“Sonic X Shadow Generations” is a 3D/2D hybrid platformer that released three days early on Oct. 22, to all who pre-ordered the digital deluxe edition of the game, and on Oct. 25 for everyone else. The game is available on all modern platforms and is a combination of the original “Sonic Generations” which came out in 2011, and a new release called “Shadow Generations” that runs parallel to the original game in terms of story.

As the more interesting release, due to relatively minimal changes made to “Sonic Generations,” which didn’t need much changed, I’d like to give my thoughts on “Shadow Generations” and explain why the visuals, gameplay, and story add up to an incredible experience.

“Shadow Generations” is a game focused on Shadow the Hedgehog, the anti-hero who first showed up in “Sonic Adventure 2” from 2001. It’s a short game, around 3-4 hours long if you’re just going to complete the main story and no other collectibles, but there is a surprising amount of content if you want to go for 100% completion.

Gameplay

“Shadow Generations” on a basic level, is a game where you quickly run through stages while aiming for a high score that leads to a better rank. Players can take advantage of Chaos Control when possible to stop time and take shortcuts or lower the time it takes to complete a stage. It plays with a similar control style to “Sonic Frontiers” minus the combat abilities, although you can toggle this setting to be more like the original “Sonic Generations” in the game’s settings. The gameplay is a mix of the normal Generations playstyle in the main levels and Frontiers open zone levels for the hub.

All acts have several different routes you can take to get to the end of the level. The main hub is much more open than in “Sonic Generations,” with several challenges you can find to unlock extra content in the bonus room.

The boss fights in Shadow Generations are also extremely fun, with each taking advantage of Shadow’s new Doom Powers, such as the boss Mephiles requiring the use of Doom Morph to strike him, or Metal Overlord’s boss fight taking place entirely over water, requiring the use of Doom Surf to reach him, and the Biolizard making use of Doom Spears. The use of the Doom Powers felt difficult to pick up but fun to master. While the powers can’t return in future games, the inclusion of similar abilities would be engaging.

Visuals

Shadow Generations is a beautiful game on PS5 and the performance never once suffers, despite the fact that the game uses several in-game cutscenes. There are many visual touches that showcase dynamic scenes, from Shadow’s Chaos Control stopping time being shown as a shift to a gray and green tint, Shadow projecting afterimages, Radical Highway shifting in certain stages, to the beauty of Sunset Heights in general, the game looks stunning and feels amazing to look at.  This is best shown in the Radical Highway level itself, as the highway distorts and twists the further in you go, showcasing Black Doom’s control over the realm.

Story

Shadow’s journey is far more serious in tone compared to Generations, and the story itself was very well written and felt very engaging. In the interest of not spoiling the game, this section will not tell any major plot points, but in summary, Shadow arrives at the ARK during Sonic’s birthday in order to locate a mysterious life signal that was found there, which was Black Doom, who’s managed to come back to life. Upon his arrival, the Time Eater also arrives and sends Shadow to another area of White Space, where he must go through his own mission in order to defeat Black Doom again. Shadow then has to face people and places from his past and future in order to stop the threat.

Conclusion

“Shadow Generations,” despite its short length, is a phenomenal game. There wasn’t a single bad part of it that I could remember and it was an amazing experience to play through, and I highly recommend it despite its short length. You can still get a lot of enjoyment out of the game, and as a bonus when you buy it, it also comes with a full re-release of “Sonic Generations,” which was already worth $20, so buying the bundle means you receive both games for only $5 more than the original release, which is a very good deal.

10/10