A winning combination of an updated version of a beloved game and a new title in the same style that does everything a little better will have fans fawning over Generations. However, for everyone else – a few trademark Sonic issues and Shadow’s darker tone may still put you off.

It feels like every time I write a review for a Sonic game, I need to throw in a little disclaimer: While I love platforming games, to me, Sonic has always struggled with its most basic idea- i.e. You’ve gotta go fast! I completely get that some people love that Sonic has always differentiated itself from Mario games because it is quicker, often requires twitchier controls and generally is more about completing a level in the shortest possible time, rather than about collecting everything. However, over the years I feel that the 2D games, in particular, often have a level design that fights with this concept. Don’t go fast and the game feels confusing and the controls are not precise enough. Go too fast and you’ll often hit a wall or spikes – even in places where it seems the design is asking you to land. I find it err… super frustrating. So, here’s the bad news… Sonic Generations still has a lot of this. So, if like me you have trouble with the general flow of past games, odds are you’ll have a problem with this one. However, the good news is – Sonic Generations‘ flipping between 2D and 3D mitigates a lot of those issues and, even better, Shadow Generations often felt like the best Sonic game I’ve ever played.

Regeneration

So let’s tackle the remake/remaster of Sonic Generations first. As a fan of pretty much anything tackling time travel, the basic story of classic/younger Sonic and Current/Older Sonic tackling a problem together is pretty great. As you’d expect there’s not a deep narrative here – however, seeing different versions of Sonic, Tails and Robotnik and having a generally satisfying final act is something I enjoyed. If, like me, you haven’t played the original 2011 game, the time-travel mechanic also means you’ll tackle each area as both a 2D side-scroller (as the shorter, more classic Sonic) in Act 1 and then blast through a 3D version of the same area in Act 2 with modern Sonic. The updated visuals (even on the Switch) are lovely with some amazing vistas at the start of levels in particular, and even the music was pretty great. Little touches of museum pieces like artwork and unlocked soundtracks always play well for nostalgics like me. Along the way, you can also unlock some abilities, and while these weren’t a complete waste – I bought them all and had a few different set-ups without ever feeling like they changed overall play too much.

Sonic Generations sounds and looks great and the time-travel 2D/3D mechanic an undeniably fun concept, but classic Sonic level-design still often leaves me baffled.

As I mentioned previously, the level design of the left-to-right levels still drives me a little insane with more speed often just resulting in more hard stops – but breaking these up with the freer movement of ‘new’ Sonic helped a lot. Along with this, after each area’s Acts are done – challenge levels are unlocked. In general, these felt a little long and occasionally what the level requirement is (like collecting sufficient stars or hitting a set number of enemies) is a little vague or at least not that enjoyable to accomplish. On the plus side, you only need to complete one/two of these per area (there are sometimes 4 to 6 available) to get to the boss fights and barring the last one (where once again there is no clear indication of what you need to do to beat the level) I actually found these tough but fun. Occasionally, the acts will also include an extra ability or mode (like Sonic hopping on a Skateboard to grind through a San Francisco-like city) or the addition of Wisp abilities – and despite my continued issues with level design in these (especially when fleeing from a 16-wheeler truck and dealing with a stuttering frame-rate) – the quirks and changes to the basic mechanics were still welcome additions and unlike Superstars, I got to the end of Generations without too much hassle.

Generation X

While it wasn’t all to my taste, the new coat of paint and generally quite good ideas behind Sonic Generations meant I understood why so many had lived the first game. However, the standout addition to the Generations package is undoubtedly the new Shadow campaign. Everything present in Sonic Generations (like the 2D/3D switches, the power-ups and abilities) is here too but just done better. Shadow’s movement feels smoother and even my issues with level design were a lot less noticeable here. The power-ups are explained and make a real noticeable difference in the way you tackle areas – a Doom-inspired distance attack, way to target multiple enemies and traverse water and gunk feel fun to use. Challenge levels are shorter but are clearly explained and a joy to get right and boss fights felt more meaningful. And despite a darker tone the graphics seem to be crisper and pop off the screen with a clear visual ode to Dr Strange’s kaleidoscope multiverse amongst its standout features.

Everything present in Sonic Generations is in Shadow Generations too but just done infinitely better and interesting.

However, talking about a dark tone – Shadow’s story does get really quite sombre and heavy. I know I’m generally quite a lot more sensitive to this kind of thing than most players, however, I do suspect that it may be a good idea for those who feel like me (and perhaps parents of younger children) to check out the concepts around the Doom character and Shadow’s general arc – it may be something they want to prepare for before just jumping in. However, other than that – I’ve got to admit that I finally felt like I was in a groove playing and really think that now looking back, it’s probably the best fun I’ve had playing a Sonic game… possibly ever. There’s definitely a lot that Shadow Generations has pretty much perfected.

Double the Sonics, Double the fun

Despite several lingering personal reservations about Sonic games, and a dislike for the overly dark tone in the Shadow section, I totally understand why Generations is a game so many enjoyed in the past and why Sonic X Shadow Generations so many are excited for. This one looks and sounds as good as it ever has, includes a pretty impressive additional game and continues to show that the Sonic team still has a lot to offer long after the demise of SEGA. In short, Sonic X Shadow Generations is likely to be a big hit for fans, and may even have enough to lead sceptics like me to re-evaluate their anti-Sonic bias 😉

REVIEW CODE PROVIDED BY: GAMEFINITY

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