This review does not take into account the whole issue with Denuvo and Sega doing shameful things.
Because its clear that the only thing Sega did here was mess up, big time. Nothing more. The devs are great and they did a fantastic job.
Hate Sega, not this game. This game is a little lovely marshmallow. Hug it. Kiss it. Go to prom with it.

This is less a review, and more like a bunch of impressions and opinions putted together. I'll mumble about things and suddenly change topic. So that being said, ahem, lets begin:

The whole game was produced by FANS. And you can clearly see that. And I don't mean the clear references to other games or old characters. You can feel how they genuinely played and love the old Sonic games. Not wanting to spoil here, but they even took note of regular "knowledge" within the Sonic fandom and applied it to the game. For example, there's one boss in Sonic 2 which has an EXTREMELY obvious weak spot. You can hide in an specific part of the level and the boss won't be able to hurt you at all. Now, a similar boss appears in this game. My first thought was "Heh, should I try the good old strategy?". And guess what? They changed that so it makes you feel that they made the same mistake, then BAM, there's an specific attack to that area.

But okey, you are not a Sonic fan. You have never played a sonic game, or maybe you have played a few but don't really care, I don't know. This game is still an awesome retro and a platformer. The art is beautiful. And I mean it. I sometimes simply stop in the middle of a level to appreciate the view, or to check the colors they used in certain parts, etc etc etc. The animations are lovely. Not only are they fluid as heck, but also they are overflowing with personality. You see Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and even the enemies and they feel alive! I remember the first time at the "Ice" zone, Sonic got frozen and I simply stopped playing because the sprite they used for 'Frozen' Sonic was fantastic! And then I let Tails get frozen too, just to watch his sprite. You know they have made a good job when you consciously stop playing the game just to check this little things. And there are dozen and dozen of other examples. From the first zone to the last one, there's always something worth checking out.

Okay, but you are here to play, not to see, right??? The level desing is glorious. Once again, like in old Sonic games, there isn't just one path. No more "Press forward and you win". There are tons of alternative routes. I guarantee that if we both play one zone, we will use different paths. And that's great because now you aren't just running throw the level. You are also exploring it. If you miss a jump or accidentally take a different route, then you must better be paying attention because its a completely different world.
And of course, if you are a hardcore Sonic fan and have played the classic games tons of times, you will probably notice that some parts are similar to old levels. For example, there are parts in Stardust Speedway Act I that resembles Marbel Garden from Sonic 3. Or some parts in Titanic Monarch that resembles Scrap Brain Zone from Sonic 1, and so on and so forth.

Something I like about Mania is that it presents a challenge. Sure, its no Dark Souls or the likes, but as a Sonic veteran, I found myself almost running out of lifes by the endgame. That's something cool. The game won't just sit down and expect you to beat every level in two minutes with over two hundred rings. Sure, you can do that once you get the hand of it. But until then the game will fight back. Power ups are harder to find, so once you get a shield, you better make it count.

The new boss fights are cool. I mean, I like the fact that they tried doing new stuff, rather than just making an enemy and making you jump-and-hit. For example, there's a boss which you can't damage by yourself, you have to throw it against some spikes. And if you miss the attack, chances are you will be the one taking damage from those spikes. Believe it or not, it took me some time to realize this. They aren't hard bosses, but they force you to retreat and think a bit about how to adapt your strategy.

So yeah, I don't know. The game's great. I love it. The only reason why I've only played 10 hours since yesterday its because I have stupid social and academic obligations. The art is great, the music rocks, the gameplay is cool. There are a bunch of unlockables and the likes. Mini games to get the Chaos Emeralds or Medals (they unlock stuff) are funny and they don't feel repetitive. This game deserves love!

10/10, Game of the Year, Game of the Decade, Goat of All Time.

This review does not take into account the whole issue with Denuvo and Sega doing shameful things. Because its clear that the only thing Sega did here was mess up, big time. Nothing more. The devs are great and they did a fantastic job. Hate Sega, not this game. This game is a little lovely marshmallow. Hug it. Kiss it. Go to prom with it. This is less a review, and more like a bunch of impressions and opinions putted together. I'll mumble about things and suddenly change topic. So that being said, ahem, lets begin: The whole game was produced by FANS. And you can clearly see that. And I don't mean the clear references to other games or old characters. You can feel how they genuinely played and love the old Sonic games. Not wanting to spoil here, but they even took note of regular "knowledge" within the Sonic fandom and applied it to the game. For example, there's one boss in Sonic 2 which has an EXTREMELY obvious weak spot. You can hide in an specific part of the level and the boss won't be able to hurt you at all. Now, a similar boss appears in this game. My first thought was "Heh, should I try the good old strategy?". And guess what? They changed that so it makes you feel that they made the same mistake, then BAM, there's an specific attack to that area. But okey, you are not a Sonic fan. You have never played a sonic game, or maybe you have played a few but don't really care, I don't know. This game is still an awesome retro and a platformer. The art is beautiful. And I mean it. I sometimes simply stop in the middle of a level to appreciate the view, or to check the colors they used in certain parts, etc etc etc. The animations are lovely. Not only are they fluid as heck, but also they are overflowing with personality. You see Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and even the enemies and they feel alive! I remember the first time at the "Ice" zone, Sonic got frozen and I simply stopped playing because the sprite they used for 'Frozen' Sonic was fantastic! And then I let Tails get frozen too, just to watch his sprite. You know they have made a good job when you consciously stop playing the game just to check this little things. And there are dozen and dozen of other examples. From the first zone to the last one, there's always something worth checking out. Okay, but you are here to play, not to see, right??? The level desing is glorious. Once again, like in old Sonic games, there isn't just one path. No more "Press forward and you win". There are tons of alternative routes. I guarantee that if we both play one zone, we will use different paths. And that's great because now you aren't just running throw the level. You are also exploring it. If you miss a jump or accidentally take a different route, then you must better be paying attention because its a completely different world. And of course, if you are a hardcore Sonic fan and have played the classic games tons of times, you will probably notice that some parts are similar to old levels. For example, there are parts in Stardust Speedway Act I that resembles Marbel Garden from Sonic 3. Or some parts in Titanic Monarch that resembles Scrap Brain Zone from Sonic 1, and so on and so forth. Something I like about Mania is that it presents a challenge. Sure, its no Dark Souls or the likes, but as a Sonic veteran, I found myself almost running out of lifes by the endgame. That's something cool. The game won't just sit down and expect you to beat every level in two minutes with over two hundred rings. Sure, you can do that once you get the hand of it. But until then the game will fight back. Power ups are harder to find, so once you get a shield, you better make it count. The new boss fights are cool. I mean, I like the fact that they tried doing new stuff, rather than just making an enemy and making you jump-and-hit. For example, there's a boss which you can't damage by yourself, you have to throw it against some spikes. And if you miss the attack, chances are you will be the one taking damage from those spikes. Believe it or not, it took me some time to realize this. They aren't hard bosses, but they force you to retreat and think a bit about how to adapt your strategy. So yeah, I don't know. The game's great. I love it. The only reason why I've only played 10 hours since yesterday its because I have stupid social and academic obligations. The art is great, the music rocks, the gameplay is cool. There are a bunch of unlockables and the likes. Mini games to get the Chaos Emeralds or Medals (they unlock stuff) are funny and they don't feel repetitive. This game deserves love! 10/10, Game of the Year, Game of the Decade, Goat of All Time.