Sonic Mania 2 Could Have Happened, But Sega Went in a Much Worse Direction

When Sonic Mania was released back in 2017, it caused a big commotion. The 2D Sonic the Hedgehog game featured a pixel art style evoking the Sega Genesis era. While there had been many attempts to replicate the quality of those original games in the decades between Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic Mania, there wasn’t anything that quite managed to do so. Developer Christian Whitehead and his team clearly understood what worked in the past, not just from a style perspective, but also in terms of physics. Sonic Mania checked every box for fans, and quickly earned a reputation as one of the best Sonic games ever.

Given the game’s success, it was only natural that Sega decided to make a follow-up. Initially, Whitehead and Evening Star Studio were involved in the planning stages for a Sonic Mania 2. That’s something we’ve known about for years now, but new details have emerged about those plans. Sega did not want to continue using the pixel art style from the original game and Genesis era, which led to Evening Star trying out a 2.5D approach. In a recent post on Bluesky, Whitehead shared images of Evening Star’s concept art, which features a Badnik that was later redesigned for use in Sonic Superstars.

Sonic Superstars Was a Bust

Inevitably, Sega decided that the next 2D Sonic game would not come from Evening Star. There doesn’t seem to be any bad blood between the two companies that would preclude them working together in the future. In fact, some of the team’s ideas were used in Sonic Superstars (Evening Star got a special thanks in the game’s credits). Rather than bringing the Mania team back, development on the new game was handled instead by Sonic Team alongside Arzest. The game marked the return of Sonic’s co-creator Naoto Ohshima to the franchise, so there were reasons for fans to be optimistic about Sonic Superstars ahead of launch.

Unfortunately, Sonic Superstars was largely disappointing. Reviews were generally a lot lower than Sonic Mania, and the game struggled to find an audience. Sega had abandoned the pixel art style of Sonic Mania because the company was worried that the art style wouldn’t be “viable” in the future. However, the new style failed to appeal to anyone. On top of that, the levels were overly long, and many of the new gameplay additions didn’t click with players.

Sonic Superstars wasn’t the worst Sonic game; there are some notable charms to be found, such as the newly added character Trip, and the return of Fang the Hunter. But after seeing these glimpses of Evening Star’s proposal, it’s hard not to feel some disappointment over what we were given instead.

The Future of Sonic

Unfortunately, the future of 2D Sonic games is very much in question following the release of Sonic Superstars. Sega clearly wants 2D and 3D Sonic games to coexist, in a manner similar to Nintendo’s method with Mario. However, the odds of a direct sequel to Sonic Superstars seem slim following the game’s poor performance. That means Sega will have to go back to the drawing board and find something that can appeal to both fans of the original era, as well as newcomers. Sega can hardly be blamed for concerns over pixel art looking outdated to fans that don’t have the same nostalgia for the Genesis games. Clearly the new style isn’t bringing in new fans either, though.

In 2026, Sega will be celebrating the 35th anniversary of the original Sonic the Hedgehog game, which was released on the Genesis back in 1991. At this time, we don’t know how the company will celebrate the occasion, but there are clearly some kind of plans in place; a logo that will appear on merchandise was spotted earlier this year. Chances are, we’ll have at least one new Sonic game to look forward to, but Sega is keeping a tight lid on its plans for the time being. It’s more likely that we’ll see a new 3D follow-up to Sonic Frontiers, as opposed to another 2D game. There’s really no way of knowing for sure, but hopefully Sega can deliver something that captures the same magic that Sonic Mania once did.

Read Next

Sonic the Hedgehog Boss Answers a Question Fans Have Been Asking Since the ’90s

The history of gaming is filled with “what if” scenarios. We often learn about games that were pitched and didn’t happen, and decisions publishers nearly made before going in a different direction. Sometimes those decisions turn out to be for the best, but that’s not always the case. There have been plenty of times that publishers like Sega thought they knew the right direction to choose, and gamers ended up let down as a result. Sonic Mania is a perfect example of how this can often happen, even with a critical and commercially successful game.

Are you disappointed that we didn’t get a real follow-up to Sonic Mania? How did you feel about Sonic Superstars? Share your thoughts with me down in the comments section!