A celebration of times past and those yet to come, 2011’s Sonic Generations was an ultra-concentrated dose of Blue Blur’s best: the culmination of Sonic the Hedgehog’s triumph in 2D and 3D as the series celebrated its then-20th anniversary. Now, more than a decade later, Sonic Generations is back – breaking through the sound barrier to hit the Nintendo Switch with its partner. Sonic x Shadow Generations combines Sonic’s trip down memory lane from 2011 with an all-new adventure featuring Shadow the Hedgehog and the demons of his past. Part reflection, part redemption, the latest Sonic game has its eyes set on lighting the way to the future through the past, but can speed, style and spirit convince skeptics to have a little faith, or is this latest journey only for the most loyal Sonic fans?
Sonic Generations is still held in relatively high regard to this day, and while some minor but controversial changes did make it into this re-release, this version might be the best – if only for what comes with it. But sticking to the smaller half of this package for now, Sonic Generations splits into two gameplay styles, classic and modern, with the first act of each zone being classic and the second act being modern. The catch is that neither gameplay style feels as authentic or as fine-tuned as their original games, but the trade-off is the ability to blast your way through the Chemical Plant Zone as Roger Craig Smith’s Modern Sonic or explore the ruins of Crisis City as the slightly quirky Classic Sonic.
Tying it all together the story is so thin that it gives Sonic’s redheaded Olympic rival a run for his money. It is purely functional – it creates the conditions necessary for celebration across time and space – and it successfully serves its purpose without doing much else. But maybe that’s all that’s really needed.
However, while we’re on the subject, I personally had no problem with the changes that were made to the characters and dialogue due to the barebones story. Some of the changes are cosmetic, such as Rouge the Bat being redesigned to show less chest, while others have to do with characterization: Amy’s in-game bio has been updated to reflect her use of Lucky Cards in Sonic Frontiers, but also omits several words from original games that moved past her romantic obsession with Sonic. These changes, decried as “censorship” by some, have been rigorously debated, but I personally had no problem with them despite being a lifelong Sonic fan and having played the original Sonic Generations years ago. I was more concerned about the characters’ mouth movements and spoken sentences not matching up – a pet peeve I picked up back in the days of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle on the Nintendo GameCube, which suffered from a similar lip sync problem that was admittedly much worse than this.
Going back to the gameplay, Classic Sonic’s levels stick to 2D and have a greater focus on precise platforming than its taller, fully-formed future. Speed isn’t entirely out of the question, especially if you’re smart enough, but Classic Sonic is slower and harder than Modern Sonic, and its levels are longer and denser (the new drop for Classic Sonic is appreciated, but doesn’t do much to solve the bigger problems). At their best, the classic levels manage to be a nice nod to the series’ 2D entries, but at worst, a disappointing imitation of them.
While not as amazing as the classic Sonic Forces levels, these are still far from ideal in their design, length, and difficulty. One infamous but select example is the Classic Planet Wisp, which is bloated with troublesome obstacles and overuses the clunky Spikes wisp ability. Not every classic level is this frustrating, but it’s safe to say that the original gameplay style of the series deserves better than a string of mostly decent levels and one or two terrible ones. 2D Sonic, as we’ve seen in recent years with Sonic Mania and even Sonic Superstars to an extent, doesn’t have to be inferior to its 3D counterpart, but in the case of Sonic Generations, the Classic levels just don’t shine as brightly as they could have.
Modern levels fare better, and while they don’t quite reach the pinnacle of Sonic Unleashed’s daily levels, they’re close enough to deserve a thumbs up. Some stinkers creep through the pack – Modern Planet Wisp treads close to its classic version – but, overall, the modern levels sum up why Sonic isn’t out of the running when it comes to his 3D games. Boosting, drifting, dashing from enemy to enemy, jumping from rail to rail: 3D Sonic can be kinetic, freeing, and awe-inspiring in ways that 2D Sonic sometimes fails to do. What should be two equal halves sharing the glory is actually one half taking home the prize, and that will be a continuing trend as we dive deeper.
Moving on, connecting the zones to each other is white space – a 2D central world populated by Sonic’s friends and challenges that provide collectibles and Boss Gate keys upon completion. Boss Gates and the dungeons they incarcerate separate each era of Sonic’s history from the next while acting as a buffer for faster players who may be rushing through the game too quickly. If it weren’t for the key hunt, a third of Sonic Generation’s runtime would then be cut off – it’s still an extremely short game regardless. Sonic Generations clocks in at 3 to 4 hours when it approaches zero at the finish line; playtime can be doubled by replaying levels for better times and shooting for 100% by completing all challenge actions or locating the hidden chaos now hidden in each stage.
As birthday parties go, this one ends up being on the lighter side. Acquiring all the collectibles and mastering the movement system are tempting options for those still operating on a sugar high, but eventually you’ll have no choice but to pack up and head home – the hedgehogs need their beauty sleep after all. If the $49.99 asking price was just for this blast from the past, it would be highway robbery, but luckily, Shadow Generations comes in blazing (not literally, SEGA would rather we forget that “phase” it once had) that try to sweeten the deal.
I’ve always been on Team Sonic – his characterization in Sonic and The Dark Knight was absolute perfection – but Ultimate Lifeform is a fierce competitor. When Black Doom returns to drag him back into a world of hate and fear, Shadow looks to the girl who saved him and the doctor who created him to find the courage in his heart to defy the monster whose blood runs through his veins. With time and space completely disrupted, he races through his memories, destroying those who once stood in his way and awakening the powers he needs to finish his fight.
The deadly powers he unlocks with each completed zone give him a much more substantial moveset that leaves Sonic in the dust and his levels with it. Shadow Generations’ levels are expertly crafted to match Shadow’s movement and fix many of Sonic Generations’ design quirks by adding a double jump, zooming out the camera so players can better see what’s in front of them, and encouraging them to use every single move at their disposal. I favorite Doom Powers was Doom Blast, which sees Shadow launch an enemy into the air and spin towards them – allowing him to climb incredible heights and access otherwise unreachable areas, all without losing too much momentum.
Shadow’s version of White Space also has improvements, now in 3D and offering a more engaging playground. Boss Gates are back, but with the thrill that comes with playing as Shadow, the challenges feel less like padding and more like true tests of skill. And as for the bosses themselves, they give players a chance to prove themselves and feel like the warriors Shadow was born to be – Sonic Generations bosses, limited and sometimes basic, don’t hold a grudge against these ones.
With Shadow Generations, what we have is, in effect, an expansion of Sonic Generations that is superior to it in every way. The only noticeable issue with Shadow’s half is that the resolution sometimes drops in manual mode and during certain sequences, but the excellent art direction and stable frame rate of 30fps make it easy to forgive. Sonic’s half isn’t entirely without its visual flaws, but both halves feel optimized for the Nintendo Switch in a way that other Sonic games unfortunately haven’t. As for the sound, the joke has always been that Sonic games never fail when it comes to music, and that’s the case here. I prefer the original versions of most songs, but the remixes remain.
With that behind us and looking at everything together, Sonic x Shadow Generations will probably take the average player around 5-8 hours, which is more or less the standard for the series. Yes, that means the new content through Shadow Generations adds up in length to equal the old Sonic Generations content. Whether you’ve played the 2011 original or not, it’s definitely going to be good to hear, but if you’ve been expecting something more long-lasting – especially given the price – then it might be worth keeping in mind as you decide whether or not to buy. Collectibles return for Shadow Generations, but again, the replay value will come down to how much you enjoy the game and whether you’re willing to replay the same levels over and over to get your money’s worth.
If you grab the Digital Deluxe Edition, you’ll get access to a digital artbook and a mini-soundtrack that downloads as a separate in-game app, along with skill points to redeem in Sonic Generations and skins + an exclusive Sonic The Hedgehog 3 movie-inspired level for Shadow ( release in December 2024). In terms of value, it might be hard to justify the bonuses for the casual fan, but the extra level is tempting and might even end up being the best part of the whole package.
A comparison that seems apt with this game would be that of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury. Both are remasters of well-received games that have included an exciting, expansive new campaign to justify their existence and their price. But the key difference, in my opinion and biased across the board, is that Super Mario 3D World is far more compelling than Sonic Generations in terms of the competence of its design and the content it offers. Bowser’s Fury and Shadow Generations, on the other hand, are more comparable, but only make up half of their respective games.
The deciding factors here are, as hinted at earlier, how big of a Sonic fan you are and whether you’ve played the original 2011 game. If you loved the original, are a number one Shadow fan, or just want to keep up with the series, then Sonic x Shadow Generations may be just what you need. But if you played the original and didn’t love it as much as others, then even when you factor in the promising new content, you might feel like you’d be better off waiting for a sale or for the next game to expand on what Shadow Generations has to offer. is experimenting.
Sonic x Shadow Generations is a consistent and polished experience that reflects the love Sonic Team has for their series and could absolutely be called a game “made by Sonic fans, for Sonic fans.” But even though Shadow Generations shows players a glimpse into the future, it cannot be the future itself because it is connected to the past through Sonic Generations. It’s certainly a step in the right direction, but with one foot forward and one foot back, it’s hard to, in good faith, see Sonic x Shadow Generations as a “revival” or full “evolution.” So while it may give die-hard fans the time of their lives, and the disenchanted with just enough hope to carry on, it doesn’t quite reach the pinnacle it needs to be a defining moment for the series.
8/10
The download code for the Nintendo Switch version was provided by SEGA to iGamesNews for the purposes of this review.
