Nintendo Switch Critic Reviews

It brings more of that great Sonic Mania flavour, remixed in some slightly different ways, but the absence of some new levels stirred in leaves a disappointing taste in the mouth.

While the game balance tweaks are welcome and Ray and Mighty are fun characters to play as, the dearth of new stages and the samey feel of the old levels in Encore mode really put a damper on things, and I’ve really come to dislike the Mania special stages after struggling with a new set of them. Overall, while Sonic Mania Plus is more of a good thing and worth grabbing if you missed the original version, it’s hard not to feel somewhat let down that the encore isn’t nearly as stunning as the first set.

Sonic Mania's Encore pack gets away with having not much to offer because of its almost irresistible price. Super fans will lap this up in an instant, appreciating the addition of two new characters with unique abilities and slightly adjusted zones to put them to use in, but this isn't enough to entice the less hardcore Sonic Mania owner. Completely fresh zones would have really changed that. Guess that's a job for Sonic Mania 2.