As Sonic the Hedgehog sped over lush green hills and snatched up gold rings at such a speed that my reflexes could hardly keep up, I began to question myself. I couldn’t recall ever playing a mainline Sonic game before. Could that be right? Had the iconic blue blur escaped my notice for the last twenty-odd years of gaming? It certainly felt like it now. I didn’t know what I was doing, but equally, it didn’t seem to matter.
The beauty of an old-school classic like Sonic is that it has welcomed generations of players with open arms, regardless of where they began. Whether your first experience was back in the 90s on the Mega Drive, a decade ago on Wii U or – like me – just this week on PlayStation 5, there’s a certain level of consistency and approachability that you can expect from a Sonic experience.
I visited Five Star Games in Sydney to preview eight levels from Sega’s upcoming Sonic X Shadow Generations: four from the remaster of the 2011 release, Sonic Generations, and four from the all-new antihero campaign, Shadow Generations. The two games are packaged as unique experiences, selected through the title screen, so you can jump straight into whichever excites you most. I was keen on playing as the bad boy hedgehog, but I resisted the urge and followed through in chronological order.
Returning to a classic
Mirroring the first level of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, my preview began with Green Hill Act 1 and Act 2 in Sonic Generations. Here, you get a solid taste of what even those who are unfamiliar with the series would surely recognise as classic Sonic gameplay.
You traverse grassy, 2.5D and 3D environments, collect rings, swing across platforms and leap over spikes – all in the pursuit of hitting the finish line in the shortest time possible. It might not be anything revolutionary, but correctly timing your boosts to flash through these levels is quite satisfying. Maintained speed is the key indicator of how well you’re doing, and in turn, how much fun you’re probably having.
Chemical Plant Act 1 and Act 2 followed this, with more of the same action in an industrial environment; think grinding on rails, swinging on crane hooks and skimming over chemical waste. The aesthetics and soundtrack in this section are reminiscent of the excitement and frustration I felt playing platformers in the 2000s, so I found it more engaging.
Sonic Generations felt like a fairly cookie-cutter platforming experience based on these levels alone. It’s all had a fresh lick of paint since the original release, though, making it look significantly better than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, and the controls are nicely reactive when playing with a DualSense controller. This brings it close to par with the new content that makes up Shadow’s half of Sonic X Shadow.
Stepping out of his shadow
By contrast, my preview of Shadow Generations was much more compelling; focusing on dark aesthetics, eldritch horrors and grand, sweeping environments. It started in Space Colony Ark Act 1, which takes place on a neon-lined space station. Shadow the Hedgehog scales the outer hull, destroying defences and kicking asteroids, before delving into the narrower passageways of the ark’s interior.
You soon encounter some reality-warping action, as you hunt down Doom’s Eye – a Lovecraftian starfish-type being with six tentacles and one giant eyeball. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I detected a hint of chemistry in the back-and-forth dialogue between Shadow and the Eye – but I’ll have to wait until the full release of the game to see if there’s any validity to that theory. While I got some snippets of dialogue from various stages in the game, it wasn’t enough to understand the overarching narrative.
The breakneck pacing of Sonic continued here, but with a significantly more badass metal-electronic soundtrack, which got me way more hyped. Shadow can slow things down where necessary by momentarily freezing time using Chaos Control; an ability that allows him to freeze moving obstacles or enemies to either bypass or destroy them. Add that to the list of things that make Shadow so much cooler than Sonic.
Kingdom Valley Act 1 showcased a completely different earthy, outdoor aesthetic – one that almost reminded me of Anor Londo in Dark Souls. The environment design was so refreshing here and the camera tracking felt noticeably better than in the remaster. You cycle through a range of movement mechanics; climbing stone structures on foot, flying with a giant eagle by air and using your Doom Surfing ability to skate across the surface of water on a dark energy Manta ray. The latter is undeniably the sickest mode of transport and I’m extremely jealous that I can’t do it in real life.
Finally, I encountered two boss fights: Biolizard and Metal Overlord.
Biolizard is – as you might expect – a giant lizard under the influence of toxic chemicals. The multi-stage fight plays on the difficulties of dodging its widespread attacks within a confined space. This was a highlight of the whole experience for me, allowing me to dodge a flurry of attacks and then hammer away at my scaly foe in retaliation.
Metal Overlord is a flying mechanical boss who you need to Doom Surf after and knock obstacles at to attack from a distance. The whirlpool that he creates, forcing you to surf around him in a circle while dodging and deflecting missiles, wasn’t my favourite, but I did appreciate the variety of Shadow’s abilities it showcased.
The music during the boss fights got perhaps a little dramatic, with emo-sounding vocals coming in, but it no doubt reflects the inner angst of Shadow. Shadow Generations has a lot of personality and for me at least, that makes for an all-round more appealing game.
While I’m fond of the odd platformer here and there, Sonic wouldn’t typically be my first choice. My preview of Sonic X Shadow hasn’t converted me to a fully-fledged Sonic fan just yet, but it’s enough to convince me to pick up the game upon release. I’m keen to dive back into the slick and stylised platforming of Shadow Generations, and to uncover Shadow’s storyline – which is a start.
Sonic X Shadow Generations releases on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PC on October 25.
Previewed on PS5
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