| SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS | |||
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| Gameplay & Story | Release Date | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Sonic is back to run past familiar scenes, and with running with him is a completely new story campaign focused on his arch-rival, Shadow! Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS Review Overview
What is SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS?
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS is a two-pack action platformer that remasters the original Sonic Generations back in 2011. Complete with upgraded visuals, bonus content, and a new story for the quintessential anti-hero Shadow the Hedgehog. The game features unique side-scrolling stages and 3D stages in both campaigns, where the former are callbacks to the original design of the game.
It introduces a storyline that focuses on Shadow’s backstory, which runs parallel to Sonic’s journey to restore the timeline and save the world. It also features a completely different experience when playing as Shadow, since he has access to unique powers like Chaos Control, Chaos Spear, and more.
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS features:
⚫︎ Two Games in One
⚫︎ Remaster of One of Best Games in the Franchise
⚫︎ More of Shadow the Hedgehog’s Story
⚫︎ Amazing Soundtrack
⚫︎ Numerous Callbacks to Past Characters
⚫︎ Unique Action Platforming Gameplay
⚫︎ Upgraded Visuals
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS’s gameplay and story.
 SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS |
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 PlayStation |
 Steam |
 Epic |
 Xbox |
 Nintendo
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SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Amazing Audiovisual Experience More Shadow Gameplay Even More Nostalgia Bombs |
Shadow Story is Way Too Short Flat Voice Acting |
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS Overall - 90/100
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS is the best of both worlds, where you can re-experience the greatness of Sonic Generations while being able to play a new game focused on Shadow the Hedgehog. It’s a great audiovisual experience as well, as the graphics have been upgraded and feature more of the franchise’s adrenaline-pumping soundtrack. Other than remastering an already great game in its own right, it adds more story content and introduces more gameplay mechanics for our favorite anti-hero, which we definitely need more of.
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS Story - 8/10
The additional campaign focuses on Shadow’s connection to Black Doom and the dormant powers that awaken within him during his time in the White Space. It does add a lot more to Shadow’s character as a tragic hero. But given the impact on him based on the promotional animations and prior games, it seems lacking on his part as he still doesn’t show enough emotion. Nevertheless, it’s still a pretty good story full of nostalgic callbacks, albeit short.
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS Gameplay - 9/10
While Sonic’s gameplay is kept familiar while transitioning to his 2D and 3D counterparts, Shadow is a whole other beast. He gains access to multiple different powers throughout the campaign that add different layers of challenges and enjoyment to his gameplay. Not to mention that his iconic Chaos Control actually gives you a five-second window to get better times and get through certain segments easily. It’s a perfect representation of how Shadow would be in a classic Sonic game.
Sonic Generations is an already great game full of nostalgic levels and gameplay that’s meant to represent the franchise’s growth and history. One issue, however, is that the control scheme for all three characters is a little different. While this is to be expected, playing each of them might throw you off and slow you down in a game that’s meant to be played at blistering speed.
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS Visuals - 10/10
The visuals of the game are amazing eye candy. Of course, it won’t get any points from those who’re not comfortable with high-speed visuals, but the franchise always manages to show little details despite some of the gameplay and animations being way too fast to follow. Even during gameplay, it manages to show off amazing graphics as it shows some action sequences.
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS Audio - 9/10
The franchise has always been known to have some of the best music in video games. Unsurprisingly, it carries on with the new content, as most of the new tracks in the game are amazing. The overall audio design is great, where the only problem would be the voice acting falling flat a bit.
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS Value for Money - 9/10
For $49.99, there’s a lot of Sonic and Shadow to enjoy in this repackaged remaster. There’s also a ton of different things to collect in the game, and completionists will have a ton of fun collecting every artwork, music, and even lore tidbits. It’s a shame that while Shadow’s story closes at a perfect pace, it’s just a tad short and is a signal for SEGA to please make another full-fledged game for Shadow in the near future.
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS Review: We Need a New Shadow the Hedgehog Game
Sonic is back, and this time he’s accompanied by the Ultimate Lifeform in his own standalone story campaign! While SEGA already made sure that Sonic Generations was a love letter to the franchise’s historic run, they added even more nostalgia with Shadow’s additional story. Aside from the pretty graphics, we’ll focus more on Shadow Generations. There’s not much else to talk about with Sonic Generations already being a great game back in 2011 in full remastered glory.
To put it simply, Shadow Generations is a sign that the world needs a new full-fledged game with Shadow as the protagonist again. His unique abilities make him way more fun to play than the Big Blue, and we simply need more of it. Additionally, the way that they used multiple existing features in previous Sonic games like the hub world, 2D and 3D stages, and nostalgic characters in Shadow’s campaign was perfect.
Full Detail at Full Speed
The game looks amazing, without a shadow of a doubt. The franchise hasn’t really been one to lag behind in terms of visuals, as even more modern Sonic games have pretty good visuals on their own. It just so happens that Shadow’s mannerisms and fighting style are in full view in his story, which they definitely emphasized in his campaign.
Not to mention that the representation of past iconic stages from Shadow’s history like Space Colony ARK, Radical Highway, Rail Canyon, Sunset Heights, and the like was very well done as well. The colors in the game pop, and not once was there a part in the game where it was hard to see even if you’re moving at top speed and everything’s a blur.
Soundtrack is Still Full of Bangers
It’s no secret that the Sonic soundtrack is amazing. To those who are unfamiliar with the rest of the franchise’s music and not just Green Hill Zone, I’d advise you to give them a listen. The music has always been able to capture Sonic’s extremely fast pace and action-packed gameplay. With this remaster, the new tracks that remixed in Shadow’s campaign are also full of bangers. Lastly, you even have the option to change the BGM if you want to, provided you already found the track in the multitude of collectibles to find.
Minor Nitpicks
It’s not a perfect package, however, as it does have a few problems that could mostly just be considered nitpicks at this point. First off, it’s a remaster of Sonic Generations, which came out in 2011. As with most remasters, not all of the problems that the game had back then were completely solved.
The control schemes for the three different controllable protagonists all differ from each other, which was supposed to be expected. However, for those who haven’t played Sonic Generations, this might inconvenience them when switching between modes. Another nitpick is the voice acting isn’t the best and definitely falls flat a couple of times when in full dialogue.
An Even Bigger Love Letter
Sonic Generations itself has already been known to be a love letter to the series for featuring classic stages and modern recreations of said stages. Shadow Generations is more of that, as it shows off classic stages that Shadow has been through and bosses that you beat yet again. SEGA found a way to give even more nostalgia bombs to fans of the series in an already nostalgia-packed remaster, and I applaud them for that.
More of the Anti-Hero Himself
The best part of SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS is definitely being able to play as Shadow himself. While there were already games where you could play as the Black Hedgehog, they are few and far between. And with good reason, Sonic is the main character and the mascot of the franchise after all. This goes to show that Shadow is just a lot of fun to play with his unique abilities, where you could even argue that they need to make a new way to make Sonic more interesting after being able to use Chaos Control during gameplay.
The added Doom Powers make the stages and challenges interesting, to the point where the side challenges that become mandatory to progress are fun to play. These, in addition to Shadow’s existing abilities, make for a very satisfying gameplay experience, as they tie in the story of the game and change stages with the different possible routes that you can take.
Shadow as a character has always been pretty complex, even to a casual fan of the series like myself. He has always been an anti-hero with a tragic backstory, where they explore this a bit more in Shadow Generations. However, they seem reluctant to show more emotion with the story, as you’d expect more from Shadow when tackling figures from the past. Regardless of the lack of story beats and emotional responses from the broody anti-hero, it was pretty well done with how they showed Shadow being busy in parallel with Sonic’s journey in defeating the Time Eater.
A Glimpse of a Shadowy Future
All in all, SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS is a sign. A sign that we need more of Shadow as the protagonist. His unique abilities, complex character development, and overall design are already something that rivals Sonic’s popularity. It’s also been a while since the franchise has scored a hit with their new games, so given the ideas that worked in Shadow Generations, they might be able to pull off another banger in the near future. The world is definitely ready for a new Shadow the Hedgehog game and I hope it comes out sooner rather than later.
Is SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS Worth It?
Absolutely. It’s the Best Sonic Game Out Right Now!
For $49.99, this game is an absolute steal. It gives you two very amazing Sonic experiences that both fans of the series and newcomers can enjoy. Not only does it give you more context to Shadow’s dark backstory, but it also includes one of the best games in the franchise all in one! The audiovisual presentation is taken up a notch, as both the visuals and audio design are amazing. The game has tons of content to collect and challenges to accomplish, which should keep anyone who decides to buy this game very busy.
| Digital Storefronts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PlayStation |
Steam |
Epic |
Xbox |
Nintendo
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| $49.99 | ||||
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS FAQ
How come I can’t access Early Access on Steam?
First and foremost, make sure that you purchased the Digital Deluxe Edition. If so, then simply restart Steam. This should give you the prompt that the game is now playable.
What time does SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS release?
The game will come out on October 25 at 12:00 a.m. EDT / October 24 at 9:00 p.m. PDT for the Standard Edition. For Digital Deluxe Edition owners, the game came out three days earlier, which was on October 22 at 12:00 a.m. EDT / October 21 at 9:00 p.m. PDT.
For more information, check out article to see the game’s actual release times!
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SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS Product Information
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| Title | SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS |
|---|---|
| Release Date | October 25, 2024 |
| Developer | Sonic Team |
| Publisher | SEGA |
| Supported Platforms | Switch, PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S |
| Genre | Action, Platformer |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | Everyone |
| Official Website | SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS Website |
