Sonic Mania Adventures Episode 4 Now Available For Free

We've been keeping tabs on the Sonic Mania Adventures animated episodes ever since they started coming out a few months ago, providing a little more detail to go alongside Sega's Sonic Mania game, which came out last year. And now the latest episode is here, focusing on a couple of side characters that will be introduced via Sonic Mania Plus next month.

In the episode, which you can see above, Ray the Flying Squirrel goes on a quest. The official episode synopsis reads: "Ray the Flying Squirrel has been looking for his best friend, Mighty the Armadillo, but he can't find him anywhere! As he continues his search, he hears something nearby. Could this finally be Mighty, or is it something far more dangerous?"

It's charmingly hand-animated, featuring some solid animation work and great character designs, so Sonic fans should feel right at home.

With Sonic Mania Plus set to debut over the next few weeks, it probably won't be long until we see another episode, ahem, roll up on us, reintroducing Sonic and company back into the fold.

Here are the features for Sonic Mania Plus, in case you missed our previous report:

Sonic Mania Plus is the definitive retail enhanced version of the original Sonic Mania digital release, presented in pristine collectable packaging. Building off its momentum and critical acclaim as one of the best platform games of 2017, the nostalgic pixel-perfect visuals and fresh gameplay will deliver a classic experience to gamers across the world! See why Sonic Mania was declared as the "Best Sonic game ever!" by Gamespot, and a blazing example of why Sonic the Hedgehog continues to break barriers over the course of 25+ years as one of gaming's most iconic characters of all time!

• A true, classic Sonic experience: Gorgeous pixel graphics featuring a variety of new Zones with iconic favorites from Sonic 1, 2, 3, Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic The Hedgehog CD
• Definitive version: Pristine, high quality HD version to enjoy Sonic and his friends as they face off against Dr Eggman and his new robo-henchmen the Hard Boiled Heavies!
• New characters join the fun with Sonic
• All-new Encore mode
• New and improved features including Competition mode

Sonic Mania Plus releases on July 17 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Nintendo Switch. Those that currently own Sonic Mania can upgrade to the Plus version for just $4.99.