Sonic Mania Plus is the physical edition of Sonic Mania, a new Sonic game created in the style of the 2D platformer entries we all know and love. In addition to the physical release, Sonic Mania Plus comes with additional content. It includes two new playable characters: Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel. And there’s “Encore Mode” that adds remixed zones. Improvements have been made to the competitive mode. And last but not least, Sonic Mania Plus comes with a bunch of physical goodies including a holographic slip cover, a reversible SEGA Genesis and Mega Drive sleeve, and a 32-page Sonic Mania art book.
To pair with this release that seems to be a love letter to all things retro, a “Sonic Mania Plus Infomercial” was released in the style of old school video game marketing. It’s shot from the first person perspective of a customer looking at two CRTVs, each with a different game on them. To the left is a “generic $60 shooter” and to the right is “Sonic Mania Plus.” The salesman here is trying to convince you to buy the shooter and, in doing so, highlights the flaws. He mentions things like the faceless protagonist, the thousands you can spend on loot boxes, and mocks the fact that the game is merely an update from 6 months ago. The customer of course settles on Sonic Mania Plus citing the fact that “it costs a lot less” as a final selling point. To which the salesman replies “this game looks like it came out in the 90s, don’t you want to play the same generic game as everyone else?”
Sonic Mania Plus released today on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
