Sonic Mania Is Coming To Origin Access Premiere

If you're an Origin Access Premiere subscriber, Sonic Mania is now at your fingertips. EA and Sega have announced a new partnership where some of the latter publisher's games will come to EA's Origin storefront, including Sonic Mania, Two Point Hospital, and Endless Legend.

As with many of the newest games on Origin, Sonic Mania is now free for Origin Access Premiere subscribers, which is the higher tier of EA's subscription program. Two Point Hospital will come to the service later this summer, and Endless Legend will arrive later this year. Both games will be available for Premiere subscribers when they launch.

The Origin Access Basic tier is $5 a month, which comes with access to over 250 games, a 10% discount for the Origin Store, and access to trials for upcoming EA titles. The $15 Origin Access Premier tier includes the same perks, but with access to an even bigger array of games, including newly released EA titles, DLC, and expansions.

Developed by a team of hardcore Sonic fans, Sonic Mania is considered by many to be one of the best games to star the Blue Blur. In GameSpot's Sonic Mania review, our critic Matt Espineli called it a high-water mark for the series, as well as one of the greatest retro revivals of all time.

"For years the Sonic series has chased the legacy of its early games, constantly delivering experiences that either came close or failed to recapture the spirit that made them classics," he wrote. "...Sonic Mania methodically uses its sentimental appeal to great effect, but in the process, it heals the wounds inflicted by its most disappointing predecessors and surpasses the series' best with its smart and interpretive design. An excellent 2D platformer, Sonic Mania goes beyond expectations, managing to be not only a proper evolution of the series' iconic formula, but the best Sonic game ever made.