Sonic Mania Hits 90% Off on Steam, Dropping to About $1.99 in the 35th Anniversary Sale

Sonic Mania, widely called the best Sonic game in years, just dropped to about $1.99 on Steam. That is 90% off, and it is the cheapest this game has been in a long time.

Sonic Mania is a 2D Sonic platformer built by longtime fans, not by a big internal studio. The team is Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, and PagodaWest Games, with SEGA publishing. It came out in August 2017 as a love letter to the classic Genesis games. You run, spin, and loop through fast 2D stages as Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles. Half the zones are remixed versions of old classics like Green Hill and Chemical Plant, rebuilt with new layouts and second acts. The other half are brand new.

Why do people love it? Because it nails the feel of old Sonic and then adds smart new ideas. The Drop Dash lets you charge a spin the instant you land, so you keep your speed instead of stopping dead. The pixel art and the soundtrack are genuinely great. It is tight, fast, and short enough to replay. After years of rough 3D Sonic games, this one felt like the series finally remembered what made it fun.

The reviews back that up. Sonic Mania sits at 86 on Metacritic for PS4 and Switch, 84 on PC, with an 87 on OpenCritic. At launch it became the highest-rated new Sonic game in about 15 years. That is not hype. That is the actual critical record.

On price: the sale is the real story here. The base game is normally $19.99, and right now it is roughly $1.99 on Steam at 90% off. The exact number floats a little by region and reseller (UK shoppers have seen around £1.49), but on the US Steam store you are looking at about two dollars. It runs through the Sonic 35th Anniversary sale and is set to end in early August, so this is a clock, not a permanent price. Buy it on Steam directly to be safe.

One thing to know before you click: there are two versions. The base Sonic Mania, and Sonic Mania Plus, which folds in the Encore DLC. Encore adds two playable characters (Mighty and Ray), a remixed Encore Mode, and a four-player competition mode. The Encore DLC is a cheap add-on if you want more after the base game. For most people, grabbing the base game on sale first is the move. You can always add Encore later.

Is it worth two bucks? Yes, easily. Even at full price most reviewers said yes. At 90% off it is close to a no-brainer for anyone who likes platformers or grew up on Genesis Sonic.

Why it's blowing up right now

Let's be honest about the cause: this is mostly a sale. The 90% Steam discount, tied to Sonic's 35th anniversary franchise sale, dropped the price to about $1.99 and pulled in a wave of new buyers and search traffic. There is some background nostalgia too, since the fan team behind Mania has stayed beloved and people still hold this up as the high point of modern Sonic. But the trigger is the price. If you have been meaning to try it, the window closes in early August, so the thing to watch is the sale clock, not a new announcement.