Sonic Origins Review Scores

[TheOcelot]

Review scores are starting to come in. 

Currently sitting at a Metacritic score of 80 for PS5 based on 15 reviews.

PS4 is 70 based on 2 reviews.

90 for PC based on 1 review.

No Switch or Xbox reviews yet.

TSS review  - they gave it 5 red star rings!

[Badnik Mechanic]

I got a review code. I review it. I gave it a "It's fantastic, but.. out of 11!"

 

And this review by Ars Technica is also quite something: Review: Sonic Origins is a tragic example of good classics ruined by

[Indigo Rush]

Aggregate site Open Critic is currently placing it at a "top critic" average of 80/100, giving it a "strong" rating, only one rung below the best possible rating "mighty".

For comparison, Sonic Mania finished "mighty" at 87 while Sonic Colors Ultimate ranked "fair" at 74 and Sonic Forces ranked "weak" at 56.

[Rabbitearsblog]

I kind of figured that Sonic Origins would be getting high ratings since it's based off of the classic games.

[Dreadknux]

The Ars review is weird.

Quote

Worst of all, Sega wants Sonic Origins players to pay an additional $5 (or more) to unlock more content. This pricing scheme is bad enough that I wouldn't blame potential buyers for skipping the game altogether.

Just a seriously bad take. The DLC thing is a little shitty yeah, but as a means to not buy the compilation at all? This just smells of entitlement honestly. You don't have to buy it, and you're not missing anything really if you don't. I'm absolutely not saying that this is a little scummy in terms of practice, but I don't think it's quite sane to use this to deny yourselves playing S3K in the best format available. Strikes me as a little pearl-clutchy.

I do agree that they could have added the 8-bit games as a little bonus though.

[Rabbitearsblog]

4 hours ago, Dreadknux said:

The Ars review is weird.

Just a seriously bad take. The DLC thing is a little shitty yeah, but as a means to not buy the compilation at all? This just smells of entitlement honestly. You don't have to buy it, and you're not missing anything really if you don't. I'm absolutely not saying that this is a little scummy in terms of practice, but I don't think it's quite sane to use this to deny yourselves playing S3K in the best format available. Strikes me as a little pearl-clutchy.

I do agree that they could have added the 8-bit games as a little bonus though.

I can never understand these types of reviews.  Like yeah, I get the pricing for this game is a bit scummy, but if you like Sonic the Hedgehog or you want to play the classic games, what's stopping buyers from buying the game anyway?  Also, even when the prices go down, fans will still buy this game anyway since they are fans of Sonic the Hedgehog or even non fans might be interested in seeing what's the big deal with the classic Sonic games.  The pricing of the games is not exactly going to affect how a potential buyer feels about the games overall.  Sure, some of them might wait awhile for the prices to go down, but the game will still be bought either way.

[Badnik Mechanic]

The Arts technica review smells like the person reviewing it, had an idea of something they wanted to complain about, and dedicated the whole review around that instead of... actually informing of what's in there and whether it's any good or not.

Yeah mention the pricing stuff, but don't dedicate all/the bulk of your review to it.

[TheOcelot]

Still holding steady at 80 on PS5 - now up to 21 reviews.

XBSX has a score of 65 based on one review. Still nothing for Switch or Xbox1.

[Milo]

Some reviews that were posted today.

NintendoLife review by Mitch Vogul: "COPE"

Quote

Sonic Origins is simply more of the same, which is both its greatest strength and weakness. On one hand, it’s a near-definitive way to experience four stone-cold classics that represent some of the highest peaks of Sonic's career. On the other, most of these games are already readily available and there aren’t many new features or additions to justify buying them yet again. If you don’t already have a reliable or convenient way of playing these games now, or this is genuinely your first time playing through them, then we’d say that Sonic Origins is the go-to way to experience Sonic’s 2D heyday. Otherwise, we’d encourage you to either wait for this to go on sale or just pass on it.

Score: 8/10

Press Start review by Kieron Verbrugge: "A blast [process] from the past"

Quote

We’ve had plenty of retro Sonic compilations before, and the cynic in me wants so badly to see this as just another in a long line of nostalgia grabs amid the continued futile attempts at modern franchise entries. The thing is, for the first time in ages this feels like a genuine celebration of the blue blur’s beginnings, made with care and a reverence for the source material. Weird Deluxe Edition choices aside, anyway.

Score: 8/10

[Metro] GameCentral review: "Running out of time"

Quote

If you’ve somehow never played a Sonic The Hedgehog game, and want to see what all the fuss is about, then this is a very good place to start. These are by far the best games in the series; in fact, it’s arguable whether any of the others, except for Sonic Mania, have ever come close to the same level of quality and imagination.

That said, there’s a near infinite range of other, mostly cheaper, ways to plays the games and while the changes made here are well intentioned, they’re largely trivial. This isn’t the first Sonic compilation, and it won’t be the last, but while it comes close to being definitive it isn’t quite as polished or distinctive enough to deserve that accolade.

Score: 7/10

Gamers Heroes review by Casey Scheld: "A raw deal"

Quote

Sonic Origins is a raw deal, providing little content with questionable edits. The widescreen support, drop dash, and Mission Mode are welcome additions, but they all come at a (steep) price.

Score: 6/10

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Reviewer aggregate updates:

Opencritic - 78 "Strong", 25 reviews, 76% of critics recommend

Metacritic:

PS5 - 79 "Generally favorable reviews," 24 reviews

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PS4 (2 reviews)

PC (2 reviews)

Xbox Series X (1 review)

Switch (1 review)

Xbox One (No reviews)

[Milo]

Post-release update, one week onwards.

Individual reviews:

GamingTrend review by David Flynn: "The past never looked so bright"

Quote

Sonic Origins presents the (almost) best versions of the classic Sonic games, though I can’t help but feel it could have used more gameplay additions. I’ve already mentioned quicksaves, design changes, and a rewind function, but other things like a playable Amy (please, I beg of you SEGA, give our girl the spotlight she deserves) would have elevated this collection. Still, having these games in proper widescreen along with a ton of extras like animations and old art is well worth the price of admission for fans of the Blue Blur.

Score: 85/100

God Is A Geek review by Chris White: "It all depends what you want from it"

Quote

Sonic Origins offers some additional content on top of the four key games that helped to make the series what it is. Even now, they hold up very well, and jumping back in after some time away doesn’t make playing feel aged at all. For new players who’ve watched the movies and want to know why Sonic is such an integral part of gaming history, you can’t go far wrong from diving in with this collection. It would’ve been nice to see a few more games added into the collection, such as Sonic Adventure or Mean Bean Machine, as it does feel a tad bare bones considering the hefty price. Regardless, revisiting these special games was a pleasure.

Score: 8/10

PCMag review by Zackery Cuevas: "Classic Sonic, modern issues"

Quote

 

In many ways, Sonic the Hedgehog is just like me—an aging millennial just trying to do his best. Sonic Origins taps into a deep sense of nostalgia, taking fans back to simpler times when all they knew were two gaming dimensions. The collection is also a reminder that Sega continues to be its own enemy in many regards.

If you grew up with Sonic and want to revisit a moment in gaming history when attitude was all you needed to be a corporate mascot, Sonic Origins is worth a visit. However, its bugs and disappointing DLC practices may prompt you to wait for a price drop.

Score: 3.5/5

 

VideoChums review by A.J. Maciejewski: "Revisit the Hedgehog's 16-bit classics"

Quote

Sonic Origins does an excellent job with its presentation, bonus content, and modernizations of classic games. On the other hand, I wish more games were included even if they didn't get the royal treatment that the 4 titles here did.

Score: 7/10

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Review aggregates:

Opencritic - 77 "Strong," 45 reviews, 68% of critics recommend

Metacritic:

PS5 - 79 "Generally favorable", 23 reviews

Switch - 78 "Generally favorable", 7 reviews

PC - 72 "Mixed and/or average", 5 reviews

Xbox Series X - 70 "Mixed and/or average", 5 reviews

-

PS4 (2 reviews)

Xbox One (No reviews)

[batson]

The funny thing about critics reviews of compilation games like this is that some critics first and foremost base their score on the games themselves while others base their score on the specific compilation. Some might go "these games are still amazing after all these years, 10/10" while others go "These games are of course till amazing, but this compilation offers nothing new, 5/10". That makes it more important than ever for a consumer who wants to go by critics scores on whether the game is worth buying to read the full reviews as opposed to just the scores.

[Badnik Mechanic]

Fantastic review by DF
 

 

[Milo]

Review aggregates (two weeks post-release, and then some):

Opencritic - 77 "Strong," 61 reviews, 65% of critics recommend

Metacritic:

PS5 - 78 "Generally favorable", 38 reviews

Switch - 75 "Generally favorable", 17 reviews

PC - 73 "Mixed and/or average", 11 reviews

Xbox Series X - 74 "Mixed and/or average", 9 reviews

PS4 - 72 "Mixed and/or average", 4 reviews

-

Xbox One (1 review)

 

Will probably do one final review aggregate update a month on from release.

[Milo]

The final standings, one month later.

 

Opencritic - 77 "Strong," 75 reviews, 66% of critics recommend

Metacritic:

PS5 - 78 "Generally favorable", 42 reviews

Switch - 74 "Mixed and/or average", 20 reviews

Xbox Series X - 75 "Generally favorable", 11 reviews

PC - 73 "Mixed and/or average", 11 reviews

PS4 - 72 "Mixed and/or average", 4 reviews

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Xbox One (1 review)