Sonic Origins is a collection of retro platformers developed and published by Sega. The game contains four classic Sonic the Hedgehog games in a single package, with a few extra modes and some visual improvements thrown in, for what is a perfectly serviceable collection for Sonic fans.

Sonic Origins contains remastered versions of Sonic the HedgehogSonic the Hedgehog 2Sonic CD, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. These can be played in widescreen in the Anniversary Mode or in their original 4:3 in the Classic Mode. One notable change is that some of the songs in Sonic the Hedgehog had to be altered (and not because Michael Jackson recorded them, as initially reported), but the games are otherwise faithful remasters of the original titles, with the inclusion of the additional content from the Headcannon releases, including the Hidden Palace Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

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It's possible to enjoy each game in the Sonic Origins collection on its own, but one of the big additions in the came is an Anniversary Mode, which creates a story mode out of all of the Sonic games, with some cute animated cutscenes added as bumpers between each one. The player has unlimited lives in Anniversary Mode and can earn coins that allow retries during the bonus stages in each game. Sonic Origins lacks save state functionality, unlike the Sega games on Nintendo Switch Online, which is annoying, but the unlimited lives do cut down on some of the more frustrating moments. There is also the option to play the games in Classic Mode, using the original screen resolution and limited lives.

Sonic Origins Robotnik Car

Sonic Origins also has a Boss Rush and Mirror Mode for each game, with the latter letting the player run through reverse versions of each stage. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles also has a standalone version of the Blue Spheres bonus stage. The other extras in Sonic Origins include a Mission Mode, where players must complete individual tasks, though the hardest ones are locked behind DLC, and a Museum Mode that has unlockable artwork, cinematics, and music. The 16-bit Sonic games are all fairly short, so this helps wring some extra content out of them.

That's the entirety of Sonic Origins. It's a repackaging of four classic platformers, all of which have been released umpteen times before, including on the same systems that Sonic Origins is appearing on. It's disappointing that the collection doesn't feature more 2D Sonic games, especially ones that haven't been seen in a long time, such as Knuckles Chaotix or the Sonic Advance trilogy. The games in Sonic Origins have been ported many times over the years, to many different systems, and while these are all decent ports, they're still familiar titles.

Sonic Origins Hidden Palace

The games in the Sonic Origins collection are timeless and are among the best games of the 16-bit era. The Super Mario series might have better exploration and platforming, but the Sonic games have sheer speed and spectacle. The games can have some brutally difficult moments, such as the infamous final boss duo at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 that OHKO Sonic, and these were likely Sega's attempts to prolong the lifespan of the games, but the infinite lives in Sonic Origins do take some of the sting out of these moments. The implementation of DLC for the Mission Mode in the game is annoying and feels unnecessary, but none of the content relates to the core games in the package, so it's easy to ignore.

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The games in Sonic Origins are among the best Sonic the Hedgehog titles in existence and this package is a great way to experience these games, especially for new fans who were introduced to the franchise by the Sonic the Hedgehog movies. The people who already own these games in some other form won't find anything particularly worthy of a double-dip, as even the convenience of owning them all on a modern system is undercut by all of the original versions of the games being available on the Sega Genesis Classic collection. Those who don't already own the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games can get them in a neat package in Sonic Origins, with a few extra features to keep them interested after the credits have rolled.

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Sonic Origins is available now for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Screen Rant was provided with a digital code for the Nintendo Switch version of the game for the purposes of this review.