For the 25th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega has announced Sonic Mania, a new 2D platform game that will bring the Blue Blur back to his retro gaming roots with new and reimagined levels from the classic video game.
Developed by Christian Whitehead and Simon Thomley for Sega of America in collaboration with PagodaWest Games, Sonic Mania will expand the 2D core gameplay from Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles with advanced graphics and sound, according to Engadget. The new game will also feature new zones, acts, a new drop-dash move, and bosses with three playable characters: Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles.
The Sonic Team has also announced “Project Sonic 2017,” a new untitled game that’s currently being developed for release later next year. Sega released a debut teaser trailer with the tagline, “When things look their darkest, even heroes need a helping hand.”
“Sonic Mania was born out of our fans’ love of the classic Sonic 2D platform games,” Takashi Iizuka, Sonic Team’s head, said in a press release. “This type of collaboration is a first for Sega and we hope everyone will be both surprised and delighted by this title. Sonic Mania has been a passion project for the entire team and we look forward to sharing more details about it later this year.”
Sonic Mania will be released in spring 2017, while “Project Sonic 2017” is scheduled to hit stores during the 2017 holiday season. Both games will be playable for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo’s new NX console, and PC.