Sonic Mania Plus gets new characters, modes and a July release date

Today, Sega has released more details about the upcoming Sonic Mania Plus, the enhanced version to last years Sonic Mania, including the addition of two new characters. Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel will join the roster, alongside Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. The best news about everything though, is that there is not long to wait, as this latest game will hit Nintendo Switch on July 17

Mighty will allow players to get back to the ground faster, with his Hammer Drop move, but not only will it ground you faster, you can even discover items hidden in trees and even punch holes in special areas.

Ray however, has the ability to glide around with Air Glide. Jumping into the air twice, will see Ray take to the skies and allow you to glide him around, aim down and then pull back up to keep the glide going.

If that were not enough, the game will also offer some new modes, including Encore, which takes classic stages that you know and changes them up with some gimmicks and colour swaps, but the best part is that at set times, you can swap between characters at will.

Finally, the game will also add a 4 player multiplayer mode, giving you the chance to beat 3 of your friends, the normal game only had 2 player, so double the players, double the fun.

But with all these extras, I can put your mind to ease with the news that if you already own Sonic Mania, you will not have to buy a full copy of Sonic Mania Plus, as the old game will get all the new content as DLC. Exact pricing is not known for Australia yet, but the cost in the US is $5, so converting that should give you a good idea of what you might pay.