Shadow Generations is a platform game that shifts between side-scrolling and 3D gameplay. Being included in Sonic X Shadow Generations, players can switch between Shadow Generations and a remaster of Sonic Generations (2011) at will. The events of Shadow Generations take place alongside those of Sonic Generations.[2] The plot follows Shadow the Hedgehog as he faces his archenemy, the alien Black Doom, who has returned following his seeming demise[3] in Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) and plots to take over the world.[4]
Shadow serves as the player character and controls similarly to Sonic, but can stop time to freeze objects and access alternate paths using "Chaos Control".[5] He can also use "Doom Powers", power-up transformations granting him new abilities. These include attacking enemies with multiple "Chaos Spears", launching enemies, transforming into a monster to traverse over terrain, flying, and surfing on water.[6] Unlike Sonic Generations' side-scrolling hub world, the hub world in Shadow Generations is 3D and features open-world gameplay similar to that of Sonic Frontiers (2022),[7] and players use it to become accustomed to Doom Powers.[8]
Levels
Shadow Generations'levels and bosses, like those in Sonic Generations, are drawn from previous Sonic games, including some from games released after the original Sonic Generations.[4][9] One additional level will be available as downloadable content.[10]
Shadow Generations is part of "Fearless: Year of Shadow", a 2024 Sonic the Hedgehog marketing campaign centering around Shadow the Hedgehog to commemorate both the release of the game and of the film Sonic the Hedgehog 3, in which Shadow is prominently featured.[16] Katsuyuki Shigihara, one of Sonic Generations' designers, directed Shadow Generations; other Sonic Team members who worked on Generations contributed.[7]Sonic series producer Takashi Iizuka said that, as in Sonic Generations, Sonic Team chose to revisit levels from past Sonic games to recall Shadow's history.[7] They chose levels they found the most interesting and the most popular among fans,[2] while integrating Sonic Frontiers' open-world gameplay to add modern elements.[7]
Release
Sega announced Shadow Generations alongside a remaster of Sonic Generations on January 31, 2024, during one of PlayStation's State of Play livestreams.[17] The two are scheduled to be released in Sonic X Shadow Generations for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows on October 25, 2024.[18]Video Games Chronicle compared this to Nintendo bundling the Super Mario game Bowser's Fury (2021) alongside a re-release of Super Mario 3D World (2013) in Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury.[7] Pre-orders for the physical release of the game will receive a booklet detailing Shadow's in-universe creation from the perspective of Gerald Robotnik.[18] A digital deluxe edition of the game includes a skin based on an early Shadow design, "Terios", additional in-game music tracks, a digital art book and soundtrack, and the "Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Movie Pack" downloadable content, which adds an extra level based on the 2024 film Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and a skin for Shadow based on his appearance in the film. Keanu Reeves, who voices Shadow in the film, will reprise his role for the DLC. The Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Movie Pack will be released on December 12, one week before the film's release.[18][10][19]
A three-episode animated prologue miniseries, Sonic X Shadow Generations: Dark Beginnings,[20] animated by Studio Giggex and written by Ian Flynn, was released between September 25 and October 10, 2024.[21]
Sega collaborated with Limited Run Games to produce a collector's edition including the soundtrack, an art book, a keychain with Sonic and Shadow's shoes, Chao figurines, a statue of Sonic and Shadow standing on a Dreamcast, a steelbook case, and a mock Dreamcast jewel case. The collector's edition was available for order between August 19 and October 6, 2024, and is scheduled to ship in July 2025.[22]