When it came out last year, Sonic X Shadow Generations was very well received by most critics and players. The base game still holds up just as well as when it was released several console generations ago, and the Shadow version of the game shows that Sonic Team has gotten a better grasp at both the character and how to do a fast game in the 3D space. For Switch owners, the game holds more meaning, especially if the only platform they ever had was always a Nintendo one, as the only way to experience Sonic Generations was through the 3DS. For the launch of the Switch 2, Sonic X Shadow Generations has arrived to cover platforming, and the experience is good, provided you're coming into this fresh.

While the game's title doesn't outright suggest this, Sonic X Shadow Generations is actually two games in one. Sonic Generations is the first game, and it is a remake of the game that originally came out in 2011. The story is that a creature known as The Time Eater has appeared and started to wreak havoc in the game's various timelines. This causes a merging, where you have the smaller, pudgier, and more silent Sonic from the classic Genesis titles meeting up with the more modern and talkative Sonic to put the timelines back in their proper places and rescue all of modern Sonic's friends that have gathered to celebrate his birthday.

There are several hooks that make the game intriguing for longtime fans. The first is that the levels are all pulled from various classic Sonic titles. Since this was released to celebrate the character's 20th anniversary, you're looking at a load of Genesis levels as well as some from the Dreamcast era and a little beyond. The bigger hook is the fact that you can play as either classic or modern Sonic, and this drastically changes how you play each level. Go with classic Sonic, for example, and you get classic 2D gameplay from a 2.5D perspective. You get some of the modern comforts that have been backported to the classic games after all these years, such as the drop dash and spin dash, but those who grew up with these games will feel right at home, but they would have to re-learn some enemy attack patterns since the tells have been modified in the transition. Choose modern Sonic, and you're getting everything you'd expect from the 3D adventures, like the homing dash when airborne and the slide to go under obstacles.

The game does force you to play as both Sonics, but the experience is excellent as it really feels like the formula has been refined greatly. The 2D stuff has always been good, but the 3D stuff finally has reached a point where it clicks for those who were struggling with the early 3D games. You still go by the "gotta go fast" mantra, but it feels less out of control when compared to the old game, and the result is fun.

The complaints are few but noteworthy. Challenge levels need to be completed to open up boss fights, and the quality can be hit-and-miss. Some are fun while others can be frustrating, but none are impossible. However, they feel like padding since this kind of thing wasn't needed before. The boss fights aren't memorable; they aren't terrible, but they also aren't something you'd want to replay when compared to the rest of the stages.

There's one new addition to this game over the original, and that's the inclusion of a hidden Chao in each level. Finding them unlocks something new in the game's album, with pictures of said Chao and where you found them. That's it, though. Those hoping for the return of a Chao garden are going to be disappointed, as are those hoping for a better reward for taking the time to find these beings. Still, they're present for those who have already gone through the campaign multiple times and still want something new to do, even if it's ultimately inconsequential.

The other game is Shadow Generations, a completely new entry in the series that takes place after Shadow the Hedgehog but during the events of Sonic Generations. While everyone is out celebrating Sonic's birthday, Shadow returns to the base orbiting the planet to answer a distress signal. His fears are warranted, as Black Doom appears to seek revenge for his prior defeat. Much like Sonic's adventure against The Time Eater, Shadow will have to go through a broken timeline and revisit some areas of the past to make things right again.

Like in Sonic Generations, levels in Shadow Generations are split between 2.5D and 3D sections, but the general gameplay doesn't change much between them since you only have one version of Shadow to control instead of two. Unlike Sonic, however, the journey is more straightforward since there are no challenge levels to overcome, and the boss fights are a tad better executed, showing off the team's continued mastery of how a 3D Sonic game should work. While the game places a bigger focus on the games that feature Shadow, such as the 2006 iteration of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Heroes, there are also nods to titles like Sonic Frontiers, where the character never made an appearance. Speaking of which, the game uses Frontiers as a blueprint for the hub world by providing several obstacle courses for gallery rewards and areas that are unlocked later when you obtain the right powers. It's a good trade-off for omitting challenge levels, as it makes the hub world exciting to traverse rather than a glorified level select screen.

For those wondering, Shadow doesn't have a gun, but he has some changes in his move set and some brand-new moves for this game. The homing dash is present, but it requires you to hit a different button instead of relying on hitting the jump button twice to execute it. Chaos Control is something that can be built up and unleashed to freeze time temporarily, and this becomes crucial for crossing chasms or reaching out-of-the-way places without pulling off platforming maneuvers that require split-second timing. You also have your Chaos Spear that freezes enemies in place, albeit one at a time.

Other powers gained over time change the game greatly. Known as Doom powers, they give you a few mobility-related abilities, such as the chance to surf on water or swing using tendrils. The enhanced spear lets you freeze multiple targets at once, while a blast lets him blow up everything on-screen. The more transformative of the powers gives Shadow some wings to fly through a level, but it needs a constant supply of rings to be kept active. It prevents you from disabling the ability manually, and that can be a bit chaotic for a game that emphasizes speed.

The addition of these powers does a good job of making Shadow feel more distinct than Sonic. Speed is still a thing, but there's a bigger emphasis on using your powers in chains to overcome most obstacles. Gameplay feels very diverse thanks to those powers, as you'll often find yourself doing more than just running and jumping and bouncing off things for a majority of the level. The game still has the same runtime as Sonic Generations, but it feels like there's less time wasted with padding, making this feel like a tighter experience overall.

When it comes to Switch 2-specific features, they're mostly graphical upgrades. The Sonic Generations portion of the game runs at a locked 60fps with a resolution boost, which places it in line with the other versions of the game on more powerful hardware. Meanwhile, the Shadow Generations portion gives you two graphical options. Going for quality mode increases the game's resolution but locks the game to 30fps, while performance mode boosts the frame rate to 60fps but lowers the resolution to the original Switch levels. The drop in resolution is drastic enough that you can certainly see the difference when playing on a big screen, but at least you have a choice depending on your preferences.

It's irksome that there is no upgrade path for existing Switch owners who have since migrated to Nintendo's latest console. The game came out last October on multiple platforms, so it isn't that old, and there's a good chance that Sonic fans who only own Nintendo consoles may already have this in their libraries. One thing that makes the lack of an upgrade path perplexing is the fact that you can import your Switch save data to the Switch 2 version, so you don't have to completely start over if you're going between Switch and Switch 2 versions. Sega isn't allergic to the paid upgrade path, as it will be offering one for upcoming Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, which arrives in late September. Omitting that option for all of their launch titles remains disappointing, especially since it means having to buy the DLC all over again.

Aside from the various resolution and frame rate upgrades, the game looks quite nice overall. The environments look excellent, and this is especially true for the classic levels that have gotten a big glow-up compared to their original 16-bit incarnations, and seeing some famous 3D levels getting the 2D treatment is also exciting. The character designs remain good, and there's enough stuff happening on-screen at any one time that it is awesome to see while bordering on sensory overload. It's all good stuff, especially since there's no slowdown.

Like the graphics, the sound in the game is rather excellent. There's a mix of classic tunes and new ones used for both games, and all of them do a good job at getting you pumped to race through a stage. The voice acting can be cheesy at times but not distractingly so, and everything fits in line with the level of quality that Sonic Team has done in these areas for a good while.

Sonic X Shadow Generations is a fine game overall. Sonic Generations still holds up quite well after all this time, even if the additions feel slightly shoehorned, while Shadow Generations represents a refinement of the formula with a few additions that don't detract from the main game. For Switch 2 owners who never got this game before, this is a great version to get. However, for those who already have the game on the original Switch, the frame rate and resolution boosts aren't enough to ask for full price on the game and DLC again. Those in that situation can deduct a few points from the review's final score.

Score: 8.5/10