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What one hand giveth the other taketh away.
Sega has revealed at the SXSW event that upcoming 2D platformer Sonic Mania has been delayed from the spring until the summer. Fans of the series may also be pleased to know that the return of Flying Battery Zone, of Sonic 3 fame, has also been confirmed for the title.
The game is being developed by PagodaWest Games with the help of Christian Whitehead and Simon Thomley, the indie development duo who remastered the original Sonic games for mobile devices, in collaboration with Sega. It’s due out on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.
However, the game previously going under the mysterious guise of ‘Project Sonic 2017′ now has an official name – Sonic Forces. While Mania will deliver a retro 2D flavour, Forces will try once again to prove that Sonic can work in three dimensions.
It will apparently star both a sleeker, modern take on the Sonic character as well as a more classic rotund version. It has been confirmed for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Official gameplay footage of the title is due out today but in the interim there is a some sketchy off-screen footage to enjoy that gives you a bit of a flavour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eceg9e5sJbE
In June of last year the team now in charge of Sonic told MCV that it is determined to rectify past mistakes. Sonic games have suffered from inconsistent quality recently, particularly with 2014’s Boom.
Sega is really – as of this last year – putting a huge emphasis on quality,” said Chief brand officer Ivo Gerscovich.
One of the things about Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice is that we held the title for a year, which is not something Sega has traditionally done, but this focus on quality is really about trying to take Sonic back to where it used to be.”
