Sonic Origins: Release Date, Trailer, Gameplay, And More
The Sonic Origins release date will allow fans of the series to travel back in time to the 1990s. This latest entry in the Sonic the Hedgehog series will bring back some of the earliest Sonic titles, allowing players to experience them in a variety of brand-new ways. Here’s everything we currently know about Sonic Origins, including its release date, trailer, gameplay, and more.
Sonic Origins: Release Date
The Sonic Origins release date has been confirmed to be June 23, 2022. This day is notably considered to be Sonic’s birthday, as it is the day Sonic the Hedgehog launched on the Sega Genesis in 1991. Once the Sonic Origins release date comes, fans of the series will get to revisit four of the original Sonic games in this content-filled video game collection.
Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka previously confirmed that both Sonic Origins and Sonic Colours: Ultimate were developed as a result of the new wave of Sonic fans created by the Sonic the Hedgehog movie. To that end, Iizuka said that the Sonic Team is considering ways to bring more of the older Sonic titles to current-generation hardware.
Sonic Origins: Trailer
Sonic Origins was first announced through a brief reveal trailer during Sonic Central in May 2021, a video presentation that included multiple announcements related to the Sonic the Hedgehog series. This trailer confirmed which games would be included in the compilation and that there would be "added content and features." The trailer concluded by saying that more information would come later in the year.
While more information didn’t come in 2021, fans finally got to see another Sonic Origins trailer in April 2022. This trailer honed in on some of the new gameplay features in Sonic Origins, highlighting that it will be more than a mere series of re-releases.
Sonic Origins: Gameplay
Click to enlargeSonic Origins will include complete versions of the first four games in the main Sonic the Hedgehog franchise: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. Those games will feature returning gameplay elements in Sonic Origins, including fast-paced side scrolling action where characters defeat enemies and collect rings.
In classic mode, players will be able to experience these games just as they existed on the original Sega Genesis and Sega CD. Conversely, players will be able to try out remastered versions of the games without a finite number of lives in anniversary mode. As a result, fans will be able to replay the older Sonic games in multiple different ways after the Sonic Origins release date.
There is also a great deal of additional content that has been added to these games in Sonic Origins. Players can take down a series of bosses in the order they appear in the main game by playing the boss rush mode. In mirror mode, players can try their hands at completing a level that has been flipped backwards. Then, players can attempt to complete certain objectives before finishing a level in the Sonic Origin’s challenge mode.
In Sonic Origins, fans will be able to play as Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles at any point in any of the four games. This differs from the original versions of the games, where Sonic was the principal playable character while Tails and Knuckles were restricted to certain points.
Sonic Origins: Story
Sonic Origins will also feature a story mode that connects all four games through the addition of new animated cutscenes. By playing all four games in a row, players may be able to uncover more details about the plot of the early Sonic the Hedgehog games.
Notably, the Sonic Origins challenge mode places Sonic CD as the second game in the timeline, even though it was the third game to be released. As players watch Sonic and his friends chase after Dr. Robotnik and Metal Sonic to try to save the Chaos Emeralds, they may learn previously unknown story elements about the Sonic series.
Sonic Origins: Platforms
Click to enlargeFollowing the Sonic Origins release date, Sonic and his friends will roll onto every major platform in this digital-exclusive release. Fans can celebrate Sonic’s birthday in June by picking up this game on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and S, Epic Games Store, or Steam.
In addition, numerous different versions of Sonic Origins will launch all at once, with some providing an array of benefits that include instantly unlocked modes, additional missions, and extra music from other Sonic games. The full list of available versions and content for Sonic Origins is as follows:
- Standard Edition
- Digital Deluxe Edition
- Start Dash Pack (free downloadable content included with pre-orders of the above two versions)
- Premium Fun Pack
- Classical Music Pack
Fans can purchase the Standard Edition of Sonic Origins for $39.99, or the Digital Deluxe Edition for $44.99. Likewise, players will have the chance to pick and choose any of the additional features they want by purchasing any of the extra DLC packs.