The best of both worlds

After his franchise mostly lay dormant, Sonic the Hedgehog seems to be in the midst of a full-on revival. An unexpected statement Sonic X Shadow Generations during Sony's State of Play event in January 2024 meant fans got a third new one Sonic game in as many years as a far cry from the 5 year gap between them Sonic Mania and Sonic Frontiers. But until 2022 Sonic Frontiers introduced several new ideas in 3D Sonic template and 2023 Sonic Superstar brought players back to a game reminiscent of the character's classic adventures, neither set the world on fire, leaving players wondering where Sonic X Shadow Generation s will fit in with the new crop of titles featuring the Blue Blur.

While it may not reach the heights of the best games in the franchise, Sonic X Shadow Generations is a loving tribute to all of Sonic's past eras that, for the most part, meets all the requirements players want from Sonic game Generations creates an interesting dichotomy between the two competing halves, drawing in elements from different angles Sonic franchise to give a cherry-picked greatest hits feel Sonicalmost 35 years of history. Although it is not without minor disappointments, Sonic X Shadow Generations is perhaps the greatest entry in the current trio Sonic games and a must for fans of the franchise.

The twin halves of Sonic X Shadow Generations take the characters on a journey through time

Loading Sonic X Shadow Generations gives players a choice between two separate halves of the game, Sonic Generations and Shadow Generations. However, despite being separate games, the two titles share a common time travel story that functions as both a plot and a justification for why both Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog go through a real “Hall of Fame” stages from across Sonic franchise. Players can choose any half of the pack to start with and freely jump from it Sonic to Shadow Generations with just a few button presses. However, what is it worth Sonic Generations half does a good job of setting up big plot elements that help Shadowthe story makes a lot more sense.

Choosing Sonic half Generations welcomes players with a scene in which Sonic and his friends from across the franchise celebrate the character's birthday. Of course, the celebration is short-lived as a new villain named The Time Eater appears and takes Sonic and his friends into a temporal anomaly. In this eternal void, Sonic has access to various places Sonic games where each zone is divided into two acts. However, unlike the traditional one Sonic setting, each act adheres to a specific era Sonic the hedgehog gameplay. Act 1's stages are classic-style side-scrolling stages, while each Act 2 is a full 3D level similar to what players experienced in Sonic Adventure games (including some iconic stages from both classic Dreamcast games).

These stages are connected by a white center world, which Sonic brings back life and color to, completing zones and saving his friends. The hub is set up as traditional 2D Sonic stage, complete with hinges and dashboards, and players can unlock more of it by defeating a series of well-crafted boss battles. To unlock the gates for each boss, players must first complete the challenge gates for each zone, which challenge the player through certain objectives.

Between the different collectibles available in each zone (three hidden chows in each act, as well as 5 Red Star Rings) and the ability to push for higher ranks in both Acts and Challenge Gate, there's a lot to dig into, plus to just show it to the boss and clear the main story. Completing any stage with a high rank earns players points that they can spend in the new skill shop to unlock useful abilities in the game. Sonic has 5 different outfits that he can customize, rename, equip and even define for Act 1 or Act 2 stages, creating a lot of flexibility in how players approach levels in Sonic half Generations​​​.

The Shadow half Generations follows much the same basic structure, with only a few notable exceptions. There are fewer zones in the Shadow part Generationsbut each (except the last zone) is still divided into two acts. However, these acts change the design of the stages Sonic half to make Act 1 more reminiscent Sonic Adventure and Act 2 take more of a side-scrolling perspective.

next, ShadowThe central area takes a page from Sonic Frontiers and gives players an open-world playground to explore. It's still necessary to complete Challenge Gates and earn boss keys to open up more of the world to explore, but this is done through acquiring new abilities that recontextualize how the Shadow traverses the main hub area. It's amazing to see a Sonic the game includes Metroidvania elements like ability controls, but it works to make the simple act of moving from one stage to the next more exciting than it would otherwise be, while also unlocking hidden collectibles and new challenges.

Each zone in both halves Sonic X Shadow Generations is an iconic locale from across the country Sonic the hedgehog franchises, and they're beautifully recreated here using 3D visuals that dynamically switch between 2D and 3D perspective planes. Nor are these revisions of past locations a simple rehash of their original layouts, even with the classic Green Hill and Chemical Plant areas of Sonic 2 delivering brand new thrills to the most experienced Sonic fan.

And it wouldn't be a Sonic a game without an extreme sense of speed, which Sonic X Shadow Generations dutifully provides both halves of the experience. However, in the more classically styled side-scrolling stages, there were times when the sense of speed was so overwhelming that the camera would often lose sight of Sonic, resulting in an unfair death or getting caught out of frame and losing the ring. Ultimately, however, the sense of speed and speed in Shadow stages serves as a reminder that few studios understand how to create seamless arcade-style lightning thrills like Sega does.

Controls and Physics – A miserable lying training ground in Thrill Ride Sonic X Shadow Generations

Both halves Sonic X Shadow Generations filled to the brim Sonic gameplay, but it also means that they are unfortunately subject to the same minor frustrations that have plagued the series over the years. For a franchise built on speed and momentum against a solid platform, it's sad to report that Sonic X Shadow Generations has some floaty physics and slight control issues that detract from a great experience. The biggest offender in this regard is the somewhat shaky target detection, which leads to a non-trivial amount of unfair deaths when trying to jump from one lock to the next at extremely fast speeds.

The same goes for boss battles. Both halves of Sonic and Shadow Generations there are some great boss fights that are arguably the best in the series, but the wobbly hit detection and floating physics often mean that these encounters come down to trial and error. In such cases, what should feel like a triumph over a fun and challenging boss battle instead feels like a relief that you'll never have to try it again. Given the need to complete some really difficult Challenge gates to even attempt to fight the bosses, it's clear that some additional tweaking to the movement and control of both Sonic and Shadow would go a long way towards smoothing out some of the weak points in the rest of the first-class Sonic game

Sonic X Shadow Generations offers a lot of bang for the buck

Minor mechanical damage, Sonic X Shadow Generations offers one of the best value propositions of any major AAA release in 2024. With two full games in one package, there are hundreds of collectibles to find and obtain, additional Challenge Gates to complete beyond what is needed to obtain the necessary boss keys, S-Ratings to seek in each stage and Challenge Gate, as well as additional secrets and events to occupy players at the heart of both games long after the credits roll in the main story. Also, each stage is so well thought out and enjoyable that they deserve to be played and replayed far more than is necessary to beat each half of the game.

After completing both halves
Sonic X Shadow Generations

my total playtime​​​​​​was 19 hours according to the PlayStation 5 “Hours Played” tracker, and that's with a significant amount of time spent hunting for collectibles and S ranks in some of my favorite stages. The
Shadow
half
Generations
somewhat shorter than
Sonic
half and took approximately 8 hours to complete, with
Sonic
half takes a bit longer thanks to more stages and more bosses, including some great surprise episodic bosses needed to collect all the Chaos Emeralds.

Sega could have easily released each half Sonic X Shadow Generations as a standalone title, but having both experiences in one product makes it easy for Sonic ventilators. The initial playthrough will take anyone anywhere from 15-20 hours, and that's not including the potential dozens of additional hours required to obtain all the collectibles and reach the highest rank in each stage, challenge gate, and boss battle.

Last year's Sonic Superstar had the unfortunate luck of being released the same week as Super Mario Miraclethe latest entry in the franchise was quickly overshadowed by its oldest competitor. Sonic X Shadow Generations is at the same disadvantage, releasing after the Asobi team Astro Botraising the question of how the two biggest platformers of the year stack up against each other. Even in post-Astro Bot the world Sonic X Shadow Generations serves as an epic reminder of just how untouchable both Sonic and Sega can be when they're at full power, and its treasure trove of content and top-notch presentation make it an easy recommendation, despite not being a flawless experience.