During 2024’s Summer Game Fest, I got hands-on with Sega’s upcoming Sonic X Shadow Generations. Even though the Sonic portions of the game aren’t anything new in terms of content, the Shadow aspects are something we’ve never seen before. That said, we’ll only be talking about the Shadow content for this preview.
Shadow’s Unique Gameplay: Edgy, Intense, and Fast-Paced
It’s been almost 10 years since we’ve been able to play as Shadow in any Sonic game. Since then, a large portion of the Sonic fan base has been patiently waiting to play as the iconic red and black hedgehog again. Sega went out of their way to capture what made Shadow so special in the first place.
He’s very emo and edgy by nature, as shown in his colors. And the levels I played reflected that. Most Sonic levels are very colorful and vibrant while playing light-hearted music in the background. That wasn’t the case for Shadow. Instead, I was thrown into space fighting for my life, destroying mechs and other robots from killing me, and when that wasn’t happening, I was being transported to an entirely different world mid-level seamlessly. The music playing was a nice cherry on top because it captured the vibe of his solo game in 2006.
The game itself played just as you’d expect a Sonic game to. Its main focus is on seeing how fast you can go while destroying enemies and collecting rewards along the way.
Combat Mechanics: Speed, Power, and Chaos Control
The combat wasn’t too notable, but one thing that stood out to me was the lack of needing to punch my way out of situations. Whenever an enemy appeared as I was racing through a track at top speed, I didn’t need to stop. Because as soon as I hit the turbo button, I’d instantly kill them upon impact. This alone made me feel extremely powerful because it made me feel like I was truly unstoppable and nothing could stand in my way.
Even though this form of combat was fun, it did come with some challenges. Because it was meant to be used on tracks rather than in combat-specific areas, each time I found myself using the boost in tight-knit locations, I’d send myself flying in the opposite direction. But even that became a fun game of whack-a-mole to see if I could land the attack.
What’s nice about Shadow is that his combat isn’t just tied to his speed. Players will quickly notice that there’ll be a small bar they can fill up, allowing them to use the ultimate move, Chaos Control. For those unaware, everything slows down when Chaos Control is in the works. This is great for various reasons; for instance, if you’re about to die, it’s a quick way to knock out as many enemies as possible, or if you’re running through a track with a bunch of traps, it becomes easier to avoid them.
As fun as the game was, there was one thing that held it back a bit: the boss fight. This can often be difficult to tackle in Sonic games because the entire game is built around speed. Most of the fight consists of me jumping and waiting for this kaiju-like beast to lie down so I can attack it.
The game did try to spice things up a bit by having me run back in fourth. It felt very redundant because I knew I would have to hold out until it would laid down once again. As soon as that happens, I attack a few key spots and repeat the process all over again. It is worth mentioning that it was only one boss, so hopefully, not all of them play out similarly to this.
That said, I very much enjoyed my time with Sonic X Shadow Generations. Sega did a great job capturing what made Shadow so iconic in the first place. His levels are intense and over the top, with obstacles standing in the way. He’s very edgy and emo, which makes him great.
Sonic X Shadow Generations is scheduled to come out later this year on October 25 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
