With the release date of Sonic Mania drawing near, it’s no surprise that Sonic fans are currently at an all time high of hype. However, this isn’t only due to the game being a love letter to players who enjoyed the classic Genesis titles, but also because Sonic Team has been extremely smart about the way they’re advertising the game.

It’s no secret to anyone that the Sonic franchise has experienced quite the roller coaster in terms of game quality. Despite this, there’s one thing most people can agree to like in all Sonic games — the music. Since 1991, our ears have been continuously blessed with soundtrack after soundtrack. Sonic Team understands that the music is often at the core of their fans’ hearts, so they’ve been playing their cards wisely with this in mind.Over the past few months, we’ve been receiving occasional teasers for Mania on the Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube channel. However, the devs were aware of the fact that only releasing gameplay would mean an overall lower amount of content. So what did they do? Start releasing OST teasers between gameplay footage.

You may be thinking “Okay, but that’s an insanely simple practice. What’s so amazing about that?” To tell you the truth, it is a really simple practice. But the numbers and fan responses don’t lie. Just by looking at the OST videos for Studiopolis Act 1 or Stardust Speedway Zone Act 1, it’s obvious that these little teasers are doing plenty to keep the hype for Sonic Mania rolling.

The developers feed on our curiosity, knowing full well how excited the community was after the game was first announced. By gradually throwing out these OST reveals, they not only satiate the needs of the fans to see more about the game, but they also ensure us that Mania will be delivering exactly what everyone wants — a well polished and fun classic Sonic adventure. Or at least, that’s the hope.