Sonic X Shadow Generations PS5 Review
Summary: Bringing the best of past Sonic games into the modern gaming world with familiar yet fresh and striking levels.
4.6
Solid Sonic
Sonic X Shadow Generations takes classic Sonic and modern Sonic and remasters a collection of iconic 2D and 3D levels, then, just to keep that sense of speed going it throws in a completely new stand-alone Shadow campaign.
Fans of the original games will find the game familiar yet also fresh. The premise is a clever way to revisit some classic levels. Essentially Sonic and his friends have been scattered through space and time, in order to restore their timeline to normal, classic and modern Sonic will have to team up to defeat the cause of this chaos… Dr Eggman, past Dr Eggman and the Mysterious Time Eater. Revisiting these classic levels presents players with updated visuals, the ability to use a Drop Dash for classic Sonic and reworked cinematics (plus other updates). It’s a great way of bringing a touch of nostalgia but blending it with the power of modern gaming and the levels do indeed look familiar but gorgeous (ground that was previously just blocks of colour now have lush grass and other details giving real visual splendour).
Shadow’s campaign is basically the natural progression of the previous games, taking on the classic side scrolling and mixing in behind the character perspective sections to provide variety. There are the obvious rings to collect but there are plenty of other challenges on each level to provide reason to go back and see what else you can find. Shadow also has a number of new abilities to use which provide new ways to play.
As you play through the remastered levels and free your friends they will then be able to provide you clues before you take on their level again… things such as hinting at what portion of a stage a special item might be found or a different path to take. As you gather all the bonus items you accrue more and more bonus content, class tunes, concept art etc. It gives the whole package a lot of depth and works wonderfully for bringing people up to speed with what is going on. Being able to play a level as either classic or modern Sonic also gives a decent amount of replayability as they can each use their strengths in the levels and one might be able to achieve things the other can’t and vice versa.
At the core of the game, as always, is speed and this means there’s a lot of quick reaction time required… as you speed along a rail you might get only a moment to notice that there’s an item or an alternate path you can take… if you hit the right button at the right moment… but in the blink of an eye your chance is gone. This is great for repeat plays (you can prime yourself to make the move)… but can also be frustrating if your reaction time isn’t what it used to be (say if you are 46 and significantly slower than days gone by).
Final Thoughts:
If you are a Sonic fan, this is a great collection of some classic levels with enhancements to bring them into the modern gaming age. With the addition of the Shadow campaign there’s plenty of gameplay to be had. If you are new to the Sonic series, this is a great way to get a taste of different iterations and to learn a bit about the backstory of some of the characters. A great bit of fun and a stunning update on some familiar levels.
About the Author
Chris O'Connor Father of four, husband of one and all round oddity. Gaming at home since about 1982 with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Moving on to the more traditional PC genre in the years that followed with the classic Jump Joe and Alley Cat. CGA, EGA, VGA and beyond PC's have been central to my gaming but I've also enjoyed consoles and hand helds along the way (who remembers the Atari Lynx?). Would have been actor/film maker, jack of many trades master of none.
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