My hands on with Sonic X Shadow Generations was short and sweet. Four levels, two for Sonic and two for Shadow. I arrived at Sega’s Sydney offices, they took me about 30 minutes to blaze through, and I was on my way back to the office. There wasn’t really anything in those 30 minutes that I didn’t expect to see, but I certainly didn’t leave unhappy, either.
Second Generations, same as the first
The Sonic levels were both Green Hill Zone, the legendary opening stage of the original game. The first act replicates classic 16-bit era Sonic, complete with sound effects and era-appropriate music. The second act transports you into a 3D level reminiscent of the Sonic Adventure games.
Because Sonic Generations originally came out in 2011, 13 years ago, I can show you what both of these levels look and play like.
Here’s the Classic version.
And the Modern version.
Imagine those videos running in 4K at a high frame rate, and that’s what I played. For some of you reading this, that news will lock this deal right up. Copy sold, see you later.
For those who never played it, these videos are instructive in that you can see what Sonic Generations was trying to do. It launched in an era where 3D Sonic had been the series’ dominant format for years. Attempts to revive the 2D side had had mixed success — the Bioware RPG (yes, Bioware RPG) Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood remains a high watermark and feels like a beautiful fever dream to this day. Sonic the Hedgehog 4, on the other hand, is quite rightly forgotten. Sonic Generations tried to create a bridge between both 2D and 3D formats in a single product, putting the strongest aspects of each on display.
What I played ran very smoothly and hasn’t changed a jot. It looked great, the frames were solid, and (imo) Sonic still controls better in 2D than in 3D. It feels to me like this remaster is in safe hands. Sega is surely aware that Generations is one of the better-liked modern Sonic games and is giving it the treatment it deserves.
In the Shadow of Bowser’s Fury
The Shadow levels were a different story. His side of this 2-for-1 package is an original campaign that makes a nostalgia play of its own. Shadow’s old nemesis, Black Doom, is up to his usual tricks again and has trapped Shadow in the past, forcing him to relive his lowest moments and most upsetting memories. Shadow will need to push through some of his most memorable challenges and embrace a suite of new dark powers to defeat Black Doom once again.
It’s a convenient setup to have Shadow play the hits as well because, well, some of the modern levels in the Shadow package are roughly as old as the Mega Drive games were when the original Sonic Generations was released. Therefore, both halves of this game are functionally old school, and I cannot tell you how ancient that makes me feel. I dissolved into a pile of ashes just typing that sentence out.
The two levels I played involved the Biolizard boss fight that has been remade for a number of Sonic games now, and one of Shadow’s 3D levels from Sonic Adventure 2. Periodically, Black Doom would interrupt Shadow’s run and send him tumbling through some very pretty, Inception-esque fractal tunnels. Shadow’s dash attacks are inverted from Sonic’s — where Sonic will dash to the next foe or item box by continually tapping the X/A button, Shadow’s equivalent is bound to Square/X.
The construction of Sonic X Shadow Generations reminds me a bit of Super Mario 3D Land + Bowser’s Fury, a repackaged version of a well-liked Mario Land title with a new (much better liked) campaign, Bowser’s Fury. That game took components from Super Mario 3D Land and used them to create an open world version of the game that was mechanically similar. Though its Shadow campaign is nowhere near as ambitious, Sega has, in a fashion, followed Nintendo’s lead. I hope Sega has built Shadow some bespoke 2D, retro-styled Sonic levels to rip through. That would rock, actually.
Nevertheless, the more familiar 3D levels that I played will be welcomed by Sonic fans and Shadow’s meme-loving fanbase.
So yeah, seems fine!
If you’re a diehard Sonic and you’re in the market for something starring the old blue blur (or his memey dark rival) to tide you over until Sonic 3 arrives in theatres this year, look no further. It’s the closest thing Sega has done to a repackaging of the classic Sonic games in quite a while, and it’ll likely fill the void until a new, mainline title arrives. It’s a game with two generations of Sonic fans to serve, generations with vastly different (and now calcified) tastes. As a single work, I wonder how it will be received.
Sonic X Shadow Generations is out October 22, 2024 for PlayStation and Xbox platforms, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
The author travelled to Sydney as a guest of Sega.
Image: Sega, Kotaku Australia
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