A Return To Greatness | Sonic X Shadow Generations Review
Sonic Team’s latest is a “MUST PLAY”
Sonic Team’s latest is a “MUST PLAY”
Let me start by saying Shadow Generations is probably the most fun I’ve had in the last 10 years with the Sonic franchise. I don’t know what they changed about their process to make such a compelling, fun game, built as a companion to the bones of a much older game… but something changed, and it’s blown me away. It’s a little short, but I wouldn’t let that stop you. I can’t help but recommend it, and I know most players will have a similarly positive experience.
That said, I’ve been away from Sonic for a LONG time. In fact, This was my first time through Sonic Generations. So here’s a micro review of that for you: I was pleasantly surprised! I enjoyed the duality of the 2D and 3D stages, and thought the little gimmicks in each were very fun to play out. The challenges added just enough spice to not feel repetitious, and I looked forward to playing it all up through to the credits.
I didn’t feel very compelled to get all the collectibles (In-game art has always been a weak reward for me), so I didn’t 100% it, but I did complete all the challenge stages and I played some stages a few times over to see how fast I could complete them. I’d argue that that should count as the full baseline experience, and in regarding that as such, my main takeaway is that Sonic Generations is a fantastic game that hardly feels like it’s ten years old. It’s genuinely wild that at it’s core this is a 2011 game.
But Shadow Generations steals the show and makes this entire package worth picking up. Game mechanics based on their Sonic counterparts are even further refined and improved upon. Shadow feels even faster and more fluid than Sonic, and he’s got more abilities for you to mess around with. Stages are meticulously crafted in to take full advantage of his new range of abilities, and overall, he just feels good to play no matter the activity, even if you’re just casually cruising through the hub world.
Sonic Generations got a “wow” out of me because it’s a fun, responsive, and well put together game, that happens to be old. Shadow Generations got a “WOW” out of me, because they have refined and improved upon many of Sonic Generation’s best ideas, so much so, that it practically gives me no reason to ever play Sonic Generations again. Shadow Generations is a genuine evolution of this formula, and if Sonic Team can similarly grow and evolve with their next game, it’ll no doubt be a masterpiece.
As much as I enjoyed playing as Shadow, I (again) didn’t feel compelled to collect every little thing. But as I was wrapping up completing his stages, I did wish there was more game for me to play, this being after about 7 or so hours. It left me wanting more! So it was a good thing I picked up the DLC, right?
Sure! I’m glad I did. However, it was disappointing that it’s just one stage with a few challenges. It can be beat in probably 20 minutes or less. Which, in a way, is comparably good considering the run time of the Shadow Generations. As a package, this is a fantastic game, so I’m happy to throw money at Sonic Team. But this DLC (and the game at full price) cost me $45, and I’ve completed my journey with it after about 16 hours (all played entirely on SteamDeck by the way, and flawlessly at that). So, I believe $15-$30 for the whole package, including the DLC, would be a more apt price.
Before my final thoughts, I need to include a brief aside: if you enjoyed this game, and are looking for more speed platformers to play, I highly, HIGHLY recommend you pick up Spark the Electric Jester 3, which IS my 2nd favorite speed platformer of all time. I believe it’s a perfect blend of some of Sonic’s older outings and Shadow Generations, and in many ways I even prefer Spark over them. I can’t seem to find anyone locally who will trust me on how incredible it is, as a slept on indie game, so I’ve got to advertise it where I can, paha. Trust me!
Ultimately, Sonic x Shadow Generations is a great package I enjoyed thoroughly, and I think that it’s worth picking up. Even if you’re just casually interested in Sonic games or (speed) platformers, you should be able to get a lot of enjoyment from playing either in this collection, but especially when you play Shadow Generations. It’s fast, smooth, and an overall joy to play that truly embodies some of Sonic Teams best work. I absolutely believe it will resonate with a lot of players, and think you should pick it up, when you see it hit the right price.
Originally published at https://steamcommunity.com.