouring custard on your roast beef dinner.

And if it wasn't bad enough to add an unnecessary component to a game that doesn't need it, Denuvo comes with it's own set of problems, most notably the severe input lag and occasionally even total disregard of button presses. On the Blue Spheres stage, I have literally ran in a straight line while repeatedly pushing, releasing, then again pushing the Left button, and nothing has happened (it's not the pad, it works perfectly on every other game)... Just ran 8 squares straight into a red sphere... LOL. This means that "sailing the red sea" with timed jumps is practically impossible, while it could be done fairly easily on S3&K. The input lag isn't usually as noticeable during general gameplay (at some points it is, like quick-jumping multiple obstacles), but in the Blue Spheres and UFO special stages it is EXTREMELY apparent - especially when you have to jump in order to make that tight corner, but instead end up powersliding off the map due to the jump not registering.

Now onto issues with the game itself - these are mostly little ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ rather than game-breaking, launch-the-pad-across-the-room problems... Things that could have been done differently but aren't seriously detrimental to gameplay:

Some of the level designs are a little questionable, particularly in the middle-late stages where you spend most of the time just watching Sonic roll around and not really having much, if any, control. There are lots of points-of-no-return which is disappointing as Mania is supposed to encourage greater exploration, but hardwalling off earlier parts of levels severely limits this.

Hitboxes are weird on a lot of things. I have clearly stood *next* to a rising/falling platform, and been insta-crushed by it. A few of the badniks seem a bit funny as well, either destroying them without a proper collision or surviving when they've obviously been hit. The Rollers and the Dangos ("Pill Bug", the green woodlouse things) seem to be a bit funky when you're both balled up and bouncing into each other.

Some of the bosses are far too easy to beat by simply taking a hit then smashing them 4 times whilst trying to grab one of your dropped rings, then repeating. Some don't seem to have a viable attack pattern to defeat them without getting hit yourself, while others are so vulnerable that you barely have to do anything to beat them.

The fact that they added in different unlockable move sets from previous Sonic games is awesome - things like Sonic CD's super peel-out and Sonic 3's insta-shield. So why is this a bad thing? Well first, you can ONLY use them if you choose the 'No Save' game file, you cannot use them on new saved games OR cleared saved games. Second, there is no move set that integrates everything into a single play-through. Why shouldn't Sonic have access to the insta-shield while also being able to use the peel-out? This IS a Sonic game after all, and it's not like you can use any of those moves in 2-player Versus or Time Attack, so why CAN'T we use all those moves, and/or use them in saved games?!


Some of the negative issues I have mentioned could potentially change/be fixed in the future as updates start coming out, particularly the previous paragraph. As far as the game itself is concerned, the Positives outweigh the Negatives BY FAR. I reiterate that the developers have done a FANTASTIC job and I FULLY support them.
However, I do NOT support Sega's decision to add intrusive 3rd-party software to the game. Moreso, they should feel ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES for delaying the game by an entire fortnight to add this ♥♥♥♥ that NOBODY wanted or asked for. Sega can go ♥♥♥♥ themselves with a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ big dildo-shaped stick. I hope they get splinters, too. If, IF they finally decide to remove the DRM from this title, I will be more than happy to alter this review to be more positive.

NOTE: I most certainly WILL change this review to be positive, but ONLY if Sega come to their senses. This is absolutely, without a doubt, definitively the very best Sonic game to come out in TWENTY GODDAMN YEARS. Why it took this long, and for a bunch of fans to get together (NOT Sega themselves) and bring Sonic back to his original and top form, is anybody's guess. The quality and attention to detail is simply astounding. I'm honestly gutted to have to give this a negative review, because the game itself is absolutely fantastic. The developers have put so much time and effort into making this the perfect experience, and it has come so, SO close, only to be ruined by the disgusting behaviour & greed of Sega. Incidentally, this Sonic game is fan-made and NOT developed by Sega, only PUBLISHED by them. Understand that it is ENTIRELY because of Sega that I give this game a Negative review. I have nothing but positivity and love for the developers, and refuse to join the "get a refund" crowd because I want to support them. I will, however, still download a DRM-free copy of the game when available. Also, because I want Sega to stick their failed Anti-Consumer-- uhh sorry, "Anti-Piracy" - policy up their arse. I paid for the game, I should damn well be able to play it without issues resulting from bad 3rd-party software. POSITIVES Almost everything simply feels 'right'. The physics, the acceleration, pumping halfpipes, the bouncing and pinballing off objects, character and badnik movement... It's all perfectly on point. It feels natural and fitting alongside the original 16-bit games, making everything smoother, easier on the eyes, with more colour shading and far less jagged lines, which all work together to make the game look new and fresh, while maintaining it's true faithfulness to the original games. Level effects and environmental interactions are FANTASTIC - things like smashing glass, and one thing I'll only mention as "get a fire shield in later levels!" ;) GURTA GHU FUHRRRST!!!! You can get some SERIOUS speed going, and finally the screen can keep up with Sonic! No more having to memorize the entire zones' layout in order to complete it without ever seeing Sonic on-screen. Which was kind of a big thrill being able to go *that* fast, but it wasn't always the most helpful :p No more quickly switching controllers if you need Tails to fly you around - you can gain minor control over him using your Player 1 pad!!! :D He doesn't seem as capable of carrying you around in Mania as he did in S3&K, and controller-swapping back in the day seemed to give better/more precise control over the flight model.. But maybe that's just me. The main problem I have with it is having to press Down+Jump to release, instead of simply jumping. It's less accurate and requires fat-thumbing the D-pad if you want to jump directionally.. Anyway, being able to use Tails as an air taxi is and has always been a very awesome thing! The bosses are interesting and provide a nice mix-up to the gameplay, and it's especially fun to have two "running/racing" bosses. Many of them combine the appearance and/or actions of previous bosses with new ideas, a couple of which are hilariously funny to play against! CATERKILLER!!!!! xD I think it's a pity the Stardust Speedway boss isn't more similar to the Sonic CD version, but the 'multiple stage boss fight' thing is brilliant. Experiencing the thrill of speeding through a huge underwater section and JUST breaking the surface as your Docky-Docky counter reaches zero!!! Holy crap, I made it! xD NEGATIVES So, why the hell am I giving it a Negative review? Let me make that abundantly clear with just one word: DENUVO. We accept that we're already in DRM Hell when buying games on Steam, and there is one reason and ONE REASON ONLY why we accept this: Steam DOES NOT NEGATIVELY AFFECT GAMEPLAY. Many people, like myself, begrudgingly accept that we're pretty much forced to use Steam these days if we ever want to play a new release, but given the choice would much prefer all our games to be Standalone without other parties pouring custard on your roast beef dinner. And if it wasn't bad enough to add an unnecessary component to a game that doesn't need it, Denuvo comes with it's own set of problems, most notably the severe input lag and occasionally even total disregard of button presses. On the Blue Spheres stage, I have literally ran in a straight line while repeatedly pushing, releasing, then again pushing the Left button, and nothing has happened (it's not the pad, it works perfectly on every other game)... Just ran 8 squares straight into a red sphere... LOL. This means that "sailing the red sea" with timed jumps is practically impossible, while it could be done fairly easily on S3&K. The input lag isn't usually as noticeable during general gameplay (at some points it is, like quick-jumping multiple obstacles), but in the Blue Spheres and UFO special stages it is EXTREMELY apparent - especially when you have to jump in order to make that tight corner, but instead end up powersliding off the map due to the jump not registering. Now onto issues with the game itself - these are mostly little niggles rather than game-breaking, launch-the-pad-across-the-room problems... Things that could have been done differently but aren't seriously detrimental to gameplay: Some of the level designs are a little questionable, particularly in the middle-late stages where you spend most of the time just watching Sonic roll around and not really having much, if any, control. There are lots of points-of-no-return which is disappointing as Mania is supposed to encourage greater exploration, but hardwalling off earlier parts of levels severely limits this. Hitboxes are weird on a lot of things. I have clearly stood *next* to a rising/falling platform, and been insta-crushed by it. A few of the badniks seem a bit funny as well, either destroying them without a proper collision or surviving when they've obviously been hit. The Rollers and the Dangos ("Pill Bug", the green woodlouse things) seem to be a bit funky when you're both balled up and bouncing into each other. Some of the bosses are far too easy to beat by simply taking a hit then smashing them 4 times whilst trying to grab one of your dropped rings, then repeating. Some don't seem to have a viable attack pattern to defeat them without getting hit yourself, while others are so vulnerable that you barely have to do anything to beat them. The fact that they added in different unlockable move sets from previous Sonic games is awesome - things like Sonic CD's super peel-out and Sonic 3's insta-shield. So why is this a bad thing? Well first, you can ONLY use them if you choose the 'No Save' game file, you cannot use them on new saved games OR cleared saved games. Second, there is no move set that integrates everything into a single play-through. Why shouldn't Sonic have access to the insta-shield while also being able to use the peel-out? This IS a Sonic game after all, and it's not like you can use any of those moves in 2-player Versus or Time Attack, so why CAN'T we use all those moves, and/or use them in saved games?! Some of the negative issues I have mentioned could potentially change/be fixed in the future as updates start coming out, particularly the previous paragraph. As far as the game itself is concerned, the Positives outweigh the Negatives BY FAR. I reiterate that the developers have done a FANTASTIC job and I FULLY support them. However, I do NOT support Sega's decision to add intrusive 3rd-party software to the game. Moreso, they should feel FUCKING ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES for delaying the game by an entire fortnight to add this shit that NOBODY wanted or asked for. Sega can go fuck themselves with a fucking big dildo-shaped stick. I hope they get splinters, too. If, IF they finally decide to remove the DRM from this title, I will be more than happy to alter this review to be more positive.