Developer Sonic Team’s Sonic

Actually a bundle, the game includes a remaster of the 2011 hit Sonic Generations and the all-new Shadow Generations.

While the former comes to life with new updates and greets a new generation of players in impressive ways, the latter is a Shadow-based game that offers all kinds of interesting new wrinkles to the mix.

The result is one of the most exciting pre-release prospects for a game this year and with it comes the opportunity for the characters and universe to take a significant next step.

It was a bit easy before release to present this Sonic effort as some kind of paltry middle entry that visually improved on a classic and offered a little extra campaign on top of that.

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Generations is visually impressive and fits modern times. Fans of the 2011 original (or any Sonic game, for that matter) know the premise: the locations are diverse and colorful, the catchy tunes match the theme, and the sensation of speed is impressive.

But Generations doesn’t just adapt the visuals to modern power and sprinkle them with new tunes that players will find themselves humming all day long.

No, like the 2011 version, the new components in this offering deftly switch between side-scrolling and 3D during gameplay in interesting ways. As always, the controls are tight and snappy, with plenty of precision required to really get high scores or complete some of the tougher challenges.

Along the way, players will use all sorts of Sonicisms to progress, whether it’s springs, boost pads, curves, slopes, loops, and more. while grabbing the rings and avoiding things like pits and enemies.

While the Blue Blur himself remains pretty much the same here, Shadow gets some new abilities that really shake things up in interesting ways.

Shadow’s chaos control means players can freeze time or objects and even open new paths. Some Doom powers are unique and specific to certain areas, such as the ability to simply surf on water. It’s fun to use them at every stage, especially when crafty players discover that they can also freeze literal game timers.

Unlike Sonic, Shadow also retains all of his powers for the 2D stages, making them faster and unique. It feels like another natural progression of the formula, while remaining true to the spirit of the franchise.

Kudos in particular to the Shadow 3D stages for their fantastic level design. It feels like player feedback and smart decisions went into each one, which is truly a representation of what the 3D space should look like in its heyday for the franchise.

It’s not just about endless work to face step after step and overcome challenges. Players can also travel to a hub world called White Space, where players who enjoyed the open space of Sonic Frontiers will feel right at home. Even if it is not huge, it is full of things to discover.

Story, multiplayer and more

Generations, a time-traveling blockbuster, mixes up the narrative in interesting ways.

The events of Shadow Generations cover the same plot as the story of 2011’s Sonic Generations. There, Shadow has to face Black Doom, leader of the Black Arms army while the story of Sonic Generations remains the same.

At the very least, it’s nice to have some deeper context on the overall world – and just nice in general to see Shadow commanding such a spotlight. But it certainly doesn’t hurt that some of the writing is earnest and heartfelt, making it easy to become invested in the characters and events.

Each level is divided into two acts between the different perspectives, side-scrolling and 3D. The challenges in both cases determine whether players can take on the bosses and actually complete the story.

There are of course even bigger challenges to face later if players really want to test their skills, but the overall pacing is excellent. Some, like completing an act with just one ring, are sometimes still extremely difficult, but in a way that makes success extremely rewarding.

Aside from general progression, there are also some fun side content items to tackle, like finding Chao in each level and playing pinball, to name a few.

The game does an incredible job of ensuring that players feel rewarded while exploring. It’s super generous with cool collectibles like history, art, and music selections.

On modern hardware, Generations, of course, runs smoothly, also having many options for players who are too weak in settings. The first is also true on the Nintendo Switch’s portable mode.

Overall, this isn’t the definitive Sonic the Hedgehog game. But it’s not a blow, rather it’s a testament to the greatness of Frontiers and Superstars in their own way.

But this is the definitive Shadow the Hedgehog game.

The whole package is great for all ages, with enjoyable challenges for players who want to test themselves. From a meta-industry perspective, this is also an exceptionally well-done remaster, both highlighting old content and adding plenty of new stuff for good measure.

Perhaps most important of all, Generations is a love letter of sorts to the franchise. If this is where Sonic and Co. go from here, it’ll be fun to hop on board.