You can’t keep a good hedgehog down, even if you go through a 3D wilderness of mediocrity for a decade. Only a few years ago, Sonic looked as though he was on his way out. The mascot for a company that no longer makes the systems he was exclusively created for, the transition to polygons and 3D didn’t do many favours for a character whose sole purpose was to go fast in one direction. Still, a resurgence via the three pronged assault of Sonic Mania, Sonic Frontiers, and the surprisingly good Sonic cinematic universe – it’s a universe if there’s a TV show, right? – and old blue spikes is back on top.
With Sonic X Shadow Generations we’re taking a step back and a step forward though, with the addition of a darker shade of hedgehog bringing something new to proceedings, alongside a shiny remaster of one of the few standout titles of the Xbox 360/PS3 era. And no, he’s not bringing his guns.
Sonic Team know exactly what they’re doing, and Generations remains a high spot in the most recent Sonic canon. It starts with the perfect Sonic opening jingle, and immediately sends you off to Green Hill Zone, giving you the much needed dopamine hit of nostalgia as you wonder how much slower your reflexes have become in the intervening years. I completed the first course with an S rating – based on Time, Rings and avoiding death – so they can’t be too bad quite yet.
Shadow Generations exists as its own game alongside the remastered Generations, and you can immediately see the key differences in the roller-blade equipped Shadow over his bluer brethren. Our first level, Space Colony Ark Act 1, sees Shadow gain a new move called Chaos Control, which slows time, allowing you to avoid danger, or just mash it into little pieces by hammering a button.
You’re constantly under pressure here from a dimension-hopping entity that shares a little bit of Shuma Gorath tentacle-ness as they mutter away at you about not being able to avoid your fate. This is all going on amidst some zippy 3D Sonic action, and it feels exactly as you’d hope, though it’s also a little constrained feeling after Sonic Frontiers.
The new abilities come thick and fast though, as Shadow can also Doom Surf, riding across water on a dark wave of something that doesn’t look all that good – I suppose that would be the ‘Doom’ bit covered. Shadow does seem to have fallen into Lord of the Rings in Kingdom Valley, a level that has a fair bit of eagle grabbing, but admittedly, not a smidgen of Hobbit.
Our hands-on included checking out one of the bosses, with the Biolizard being a huge… well, lizard, with a variety of cables, tentacles, and pink bubbles coming off its body. This is classic 3D Sonic, with the homing attack combining with running around leading to a relatively swift victory. It was enjoyable enough, but the enemy design here certainly wasn’t up to the same level we’ve seen here otherwise.
It’s an interesting approach to a remaster, with the Sonic Generations buff-up feeling traditional and safe, while so far Shadow feels off-kilter and slightly weird. I’m here for it though, and if the level design remains as enjoyable as what we’ve seen here, then I’m sure fans of Sonic, and Shadow, will be well served this winter.
