REVIEW: ‘Sonic X Shadow Generations’ Is A Fun Uneven Run (PS5)

The original Sonic Generations launched over a decade ago, a game beloved by fans for marrying the Sonic of the past with the modern-day version. With Sonic X Shadow Generations, Sega aims to recapture that love. The latest release is an expanded edition, remastering the original while adding on a Shadow-centered half. While the original game is still as fantastic as it was, Shadow’s half is uneven. The levels themselves are fantastic and electric, but a messy hub world and boring bosses let the experience down.

The remaster of Sonic Generations is as good as it was more than a decade ago. Eggman’s up to his usual evil schemes, teaming up with his past self to wreak havoc on Sonic and his friends. After Sonic’s friends are scattered across time and space, Sonic teams up with his past self to save them. It’s a simple and fun story, feeling very much like classic Sonic in the best way.

The time-traveling mechanic permeates the gameplay. Each level has two Acts, one for each Sonic. Act 1 is focused on classic Sonic. The levels are side-scrolling and fast, with winding pathways to get to the end in new ways. It truly captures the greatness of the early Sonic games, with awesome level design that calls for replayability to collect everything and find new ways through.

Act 2, on the other hand, is centered on modern Sonic. Each level is a mixed 3D and 2D adventure, with more straightforward pathfinding but no less speed. There’s a great sense of familiarity returning to these old levels. Each level, whether Act 1 or 2, runs through a series of locales found in past Sonic titles. Ripping through Green Hills will never get old, almost like returning to a childhood neighborhood. It’s a stark contrast to the dilapidated and burning Crisis City. The level design is easily one of the highlights of Sonic X Shadow Generations.

There isn’t too much new on Sonic’s side of the game, with some tweaks and improvements added to streamline the experience. There are new control schemes, reworked cutscenes, and new hidden Chao to find in each level. The new content works well enough for returning players, offering something new to do aside from the upgraded visuals.

The main draw of Sonic X Shadow Generations is Shadow’s campaign. Accessible through the main menu, the new story focuses on Shadow as he gets trapped in a strange world by Black Doom. Black Doom is out for revenge for his previous defeat and isolates Shadow for his evil intent. The story is fine, and while it isn’t surprising, it was fun seeing some returning faces from the past.

The real highlight of Shadow’s story is the levels, bringing back classics from across the franchise. Some of the best levels from Sonic Adventure 2 return, with Space Colony Ark and Radical Highway both being highlights. Similar to Sonic’s side, each level has two acts. Each one is a mix of 2D and 3D, with Act 2 usually favoring the sidescrolling 2D classic style. The level design is similarly fantastic here, offering high-speed thrills through franchise favorites. The novelty of playing as Shadow is easily a one of the best parts of the experience,  with the character being one of the best in the series.

Aside from the longer levels, there are also a good number of challenge levels across Shadow’s story. They’re short but fun experiences. Each one has some twist to its gameplay. Whether it’s killing enough enemies or smashing crates, it changes up the gameplay flow enough to make it different from the main levels. Collecting the keys opens up the bosses, which, unfortunately, aren’t great.

The bosses are one of the biggest letdowns in Shadow’s story. There are five of them, with none of them offering any amount of challenge or creative design. They feel ripped out of the early 2000s, with dated and boring gameplay loops that aren’t anywhere near as exciting as the levels themselves. It’s usually nothing more than dodge a few attacks, hit the weak spot, rinse, and repeat. After the highs of the boss encounters in Sonic Frontiers, they’re an obvious sore spot—but not the only one.

The hub world in Shadow’s story doesn’t live up to it’s potential. It starts out simple enough but opens up more as you work through the levels. It’s messy and confusing, more like a toybox with disparate pieces tossed together with no harmony between them. There are collectibles to find and simple platforming challenges scattered around, but they mess with the visual design of the space. Finding some of the levels was genuinely annoying, with a mediocre fast travel mechanic not helping much. It was never really apparent if a rail would take you closer to your goal or farther away from it. It fails being fun at every instance outside of the opening.

Scattered around the hub world are also upgrades called Doom Powers. They change Shadow in meaningful ways. One early upgrade unlock Spears, shooting them both at enemies to stun them, or aiming at targets to open doors or raise platforms. Another upgrade summons an inky Manta Ray to surf on, letting Shadow move across water to new areas. They’re cool ways to interact with the hub, and when used in the levels, they are fun new traversal methods.

Sonic X Shadow Generations is a fun, albeit mixed experience. The Sonic side of the game remains as fun and creative as its original release. Shadow’s story has some fantastic level design, and any opportunity to play as the angsty antihero is a welcome one. Let down by dated bosses and a messy hub world, it’s still entirely worth a run through.

Sonic X Shadow Generations is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC on Epic Games and Steam.