Sonic X Shadow Generations embraces the darkness in a wonderfully Y2K new Shadow campaign
8.27.2024
By Tom Regan, Contributor
For those who don’t obsessively follow the Blue Blur, Sonic X Shadow Generations is not an entirely new game, but a remaster of 2011’s fan-favorite 3D outing Sonic Generations. Released as a celebration of 20 years of Sonic, Generations paid tribute to the best 2D and 3D Sonic games, mashing them together and wrapping them up in a slick and shiny layer of HD. Yet there was one part of Sonic’s history that was undeniably absent: Sonic’s Y2K era. Thankfully, just as Gen Z has brought guyliner and spiked collars back into the collective cultural consciousness, Shadow the Hedgehog has now been given his deserving tribute, joining Sonic Generations in this remake with an all-new campaign.
Upon booting the game, a splash screen on the main menu lets you choose whether to hop into the brightly colored remaster of Sonic Generations or to instead delve into the dark depths of Shadow-y depravity. It’s a nice concession, allowing returning players to dive straight into the new content while also letting newcomers switch instantly between the light and the darkness like an overly keen raver. Whichever experience you opt to play, you can be sure of one thing: Sonic X Shadow Generations looks stunning.
As I dive into the new 4K version of Green Hill Zone, the 2.5D side-scrolling still oozes joy with every frame, each pixel brimming with nostalgic brilliance. Much as the endearingly bizarre Bowser’s Fury expansion added new life to Super Mario 3D World’s Wii U whimsy, these new Shadow sections feel refreshingly distinct from the original.
Environments in the Shadow campaign serve as a wonderful contrast to the bright Sonic stages. There are elements of Sonic and the Black Knight here, homages to Sonic Heroes, and moments that seem cut from a completely different game. When a hawk carries my brooding hog across a Dark Souls-esque gothic castle, I have to double check that I’m not playing a sentient meme.
Unlike later Sonic games that suffered something of an identity crisis, I’m pleased to report that Shadow's levels largely retain that signature sense of speed. The opening two stages are pleasingly fast-paced; I delight in dashing and leaping my way across a grimdark freeway while pounding Pendulum-esque drum and bass detonates in my headphones.
Taking place in the Doom Realm—hell yeah, brothers—Shadow’s campaign sits inside a dark and trippy alternative Sonic universe. While the core gameplay underpinning these levels will feel familiar to Sonic fans—as strange pulsating triangles chase you and environments distort into menacing new forms—the atmosphere feels completely distinct, lending each stage a hallucinogenic flavor.
As well as his signature emo aesthetic, Shadow now has a plethora of suitably dark new abilities at his disposal. In a bid to separate his playstyle from the Blue Blur, Shadow can wield mysterious Doom Powers, giving our furry anti-hero new ways to attack enemies and traverse the world. The two abilities I get to sample are the Chaos Spear and the Doom Spear. The Chaos Spear manifests as an electric projectile, effective in deflecting assaults from enemies and just generally looking pretty badass. The Doom Spear operates as a charged attack that's activated whenever multiple Chaos Spears are deployed simultaneously.
These abilities are essential tools in defeating the two bosses that I face. An ominous floating squid/Aztec sun god hybrid pursues Shadow throughout one of the levels, leading us on a fast-paced chase that sees Shadow pummeling parts of the environment to bend them to his will. These slick moments are delivered via a series of slick quick-time events (QTEs) so over-the-top they'd make Asura's Wrath blush. In fact, it's the boss levels that really stand out. Our first nemesis is the kaiju-sized "Biolizard," a gigantic oozing dinosaur-like creature intent on making Shadow his next meal. I dodge his projectiles and homing attack various parts of this building-sized lizard in a fight straight out of Sonic Adventure 2. It all feels refreshingly un-Sonic, a creative shift that Sonic Team is clearly relishing.
My second fearsome foe is a metallic monstrosity called the Metal Overlord. This boss fight switches things up once more, abandoning the trippy interdimensional highways and gothic castles in favor of a vast ocean. In suitably edgy fashion, this stage sees Shadow sprinting across a wide range of water Jesus-style, blasting the aforementioned metal menace as he soars across an oil rig landscape reminiscent of Metal Gear Solid 2’s Big Shell. There’s a little bit of Dr. Strange to these distorted realms, and the result is that each level feels akin to sprinting through a Y2K fever dream, with every successive downtuned guitar pushing me ever closer to donning JNCO jeans and re-opening my Myspace account.
All in all, I came away impressed from my time with Sonic X Shadow Generations. It’s no secret that the Sonic series has sometimes struggled to find its way in the 3D age, its style veering more drastically than a plastic Sonic Ride peripheral. Yet by building on a modern classic while choosing to add a new campaign, SEGA looks set to have carefully navigated the perilous balancing act between modernity and nostalgia. Thanks to its brilliant visuals, the original Generations remains an utter delight, yet it’s the addition of these wonderfully Hot Topic Shadow stages that will truly make Sonic X Shadow Generations worth a look for new fans and old when it comes out in October.
Sonic X Shadow Generations releases on the Epic Games Store on October 25.