Sonic X Shadow Generations: The Kotaku Review
People will no doubt call Sonic X Shadow Generations a “love letter” or “tribute” to Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic’s brooding rival who debuted back in 2001’s Sonic Adventure 2. But as a person who grew up seeing the black-and-red hedgehog as the emotional center of the franchise, it feels more like an apology. Sega has not been kind to Shadow over the years. Where once he was a complex, playable mainstay in the series, the Ultimate Lifeform has become a flanderized background character defined almost entirely by not liking other people and wanting to beat the blue blur in any competition that will have him. Shadow Generations, a hefty pack-in alongside a full remaster of 2011’s Sonic Generations, delivers a wonderful course-correction for Sega’s mistreatment of Shadow over the years, reminding fans that he was once the deepest well of emotional storytelling the series has to draw from. The best part is that it’s also a thrill to play, feeling better than maybe any Sonic game has in, well, generations. That’s right, Sega is releasing one of the best Sonic games it’s ever made as a pack-in for a remaster. — Kenneth Shepard
