2024 looks to be another strong year in the era of the Sonic the Hedgehog renaissance. At Summer Games Fest, we got to go hands on with the upcoming remake of the 2011 original Sonic Generations, now called Sonic X Shadow Generations since it features everyone favorite edgy hedgehog Shadow (though not voiced by Keanu Reeves like in the upcoming film).
As someone who hasn’t played the original, the game is incredibly fun and full of speed. The demo featured four different levels for us to experience. Two featured Sonic from the original game and two were new Shadow levels. The first of the Sonic levels was the classic Green Hill Zone in the side scrolling style. 2D Sonic is my favorite, so it was such a blast flying through the level racking up rings and trying to get a quick time and S rank the level once I beat it. The second was a 3D Green Hill Zone level which I had never experienced before, and I was surprised by how much fun flying through a 3D level was and how different yet similar it was to the 2D level. Overall, the updated visuals to these levels are a delight and it’s incredible how the studio was able to make the game look so good when standing still or zooming through the scenery.
Obviously, the big thing to discuss here are the new Shadow levels. The first of the two levels was a massive 3D level. This level took over 6 minutes to complete which was over twice as long as it took to complete the Sonic 3D level. Shadow basically plays the same as Sonic in the 3D levels, but has one special ability call Chaos Control which is a five second slow down time mechanic which allows Shadow to avoid some fast moving projectiles or smash a giant attack from something in a quick time button mashing moment. The art in this level was outstanding and had some very trippy moments that just drew me into a trance. The second level was a boss battle in an arena. This level was mainly just focused on avoiding attacks and climbing the boss to attack its weak point. This fight really showcased why Chaos Control is such a handy ability as it allows you to avoid the boss’s attack and get your hits in much easier than you would otherwise.
Overall, Sonic X Shadow Generations is sure to be a game any Sonic fan will enjoy when it releases later this year.