Choose Sonic Mania
Choose Sonic Mania if you want a Casual game with Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Steam Leaderboards. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 13,860 Steam reviews back the pick.
Sonic Mania vs Polyroll
Sonic Mania and Polyroll both land in Action, Adventure on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Action, Adventure on Steam. Sonic Mania (2017) is 2 years older than Polyroll (2019). Polyroll scores higher on Steam reviews (95.1% positive) than Sonic Mania (93.4% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Polyroll
Choose Polyroll if you want an Indie experience. On Steam, it's currently about 70% cheaper on the Steam Store. Polyroll launched in 2019.
Both Sonic Mania and Polyroll sit in Action and Adventure on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (93.4% vs 95.1% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Sonic Mania |  Polyroll | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2017 | 2019 |
| Genres | Action, Adventure, Casual | Action, Indie, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 19.99 USD | 5.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 93.4% positive (13,860 reviews) | 95.1% positive (61 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op | Single-player only |
| Developers | Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, PagodaWest Games | Spicy Gyro Games, Shiny Dolphin Games LLC |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Adventure on Steam.
- Sonic Mania (2017) is 2 years older than Polyroll (2019).
- Polyroll scores higher on Steam reviews (95.1% positive) than Sonic Mania (93.4% positive).
- Polyroll is currently ~70% cheaper on Steam than Sonic Mania (5.99 USD vs. 19.99 USD).
- Sonic Mania has co-op; Polyroll does not.
- Sonic Mania is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Polyroll has no Deck rating yet.
Sonic Mania vs Polyroll — FAQ
- Should I play Sonic Mania or Polyroll first?
- If you want chronology, Sonic Mania (2017) came out before Polyroll (2019). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Sonic Mania and Polyroll similar?
- They overlap on Action, Adventure on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Does Polyroll have multiplayer like Sonic Mania?
- No. Sonic Mania supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op), while Polyroll is listed as single-player only.
- Does Sonic Mania run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Sonic Mania is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Polyroll doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.