How Shadow Generations Fixes Sonic Generations’ Biggest Problem

The Sonic X Shadow Generations release date is finally here, and the game delivers across the board. While the title impresses as a remaster, it’s the changes brought about by the new story mode, focusing on Shadow, which is the heart of the experience. With the implementation of creative new powers, reality-bending levels, better boss fights, and an overhauled hub world, here’s how the new expansion improves on the original.

Yes, Shadow Generations is much more than just a brief DLC. There’s an original story penned by Ian Flynn, which brings this new narrative into the fold of Sonic Generations. However, for more on the base game and story notes, we encourage you to read our full Sonic X Shadow Generations review. Let’s get into why Shadow is superior to his rival in this game.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Simple Curiosity
3. Tries to Take a Bite of Me
4. What I'm Made Of
5. Heroes Rise Again
6. The Bottom Line
7. FAQs

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Simple Curiosity
3. Tries to Take a Bite of Me
Show Full Guide
4. What I'm Made Of
5. Heroes Rise Again
6. The Bottom Line
7. FAQs

Simple Curiosity

A common complaint of Sonic Generations’ gameplay is how it breaks up the action of the 2D and 3D stages to engage in mundane challenges in order to progress. I was initially skeptical about how Sonic Team was going to address this with Shadow Generations, and when I heard the apparent solution was to double the challenge requirements, I was nervous. However, upon beating the game, I can appreciate how these new challenges are implemented.

In the base game, you only need to complete one objective to score a key to move on, and you’re free to pick from any challenge gates littered around the void. In Shadow Generations, though, you need to do two at a time, but these challenges are much better. For one, they are much faster (you can typically beat a gate in under a minute), and secondly, they are far more engaging and use Shadow’s abilities with refinements to the sections of levels that are enjoyable to play.

This means doing anything from surviving a particularly punishing part of the level, complete with a ton of spikes, armed with only one ring, to needing to utilize Shadow’s returning Chaos Control power to freeze time to get around enemies, stop platforms in place, and breakthrough hazards. It’s fun. While I dread replaying Sonic Generations every year because of the bloat, I’ve found myself replaying the Shadow Generations challenges, chasing the S Ranks, which I never expected I would ahead of release.

Tries to Take a Bite of Me

You’ll see from the menu screen above that there’s a full map screen, and that’s because the previous purely 2D void from Sonic Generations is now a bonafide hub world. In a similar vein to how Bowser’s Fury was built on top of Super Mario 3D World, Shadow Generations features a sense of scale with four distinct areas to explore.

The new White Space area also gives you full reign of Shadow’s powers, including Doom Shards (projectiles), Doom Surf, Doom Morph, and Doom Wings, which vastly add to the character’s skill set. Combined with Chaos Control, these new abilities really help to make Shadow stand out in gameplay. A small change is how the Ultimate Lifeform’s homing attack is implemented, too. Because Shadow teleports between strikes, you can use the ability to phase through certain obstacles, which opens up new paths for exploration during 2D and 3D levels, which not only looks great but also feels satisfying to pull off, too.

What I’m Made Of

Arguably controversial, but Classic Sonic and the 2D levels in Sonic Generations are among the worst and least enjoyable aspects of the game. Shadow Generations levels follow the same two-act structure (one in 3D and one in 2D), but the lines are far less blurred here. That’s because Act 1 is 3D throughout the whole act. There’s barely any time when Shadow will be forced into a 2D perspective (as with Sonic’s levels), which is a major improvement.

For those who don’t know, there’s no Classic Shadow, as the character wasn’t introduced into the Sonic franchise until 2001’s Sonic Adventure, which is fully 3D. While you play in a 2D perspective in Act 2 of levels, you retain your full skill set, including powers and the homing attack, which makes them more enjoyable to burn through. 2D stages are generally briefer, but the level design is built around accommodating the play style.

This means times when Shadow will be able to phase through certain environments with the homing attack, use the Doom Shards to hit switches or take down enemies from a distance, and kick Chaos Control into overdrive. You’re never playing as a worse version of the character, as with Classic Sonic, and by extension, never contending with poor physics, which is not in line with the hedgehog’s original play style. Simply put, Shadow feels like Shadow regardless.

Heroes Rise Again

Another lesser element from Sonic Generations gameplay was how some of the boss fights were handled. Whether that meant the showdown with the Time Eater, the Classic Sonic bout against the Death Egg Robot, or the rematch with Perfect Chaos, they left a lot to be desired. Shadow Generations features notably improved boss fights, which innovate on the original encounters without reducing what made them notable in the first place.

Take the boss fight against the Bio Lizard, as first seen in Sonic Adventure 2. In the original game, it’s a drawn-out slog, which frustrates more than it excites. However, while initially very similar in Shadow Generations’ first phase, things are quickly dialed up to 11 as new mutations roll out, and the fight gains some verticality, which calls upon both Chaos Control, expertly timed homing attacks, and the Doom Spear powers to win out.

With that said, not every Shadow Generations boss fight is of that level of quality. Without giving too much away, there’s a later encounter with Metal Overlord (originally seen in the Final Story of Sonic Heroes), which feels like a huge step-down. In the original game, Super Sonic teams up with Tails and Knuckles to defeat the evolved Metal Sonic in the air, but things are much more grounded when Shadow solos the mechanical beast.

Shadow is stuck using the Doom Surf power while treading water the entire time, where the bout boils down to some hazard avoidance and homing attacks. It’s basic, overly long, and far more exciting. Despite looking and sounding the part, complete with the excellent soundtrack, it’s a low point in an otherwise excellent package. Fortunately, this encounter is an outlier, as other Shadow Generations bosses are incredible, but I won’t give the game away here. Let’s just say expect to see some familiar faces who haven’t made an appearance in nearly 20 years.

The Bottom Line

Shadow Generations isn’t just an excellent expansion to an already top-tier game but one of the best Sonic games in its own right. Featuring excellent levels and innovative ideas thanks to the new White Space, revised challenges, an array of Doom abilities, and a surprisingly touching narrative, Sonic Team has done the Ultimate Lifeform justice. Whether you’ve played through Sonic Generations before or are looking to jump in for the first time, you won’t regret giving Shadow a chance in 2025.

FAQs