Sonic X Shadow Generations review – Transformative on Switch 2

In my opinion, Sonic needs 60fps. I’m a British boy and was raised with 50hz PAL Sonic games on the Mega Drive, and I distinctly remember thinking that the movement speed when underwater felt like trying to run in a dream. Jumping into Sonic Mania and Sonic Origins years later felt revelatory, and although modern games don’t usually slow the speed of the gameplay if the frame rate drops, 30fps just feels too choppy for the fastest living thing in video games. 

There’s good news: Nintendo Switch 2 delivers Sonic X Shadow Generations at a smooth 60fps in all modes, though Shadow Generations does have a 30fps option which is on by default. Sonic Generations might be an Xbox 360 game at its core, but Shadow Generations is a more modern title, and that’s why the original Nintendo Switch only had a 30fps option. The bad news is that there’s no upgrade path, and if you bought Sonic X Shadow for the now last-gen handheld, Sega wants you to buy the whole game all over again. 

If you haven’t bought in yet and you’re looking for a new Nintendo Switch 2 game, that’s where Sonic X Shadow Generations really shines. This is a love letter to previous Sonic games, making both the 2D and modern styles of Sonic available with remixed versions of classic stages. If you have any nostalgia for the series, then something in this game will make you smile.

It is technically two games, mind. Sonic Generations is the original game that launched over a decade ago, and Shadow Generations is something new. Yes, it’s throwing back to classic games and stages that featured Shadow, obviously, but as a new game, Shadow Generations tries to be something new. The hub world, while reasonably plain, is in full 3D, and exploring it takes a few cues from the often misunderstood Sonic Frontiers. 

Gameplay is a new take, too. While Sonic Generations sticks firmly to the archetypes of 2D classic Sonic, and 3D Sonic’s “Boost” era, Shadow Generations fuses the two. Shadow is a product of the 3D era of Sonic, he never had a 2D iteration, so it only makes sense that Shadow has full access to a modern moveset at all times. 

Unlike Sonic, Shadow has access to Chaos Spears, which certain enemies and objects need to be hit with before moving forward. It’s an extra button to think about, but that’s what makes chaining together movement combos so satisfying. Chaos Control is also a usable ability, but it just slows obstacles so you can move through without hassle — nice to have, but unnecessary until the game forces you to use it.

Blasting through remixes of familiar stages from across the Sonic franchise is still brilliant, and Shadow’s moveset feels more satisfying to me than what we get of Sonic’s two styles in Sonic Generations, but it still has the same pacing problems as that game. I hate having to go through challenge stages to collect keys to unlock the next area, and they should be strictly optional, but they weren’t in Sonic Generations, and they’re not in Shadow Generations. The nostalgic racetrack just had to have a few speed bumps.

Luckily they’re over reasonably fast, and they’re not all that difficult, leaving behind the frankly fantastic main stages. Shadow Generations feels like a more thought-through and complete game than Sonic Generations in many ways, although the gameplay approach has divided fans in the past. As someone who’s eager to see something new – even in classic stages – Shadow Generations gives me faith in the future of the franchise.

Sonic the Hedgehog first launched in June 1991, and so did I. Somehow, 34 years later, Sonic the Hedgehog is bigger than ever. He has a bombastic movie trilogy starring Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba, multiple new games, and more relevance than ever. Sonic gives me hope that my 34th year will be my best year too, and Sonic X Shadow Generations feels like a great way to send off the old era of Sonic while welcoming a new one.