Highlights

  • Sonic X Shadow Generations brings a new version of Sonic Generations to newer consoles, including a brand-new campaign for Shadow the Hedgehog.
  • Shadow's side story in Sonic X Shadow Generations connects to the original Sonic Generations, exploring Shadow's past and tying into the overall narrative of Sonic games.
  • The new Shadow story in Sonic X Shadow Generations draws inspiration from Sonic 06 and Sonic Frontiers, incorporating gameplay elements and controls from these games to create a unique experience for players.

After the exciting 2022 and 2023 the series has had, Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog IP began 2024 with the reveal of the next game fans can expect. After a little over ten years, Sonic X Shadow Generations brings Sonic Generations to newer consoles, coming complete with a brand-new campaign for Shadow the Hedgehog. While some platforms such as Steam are still regularly selling the base game to many new players, others such as the Nintendo Switch and the PS5 will now be home to the fan favorite title through Sonic X Shadow Generations.

While Sonic X Shadow Generations is setting out to remaster the 2011 release for more current devices and displays, Shadow's side story stands out for many reasons. It aims to tie into the original story of Sonic Generations in order to show just how the black hedgehog showed up at the right time and the right place to fight Modern Sonic. Despite the simplistic story that the two Sonics experience, Shadow seems to quite literally face his past in a way that explores Sonic games that may be gone but certainly aren't forgotten.

Sonic racing through Rooftop Run and City Escape
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With the exciting news of Sonic X Shadow Generations, it's the perfect time to look back on some of the original game's most thrilling stages.

Sonic X Shadow Generations' New Story Takes Notes From 06, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Frontiers

How the 'Shadow Generations' Campaign Seems to Live up to Its Name

Shadow's side to Sonic x Shadow Generations is said to be its own sizable experience, and to back that up, Sega has decided to call it 'Shadow Generations' in all current press releases. However, the "generations" title had a purpose in the original game that was rather important, and Shadow's story seems to put its own spin on the name while also being just what fans might expect.

The history of Shadow the Hedgehog is rather easy to understand on a surface level, as Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the Hedgehog dive deep into his backstory and motivation as an integral part of their stories. There's more to those two Sonic games than their focus on Shadow, though, and that seems to be the very thing the new Shadow story seems to be using to its benefit.

Sonic Frontiers and Sonic 06 Make Shadow's Campaign Something Entirely New

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) is infamous as perhaps the worst Sonic game of all time, known for its glitches and incomplete state that left many players frustrated, failing to live up to expectations as one of the more ambitious Sonic Team projects at the time of its development. The negative feedback eventually led Sega to delist Sonic 06, although it was relisted in 2022, just before Sonic Frontiers was released. Interestingly, though, both games seem to be leaving their mark on 'Shadow Generations.' Shadow jumps between enemies similarly to how he does in Sonic 06, while the use of Chaos Spear in the trailer at one point suggests more intricate and dedicated controls just like the playstyles found in Sonic Frontiers.

Sonic X Shadow Generations is Bringing Shadow the Hedgehog Back From the Dead

After Shadow's death in SA2, he suffered a lapse in memory that led to the plot of Shadow the Hedgehog as he goes on a quest to find out who he is. This coincides with the return of Black Doom, the leader of a nomad alien race who donated his DNA to Project Shadow in return for claiming Earth in 50 years' time through a promise with Professor Gerald Robotnik.

This takes Shadow's complicated history and makes it even harder for the alien-hybrid hedgehog to understand who or even what he is, and he ends up killing the entire alien race by the end of his solo adventure. As Sonic Generations celebrates numerous Sonic games through time travel, it appears that Shadow once again has to face his past, testing his resolve since he found out about his alien heritage. Not only is this a perfect series entry point for people who see the upcoming third Sonic movie in theaters, but it also serves as an excuse to solidify Shadow's character for the now-updated Sonic lore standards established by Sonic Frontiers.