Highlights

  • Sonic Generations being remastered with a new Shadow campaign brings excitement to fans and keeps the popular game alive after 10 years.
  • The remaster allows Sega to sell Sonic Generations on newer Nintendo and PlayStation consoles, enhancing it with better graphics and features like 4K resolution.
  • The addition of Shadow content in Sonic Generations capitalizes on the character's popularity and sets the stage for his potential role in the upcoming Sonic movie, as those who fall in love with the character will have a "new" game to pick up that stars him.

While players wait for the arrival of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in theaters, they'll have plenty of time to get reacquainted with the character of Shadow the Hedgehog with Sonic X Shadow Generations. 13 years after Sonic Generations' original release, the hit Sonic game is getting remastered by Sonic Team itself, complete with a brand-new Shadow campaign on the side. Many players are excited about the new features and additions, especially since Sonic Generations has been one of the more favored games in the blue hedgehog's 33-year history.

However, as great as it is that there will be at least one full-title release from the Sonic series this year, it's a bit surprising that Sonic Generations is being remastered at all. From the trailer shown at Sony's recent State of Play presentation, the core game hardly seems to have changed, whereas Shadow's campaign is a rather big jump in visual graphics comparatively. Even though there are plenty of other Sonic games that could have deserved the remaster more, Sonic Generations' new life serves still serves a few purposes.

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The Importance of Rereleasing Sonic Generations

The Success of Sonic Generations

Back in 2011, Sonic Generations was a hit with plenty of Sonic fans due to the way that it paid tribute to Sonic the Hedgehog's 20th anniversary with plenty of style and love. Because of the presentation found in the celebratory title, the game still sits as one of the franchise's top sellers on Steam over ten years later. However, Sonic Generations was left behind on the PS3 and the Nintendo 3DS as the years went by, with Steam and the Xbox store being the only ways to get the game on current consoles.

Sonic Generations is About to Reach Newer Consoles

This remaster is an easy way for Sega to sell the game in recent storefronts that cater to Switch, PS4, and PS5 players. As it gives Sonic Generations a fresh coat of paint, which allows it to adapt to include new things such as native 4K resolution, those who enjoyed the original game may see the additional Shadow content as just the icing on the cake. It begs the question if the remaster will lead to the original version being delisted, though, which is worrying fans due to the history of mods that are still used today that keep the game alive.

Shadow the Hedgehog May Be the Most Important Character of 2024

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is Likely Going to be Sonic Adventure 2: The Movie

In the time since the original Sonic Generations was released, the titular blue hedgehog and his friends Tails and Knuckles have made their mark on the silver screen in not just one, but two feature-length films. The ironically named Sonic the Hedgehog 2adapted the story of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 for theaters, and it featured a sequel hook that all but confirmed that the third film of the Sonic cinematic universe is looking to adapt the story of Sonic Adventure 2. Shadow is, without a doubt, going to play a big part of the next Sonic movie as a result, which could boost the film's success since Shadow is one of the most popular characters in the franchise.

Sonic x Shadow Generations is All of Shadow

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is currently slated to release in December 2024, so releasing additional Shadow content in Sonic x Shadow Generations is a great way to capitalize on the character's popularity with fans. The remastered title is set to release months before the movie's release, but with the pretense of Generations' plot, Shadow's campaign has free rein to explore the black hedgehog's history from his debut to possibly even as far as Sonic Forces. It's the perfect way for newer fans who see the movie and love Shadow to experience more content involving him in video game form, with the remaster poised to earn the series more money and exposure overall.