Sonic X Shadow Generations review: Sega finally lives and learns

digitaltrends.com:

Sonic X Shadow Generations MSRP $50.00 Score Details Pros

• Smooth Sonic remaster
• Shadow Generations is fantastic
• Excellent music
• Lots of collectibles

• Sonic Generations movement can be rough
• So can its late levels
• So can its bosses

How can we learn from our past mistakes if we’re all too scared to confront them?

That’s been the story of the Sonic the Hedgehog series for several decades now. Anytime the series has hit a roadblock, its developers have refused to pump the brakes. It’s a healthy strategy in some regards, one that reflects the “never give up” attitude of the Blue Blur himself. But that refusal to stop and reflect on our mistakes, learn from our harshest critics, and accelerate again can be harmful too. You don’t always clear a Sonic stage on your first try; it’s only through failing that you learn to ace a level with panache.

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With its latest game, Sonic X Shadow Generations, Sega models the importance of that process — even if it’s inadvertent. The package contains a remastered version of 2011’s Sonic Generations, a nostalgic, though imperfect, victory lap that came when the series needed it the most. It was fairly well-received at the time, giving Sonic the momentum he needed to start a second act. Rather than following that up with a fine-tuned sequel or spinoff that took criticisms to heart, Sega would instead stumble through another tumultuous decade of forward-focused experiments while its loyal fanbase only became more combative toward its perceived haters.

Now, Sega has finally delivered the fine-tuned sequel we should have gotten a decade ago thanks to Shadow Generations, a new game that turns the collection into a double feature. It’s a revelation placed next to the comparatively shallow Sonic Generations, and one that will almost make you angry