Sonic Origins isn’t a brand new Sonic game, but it is a collection of four remastered titles. Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD are all part of the package, available in their original formats or in a new souped-up 16:9 style. What’s more, they include a modern move for the blue blur to pull off and a special zone for him to explore.
The news comes from some new gameplay footage taken from a South Korean broadcast. Sonic news account @TailsChannel shared the footage on Twitter, giving us a glimpse of the new content. As it shows, Origins includes the drop dash, a mechanic first introduced in Sonic Mania that lets players execute a spin dash in midair. It’s great for keeping up momentum, and it will be usable in Origins’ Anniversary mode (but not in the classic versions of the games). The drop dash was previously added to the Sega Ages Sonic game re-releases, so including it here makes sense.
The footage also shows the Hidden Palace Zone, a level cut from the original Sonic 2. This won’t be the first time players can run through it, as the zone was restored for Sonic 2’s mobile version, but it’s still a great inclusion. You can see Tails and Knuckles reach the hidden area by falling into Mystic Cave Zone’s bottomless pit.
It’s shaping up to be a banner year for Sonic. The Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie released in April, succeeding as a great sequel that built on the first film. Next up is Sonic Origins — the collection comes to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on June 23. After that is Sonic Frontiers, which will bring Sonic “to the next level,” according to creative officer Takashi Iizuka. There’s no release date for that game yet, but a PlayStation database leak listed it as November 15.
