As a lifelong fan of Sonic and a self-proclaimed goth kid at heart, I can confidently say that Shadow Generations has hit all the right notes for me. The game’s dark, edgy aesthetic perfectly encapsulates Shadow’s schlocky goth royalty energy, and I found myself utterly captivated by the haunting melodies and gloomy atmosphere.
In recent times, remasters are quite common, but Nintendo broke new ground a few years ago with Bowser’s Fury, which was an innovative take on the concept. This experimental game, though smaller in scale compared to a full title, came bundled with Super Mario 3D World’s Nintendo Switch port. To everyone’s surprise, it attracted more attention than the main game itself. It appears that Sega has learned from this and taken notes, as the re-release of Sonic Generations from 2011 now boasts a standout bonus game. The Sonic x Shadow Generations goes a step further by making this “extra” content the primary focus. Notably, it offers some of the best 3D Sonic gameplay yet.
Way past too cool for parties
In Sonic Generations, a gathering celebrates the Blue Blur and his friends, but the festivities are disrupted by an entity that controls time and dimension. Colluding with Eggman, who was most certainly not on the guest list for this soiree, the Time Eater drags everyone into eerie vortexes. Sonic himself is expelled into a Pure Realm, where he must revisit pivotal moments in his past to rectify the timeline. Interestingly, this realm is also connected to an alternate dimension, where versions of all classic Sonic characters perform their roles. Cooperating, the contemporary and classic Sonics traverse remodeled levels from across the series to fix the situation.
For some unknown reason, there seems to be a lack of Shadow in the picture, and that’s where Shadow Generations steps in. He appears to have missed the gathering, and by ‘missed’, I mean he might not have even planned on attending. Somehow, he finds himself isolated in White Space regardless, facing his tumultuous past being exploited against him. There isn’t the usual version of Shadow, but Sega has devised a creative method to aid the edgier hedgehog. They’ve equipped him with DOOM powers instead. Awesome!
I can tell that you like to shop at Hot Topic
Nearly everything about Shadow Generations is fantastic, both sincerely and playfully. Shadow, as a character, has been recognized as the turning point of the “Sonic Cycle,” where the series’ complex lore and expanding cast began to seem excessive. However, Shadow also represents the most significant attempt by Sonic lore to evoke emotion, presenting an edgy anti-hero with an overdramatic tragic backstory filled with early 2000s emotional turmoil. Writer Ian Flynn has skillfully developed and enriched this backstory, although I can’t help but harbor a bit of dislike towards him for it. The popularity graph of “is Shadow actually cool or not” has been a rollercoaster ride for years, and Shadow Generations feels like an emphatic “absolutely yes, and those who disagree can step aside” statement from Sega and Sonic Team. Moreover, the Year of Shadow marketing campaign, including a motorcycle that travels worldwide, demonstrates there’s no room for timidity in this endeavor.
From a pure gameplay perspective, this is some of the tightest, most polished action from Sonic Team yet in the 3D Sonic camp. I replayed Sonic Adventure 2 just a few weeks ago, and it’s incredible how much progress has been made from that point. The overall sense of speed has been toned down slightly, but the trade-off is in controls and mechanics that simply work as advertised. Through the years gimmicks like homing attacks, rail-grinding, boosting, and more have landed with varying degrees of success. In Shadow Generations, it feels like everything works and when something goes poorly, it’s a genuine mistake on my end. At times the action can feel fumbly, especially as new powers are added into the mix, but overall that’s more of a matter of adjustment to a complex toolbox than it is anything else. And when it comes to the basics, zipping along levels and loops, that stuff has never hit better. The first level in particular is a face-punch of cool stuff happening every five seconds.
In this game, Shadow’s presence exudes an exhilarating, undaunted dark and edgy vibe. Essentially, Shadow is like a vampire in a fur costume, and every aspect of his environment within and beyond the game’s narrative is crafted to accentuate that. The music is a blend of melancholic, eerie tunes when it isn’t blasting gothic club synth rhythms at you; even then, each note seems heavy with sorrow, as if tears were streaming down a ghostly face. Each of Shadow’s new abilities bears the name DOOM, hinting that they are fueled by anger and despair. Despite hedgehogs not being able to swim, Shadow can use DOOM Surf, summoning a massive manta ray made of dark, gelatinous tentacles from (presumably) literal Hell, to glide across the water and jump through playful, arcade-style boost hoops. From above, Shadow Generations wholeheartedly embraces Shadow’s tacky gothic aristocrat essence, free from any shackles of embarrassment. It’s awesome.
Sonic is here too!
Talking about irony, it’s somewhat unfortunate how Shadow Generations was teamed up with Sonic Generations. While many people who were undecided about 3D Sonic back in 2011 seemed to appreciate the game, it’s not one of my personal favorites, and the remaster seems to emphasize some of its flaws. The 2D levels are quite disappointing, with numerous frustrating death traps that the series has since abandoned, and so much visual clutter it can be hard to discern what’s happening at times. The 3D levels are definitely an improvement, and they do feel fantastic running at 60 fps. However, they were made during a time when Sonic Team was still trying to figure out the 3D Sonic formula, often hindering their own progress. The music is packed with hits though, and the levels themselves are impressive, representing Sega’s arcade game heritage in a unique way. Sonic Forces does this even more effectively, but we’re not quite ready for that discussion just yet. I’m not either…yet.
As a Sonic fan, I find White Space to be significantly more engaging and entertaining to traverse alongside Shadow, compared to the side-scrolling hub in Sonic Generations. This dimension seems to draw heavy inspiration from Sonic Frontiers, the latest installment in Sonic’s 3D journeys. The “Open Zone” design is truly captivating, as Shadow is given a vast area to explore, filled with platforming challenges reminiscent of Sonic. Solving each mini-puzzle rewards you with something exciting, such as artwork, music, or lore pieces from the series. Each reward comes in the form of a chest, the keys for which are hidden within the levels themselves (instead of red rings like before). The exploration is doubly rewarding, as secrets discovered in stages contribute to discoveries in White Space. It’s an enticing cycle, particularly if you enjoyed what Frontiers aimed to achieve.
The highly-anticipated game, Sonic x Shadow Generations, will be released on October 25, 2024, and can be played on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, as well as Xbox One and Series X|S. Previewers who aren’t using a Nintendo Switch will have early access to the game starting October 22. The publisher generously provided a PS5 code for this review.
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2024-10-21 16:27