With a brand-new trailer and a demo showcase for Sonic X Shadow Generations at Summer Game Fest, fans have more of an idea of what to expect from the remaster and its bonus Shadow solo campaign. Sonic X Shadow Generations is currently slated for release on October 25, and it promises to allow fans to experience a fan-favorite title with a fresh coat of paint while also re-introducing old and new fans to Shadow the Hedgehog. While this has excited many players, some Sonic fans have their reservations about Generations being remastered.

Some Sonic Generations fans are surprised to see the game remastered, as it can be played on Xbox Series X/S like many other Sonic games as well as on Steam, but beyond that, Generations was left behind two console generations back. There is some nostalgia, still, alongside improvements that fans want to see. According to Game ZXC's interview with Sonic Creative Officer and creator of Shadow the Hedgehog, Takashi Iizuka, Sonic Team is taking full advantage of nostalgia and new improvements.

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Sonic X Shadow Generations Revisits the Original's Concept of Interactive History

As Sonic Generations was first and foremost an anniversary game, it sets out to celebrate everything Sonic that it could possibly fit in its runtime, from remixing famous Sonic stages in 2D and 3D to offering collectibles that unlock concept art and character statues. The stages that were specifically designed for Modern and Classic Sonic are where most of Generations' storytelling was found in its environments, aiming to make the game feel like an interactive history museum of sorts where old and new players could experience everything about the series by playing it. According to Iizuka, this concept lends well to what Sonic Team aims to do with Shadow Generations.

We can't talk much about Doom Powers at this point, so we can't get into too much about what's different, but the team did want to make sure that the Doom Powers, as unique abilities, have to be used in the level design. A lot of the level design will include those because, well, Sonic doesn't have them. We're including these places where the Doom Powers can be used inside of the Shadow content. Even the core design, when you think about it outside the Doom Powers, is very similar to Sonic Generations , but it's also a little bit different.

Players will have speed that's going to be the same as Sonic; it's part of the core design philosophy. It needs to be a high-speed level to run through, but being able to use Chaos Control in the Shadow levels is also a core part of Shadow Generations' core fundamental design process. As Iizuka explained, "When we're making the levels, there has to be Chaos Control moments in them."

Shadow Generations Isn't Just What It Says on the Tin

Despite what the title may make fans believe, though, Shadow Generations is more than just revising Shadow's stages. After all, Sonic Team is well aware that fans already get what Generations has to offer from the base game itself, so Shadow Generations purposefully goes out of its way to do something different. This means using what consists of the "Generations format" and twisting it to better suit Shadow and his interactive, character-driven experience.

Yes, it's fun to relive the past, but it's also fun to experience these new things as you're attacking the boss and maybe that boss is going to start doing different movements and actions that you don't remember it doing. Then you'll realize you're in the second stage of the boss fight, and you think, "I don't remember this even existing!" It didn't, because it's new.

It makes sure that you get both that nostalgic fun, you feel comfortable, but you also get that fun, surprising delight as the boss battle kind of turns into a Shadow Generations boss fight. A boss fight where Doom Powers can be used as well, so can Chaos Control. All the things that make it Shadow Generations are put into that nostalgia to make something different.

With the fact that Shadow Generations is being developed to throw surprises at the player, and the interesting nature of Shadow's new Doom Powers and how they're integrated into the game at large, it makes this new campaign very difficult to predict in all the right ways. Fans can expect a story that hits all the right notes for who Shadow is as a character, uses both old and new abilities to make the gameplay style his rather than just Sonic redone, and takes plenty of notes from games like Sonic Frontiers to propel what fans can expect from the newest "era" of the series even further. It makes Shadow Generations sound immensely promising in many ways, and no matter if an old fan picks it up to play as Shadow, or if someone picks it up after freshly watching Sonic 3, they're bound to be in for an exciting time.