Sonic X Shadow Generations

Genre: Compilation / Platformer / 3D Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

Sonic Generations was originally released 2011 on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, with an alternate version of the game releasing on Nintendo 3DS. As Sonic games often seems to do in recent years, Generations was a nostalgia-filled look back at Sonic’s past, having players take the role of both a “classic” version of the titular lead character, along with a more “modern” alternative, with each featuring slightly different play styles, and with “old Sonic”‘s levels being traditional 2D Platformer levels with “new Sonic”‘s levels being a mix of 2D Platforming, 3D Platforming, and on-rails 3D sections.

In bringing this game to modern platforms, Sega has taken a page from Nintendo’s release of Super Mario World + Bowser’s Fury by not only giving us an updated and visually-upgraded version of the original game, but packing it in with a brand-new game built off of the framework of that game, in this case the all-new Shadow Generations. The result is Sonic X Shadow Generations, released in 2024 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

Graphically, Sonic Generations (and in turn Shadow Generations as well) is a marked improvement on the previous release, even on the underpowered Nintendo Switch, which increases the resolution from 720p to 1080p. However, it is still clearly inferior to other modern platforms, which saw a resolution increase as high as 2160p, and more importantly had the framerate doubled from 30FPS to 60FPS. The framerates are the biggest sticking point here – Sonic moves so fast that often 30FPS just doesn’t seem adequate, especially when the camera is zoomed into the action, something that’s particularly egregious in 2D side-scrolling sections of the game.

However, while the framerates definitely seem to be less than ideal, the rest of this game looks fantastic, with lush, colorful, detailed 3D environments and characters, and with Shadow Generations in particular featuring some wonderful reality-warping areas that border on psychedelic. Despite Sonic Generations’ age and the Nintendo Switch’s limited power, this is a truly gorgeous game.

When it comes to the gameplay, Sonic Generations is mostly untouched. There have been minor changes to character dialogue, and there are now hidden “chao” to collect (no chao garden mode though), but otherwise this is largely the same game we got in 2011, which is to say a mix of 2D Platforming, and 3D Platforming, with 3D on-rails sections. Of these elements, the 2D Platforming is the weakest, with much of this due to the aforementioned framerate problems, and a camera that keeps getting too close to the action to properly see what’s going on. However, overall this is a pretty good Sonic game.

However, the star of the show here is Shadow Generations, which not only smoothly sidesteps many of the issues that hinder Sonic Generations, but actually expands on the gameplay to make for something much more ambitious, albeit somewhat small, with only 4-5 hours of gameplay to offer.

The main portion of the gameplay here takes place on stages inspired by past Sonic games with a mix of 2D, 3D, and on-rails 3D, much like what was in the “new Sonic” parts of Sonic Generations. However, in this game these stages are connected by a more exploration-based 3D Platformer hub that players can traverse to look for unlockables or simply blast through on their way from one stage to the next.

While this adds a lot to make for a nice balance between a more open-ended game and Sonic’s more linear stage design, what really works well here is that Shadow’s move set is just more satisfying than Sonic’s, with less of a focus on speed (Shadow is capable of going fast for those who prefer a more speedy Sonic-like experience, but Shadow’s gameplay is typically a bit slower and more deliberate, with some satisfying gameplay elements like his world-freezing “chaos control”. Plus, players get more moves as the game progresses, allowing for further exploration of the hub world map.

Overall, I do think the lower framerates compared to other modern versions of Sonic X Shadow Generations do make this inherently inferior to those versions, but even despite this issue, Sonic X Shadow Generations is a pairing of a great remake of a very good Sonic game paired with a brand-new Sonic game in the form of Shadow Generations, a game that may well be the best 3D Sonic game ever made (and it doesn’t even star Sonic). The result is a game that every Sonic fan should get, and while the Nintendo Switch version of the game is not the best version, it is still a decent version of the game worth playing.

tl;dr – Sonic X Shadow Generations is an excellent remaster of Sonic Generations, a solid Platformer/3D Platformer, paired with an entirely new Platformer/3D Platformer, Shadow Generations, which despite being short may possibly be the best 3D Sonic game ever made. The Nintendo Switch version suffers a bit from lower framerates than the version of the game on other modern platforms, but otherwise this is an outstanding release that should be considered a must-have for any Sonic fan.

Grade: B+

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2024 Game Awards:

Winner:

Best Platformer – While Sonic X Shadow Generations includes a solid remaster of Sonic Generations, that’s not why it wins this award. This release is all about the other, brand new, game that’s included in the package, Shadow Generations. This may well be the best 3D Sonic game ever made, capturing everything that’s great about 3D Sonic games without all the baggage Sonic games often bring with it. The result is a fun, engaging, platformer that’s still fast-paced but not so much that it hinders the gameplay.

Runner-Up: Best Port/Remake, Best Compilation/Collection, Most Underrated, The “Wow, this game was way better than I expected!” Award, Best Graphics

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