Sonic X Shadow Generations review: An underwhelming addition to one of the best Sonic games

Sonic X Shadow Generations remasters the fantastic original, but adds a new campaign that doesn't live up to it.

Sonic x Shadow Generations / Sega

Sonic the Hedgehog games have always struggled when it comes to 3D platforming. Sonic Team recently found an open-world formula that worked in Sonic Frontiers, but before that, the game I would always point to as the one that did it best was Sonic Generations. This celebration of every mainline Sonic game up until that point was a joyous experience that gave us both the best 3D platforming in the series to date, and a return to 2D platforming that actually felt like the classic games with modern graphics.

It’s safe to say that I was well up for this remaster of one of the better games in the series, and all the more excited for a host of new levels in the Shadow Generations expansion. Unfortunately, disappointment is the word of the day with Sonic X Shadow Generations, as the new stuff wasn’t at all what I was hoping for.

Sonic x Shadow Generations / Sega

For starters, it’s shorter than I had assumed. Completing the six new zones and all of the side-missions (which are mandatory to unlock the bosses) took me just four hours, and the extra collectible content isn’t worth sticking around for. Like the main game, you can find music clips, art pieces, and other little bonuses by finding keys in the levels that unlock chests hidden around the hub world.

This hub world, unlike in the main game, is fully 3D, and therein lies the problem. Where the base game’s 2D hub world was easily navigable with little platforming challenges that made for an easy transition between the side challenges, Shadow Generation’s hub world is just a massive sprawl of content that doesn’t have much cohesion or give you much reason to explore.

Whatever Sonic Team learned about good open-world design from Frontiers they clearly forgot when designing this, because there isn’t any fun to be had in navigating this hub. With each boss defeated you get a new power that unlocks more of the world, letting you surf over water, glide through the air, or get your Splatoon on, turning into a squid and swimming through dark ink.

Sonic x Shadow Generations / Sega

While I don’t think any of these are individually terrible, they just aren’t that much fun to use in the hub world. Things are a bit better in the levels, where the challenges are more carefully crafted, but even then I still would’ve preferred something simpler that focused on the main game’s great 2D and 3D level design.

If you’re hoping for some classic-style 2D platforming with Shadow, then be prepared for disappointment as, while there are several levels played entirely from a 2D perspective, they don’t use the “Classic Sonic” style of gameplay from the main game. 2D Shadow still has access to abilities like the boost and homing attack, which are staples of “Modern Sonic” gameplay.

Even the 3D levels are a step down, as Shadow Generation’s levels are much more keen to kill your momentum for a bit of cheap puzzle platforming that isn’t especially satisfying. It has its moments, of course. Ironically, I thought the level based on Sonic ‘06 was the best one for letting you cut loose with speed and quick-reaction platforming challenges.

Sonic x Shadow Generations / Sega

Plus, I do think it’s nice that the team got to make new Generations-style levels for the games that have been released since then. I won’t deny I’m enough of a Sonic mark to have popped off when I saw there was a level based on Frontiers, even if it doesn’t make sense because Shadow wasn’t in Sonic Frontiers.

It loses points for no Sonic Mania level though, as Sonic Team’s mission to erase that game continues. Tell me you wouldn’t love Studiopolis Zone in a full-3D art style. It’d be awesome and I’ll never forget what we were robbed of.

That feeling of wasted potential doesn’t stop at my obsession with Sonic Mania though, as it completely skips over some really easy ways to please fans. As Shadow Generations’ story is happening in parallel to Sonic Generations, you get this glorious moment where the game teases you with the prospect of playing the opposite perspective in the Sonic vs Shadow boss fight, only to have the whole thing be one quick cutscene. 

Sonic x Shadow Generations / Sega

Some small moments do offer a fleeting moment of nostalgic joy, but not everyone hate-played Sonic ‘06 like I did for the references and boss reveals to be exciting. I wonder if Sonic Team deliberately made all of the ‘06 stuff the best part of an otherwise disappointing experience as a hilarious prank. Also, no Super Shadow, what’s up with that?

As far as the Sonic Generations side of the experience goes, it’s about as straightforward as remasters get. It’s the same game in all its original glory only with the graphics a little bit shinier this time around, though even this falls afoul of a couple of strange decisions.

Sonic x Shadow Generations / Sega

Firstly, they removed lives from the game – that’s good – but they didn’t remove the +1 life item from the skill shop – that’s bad. They added collectible Chaos to each level you have to find – that’s good – but there’s no Chao Garden, you can only look at their pictures in a gallery – that’s bad.

So I’m left in a difficult position. At its core, this is still Sonic Generations, so I can’t say I had a bad time playing it, and if you’ve never played it before then I’d absolutely recommend picking this up. However, if you already own Sonic Generations – which I’m willing to bet most people interested in this game do – then I certainly wouldn’t be willing to pay $50 for a handful of new levels that are okay at best.

At this point, it’s impossible to predict what Sega will try with the next mainline Sonic game, but whatever it is, I sincerely hope it’s more Sonic Frontiers than Shadow Generations.

Score: 6/10

Version tested: PS5