Shadow Generations

Shadow Generations (シャドウ ジェネレーションズ) is an upcoming platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. It follows Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) as the second Sonic the Hedgehog game to feature Shadow the Hedgehog as the protagonist; its plot, which runs parallel to the events of Sonic Generations (2011), follows Shadow as he faces returning antagonist Black Doom. It will not be available as a standalone game and is instead included, alongside a remaster of Sonic Generations, in Sonic X Shadow Generations (ソニック × シャドウ ジェネレーションズ), a product bundle set to be released on October 25th, 2024 for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.

Gameplay
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. The game's plot follows Shadow the Hedgehog as he faces his archenemy, the alien Black Doom, who has returned following his defeat in Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) and plots to take over the world.

Shadow Generations ' levels, like those in Sonic Generations, are drawn from previous Sonic games, such as Sonic Adventure 2 (2001), Sonic Heroes (2003), Shadow the Hedgehog, and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). Shadow serves as the player character and controls similarly to Sonic, but can use his "Chaos Control" power to freeze objects and access alternate paths. 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).

Development
Shadow Generations is part of "Fearless: Year of Shadow", a Sonic the Hedgehog marketing campaign centering around Shadow the Hedgehog. Katsuyuki Shigihara, one of Sonic Generations ' designers, directed Shadow Generations; other Sonic Team members who worked on Generations contributed. 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. They chose levels they found the most interesting and the most popular among fans, while integrating Sonic Frontiers ' open-world gameplay to add modern elements.

Marketing and release
Sega announced Shadow Generations alongside a remaster of Sonic Generations on January 31, 2024, during one of PlayStation's State of Play livestreams. 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. Video Games Chronicle compared this to Nintendo bundling the Super Mario game Bowser's Fury (2021) alongside a rerelease of Super Mario 3D World (2013) in Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. Preorder bonuses include a skin based on "Terios", an early Shadow design, and a booklet detailing Shadow's in-universe creation from the perspective of Gerald Robotnik.

A three-episode animated prologue miniseries, Sonic X Shadow Generations: Dark Beginnings, animated by Studio Giggex and written by Ian Flynn, is set to be released in late 2024.