Shadow Generations will have more alternative routes than previous titles in the Sonic series, reveals producer  

Sonic X Shadow Generations combines a remake of 2011’s Sonic Generations with a brand-new companion game Shadow Generations. At the recent Tokyo Game Show 2024, AUTOMATON spoke with the game’s producer Shun Nakamura and director Katsuyuki Shigihara to find out just what players can expect when the game releases on October 25.  

Shadow Generations is a fresh take on Sonic Generations’ high-speed gameplay 

Shadow Generations puts players into the chunky shoes of Shadow the Hedgehog- the series’ antihero and opposite of Sonic. As Shigihara explains, “Shadow Generations is a completely new game that draws upon the high-speed aspect of Sonic Generations. The gameplay experience will have you opening up new routes at high speeds using Shadow’s unique moves like Chaos Control, Chaos Spear and the brand-new Doom Powers.”  

Doom Powers include the Doom Wing ability, which allows Shadow to fly around freely. These powers are expected to give players more ways to play the game and explore. “Shadow Generations has more branching routes than other games in the Sonic series,” Nakamura explains. “There are some routes that only become visible if you use Shadow’s techniques, so I think this will give players who have already tackled the Sonic series even more of a challenge.” It seems the game will feature indirect ways in which these routes can be explored – in the demo at TGS, there were some pathways that appeared after Shadow used a certain technique on an enemy. Nakamura hopes that players will be surprised at some of the possible routes and solutions that they discover while playing. 

If pulling off Shadow’s moves at high speeds and zooming through different routes sounds daunting, Shigihara revealed that the game is designed so that casual and new players can complete each level using a low number of techniques. For hardcore players and speedrunners, it seems Shadow Generations will offer up a whole host of exciting time-shaving options to explore. 

Shadow Generations’ story will show players new sides to Shadow 

But what about the story of Shadow Generations? With the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie coming in December 2024, Sonic X Shadow Generations was designed so the stories of the movie and game complement each other. As Nakamura explains, with Shadow Generations: “we decided to make a game that would look back on Shadow’s past exploits to coincide with the film.” 

Although Shadow is so powerful, he doesn’t even need a gun anymore– Shadow Generations is set to give players a more empathetic view of the antihero’s tragic backstory. According to Nakamura, there is not much direct interaction between Sonic and Shadow in the game. Instead, Shadow Generations will show what Shadow got up to while Sonic was whizzing around collecting rings in Sonic Generations. Nakamura says that players will learn things about Shadow and his activities that have never been revealed before. “In this year, the year of Shadow, we hope that people will enjoy the various facets of Shadow’s character”  

Sonic X Shadow Generations is scheduled to be released on PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC (Steam and Epic Games Store) on October 25.