Ever since Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sega has been trying to give Sonic’s friend a role. Sometimes these work out, where as other times they don’t, but they always make for an interesting experience. Sonic Mania’s Encore DLC is built on the idea of offering a new way to experience existing content. While this probably doesn’t sound that exciting, there is more to it than meets the eye.
With the exception of bonus levels, Sonic Mania’s encore more is the same game with a single new mechanic, swappable characters. You can run through it with Sonic, use Miles to fly, climb with Knuckles, use Mighty to ground pound and Ray glides to victory. This allows players to experience different routes or at least change their tactics. What works for Sonic isn’t going to work for Mighty and so forth.
Since the DLC is largely about adding options, enjoyment will hinge on whether or not you want to change up your play style and/or see create interesting runs. For instance, effective use of Ray’s glide makes for an exciting run, with Mighty offering more aggressive plays, assuming you know what you’re doing.
The other major change is encore mode’s mini-game. Instead of having the change every ball challenge, players need to play pinball. It isn’t quite Spinball but it’s close enough to make fans smile. It also allows players to gain more partners through a claw machine side game. That will take some getting use to but once you figure out how to use it there is plenty of things you can unlock to aid you on your journey.
Sonic Mania’s Encore DLC might not add much but it adds a fair amount of fun for a small price. Sure, some people might not remember Mighty/Ray or care to play slightly different versions of the same game but those interested will likely have a lot of fun. Add it with a new mini-game and it is a solid experience for an amazing price.