Ten seconds into playing Sonic Mania

Loading

This time around, though, levels from the original Sonic, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD, and Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles have been slightly remixed (you might find elements from Sonic 3 in the original Green Hill Zone, for example) but still retain their classic Sonic flavor.But the real magic of Sonic Mania comes in the new levels done in the old school style. We played a new zone called Studiopolis set in a TV station. We jumped off of classic Sonic bumpers and springs, but also warped through TV satellite dishes, fought off enemies shooting film strips, and even crashed through gigantic popcorn machines, all at break-neck speed in classic Sonic fashion.Sonic Mania seems to really understand what makes Sonic fun. Platforming felt just right and reminded me why I used to like playing the series on Genesis in the first place, and I’m tremendously excited to see what Sonic Team and the group of smaller teams they’re working with can come up with for the new areas.We only saw a couple levels for now, but Sonic Mania is shaping up to be the return to form that I’ve been hoping for from 2D Sonic, in a way that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 never quite provided. Hopefully when Sonic Mania arrives next year, it will be the 25th anniversary present our blue hedgehog friend deserves.Sonic Mania will come to PS4, Xbox One, and PC in 2017.

Andrew is IGN’s executive editor of news and would probably run into a glass wall if he tried to run through a TV station. You can find him rambling about Persona and cute animals on Twitter