Sonic X Shadow Generations - Switch 2 - Review
Last year, we reviewed Sonic X Shadow Generations when it released on all the platforms and while there were some issues with it, it was a decent game. When it was announced as coming to Nintendo Switch 2, the assumption was that it would be a port and nothing more. But as I did not review last years release, I figured this would be a good time to jump in myself to see how much fun it was and how it performed on Nintendo Switch 2.
As I said before this is mostly just a port of the game from last year, there are no new levels, no cut content that has been restored, just the same game. So, if you have already 100% the Switch release and now have a Nintendo Switch 2, you are not going to get access to more game here. What you are getting is a better performing game, the load times are shorter and it runs better across the board, and no that was not a Sonic pun. When you load into the game you are presented with a menu that asks if you want to play Sonic Generations or the new Shadow Generations, which is common on games with multiple titles within. Sadly, like many other games of this kind, looking at you Assassin’s Creed Ezio Trilogy, selecting the game here then just loads into that game and its menu. Now the Nintendo Switch edition did have some performance issues, so the Nintendo Switch 2 edition would need to fix those, in order for it to be considered a better option and they did, mostly.
Sonic Generations, the updated version of the 2011 title now runs flawlessly on Nintendo Switch 2. On the Nintendo Switch, the game ran at 1080p when docked, which was a welcome touch, but it had this really odd issue of running at 31fps, not 30fps, 31. This meant that when you played it in handheld mode, the game had this weird issue of hiccupping, due to the Nintendo Switch display running at 60fps. Thankfully that is not an issue here at all, the game when docked runs at 60fps in both docked and handheld modes, as well as running at 1440p when docked. What this means is that you are getting a smoother and better performing version of the game.
Shadow Generations on the other hand is weird, well weirder. On Nintendo Switch the game was locked to 30fps and a resolution of 720p, docked or not. On Nintendo Switch 2, the framerate varies depending on what mode you choose to run the game at. If you run the game at image quality mode runs the game at 1080p and 30fps, whereas the performance mode drops the resolution to 720p, but increases the frame rate to 60fps. It is a weird situation, because you would think that both modes could do 60fps at least at 1080p, but that is not the case. What makes it harder to accept is that when you play the game in performance mode, the presents a veritable tsunami of visual oddities, artifacts and what not, which draw your eye. This is not so horrible when playing in handheld mode, but if you have a 4K tv like I do, when it upscales, everything becomes incredibly noticeable.
The Nintendo Switch 2 version of Sonic X Shadow Generations is a great update to the Nintendo Switch version; the increased framerates alone make it worth it. The problem is that the effort seems wasted on the Shadow portion of the game, which given the attention that character has been given in the past year, feels like they cheaped out. If you already own the Switch version though, be aware there is no upgrade path to the Switch 2 version, so you have to buy it all over again. If you have been holding off on buying the game, this is a fantastic version to pick up, just be aware that the gameplay issues from last year still remain, but it does run better across the board, which does fit Sonic better.
The Score
7.5
Review code provided by Sega
The Pros
Sonic Generations runs flawlessly here, which fits Sonic’s need for speed
The game is still fun to play as it was when it first released in 2011…
The Cons
..the Shadows Generations portion less so, mostly due to its length
Shadow’s part also has this weird issue of only running at 60fps, when the resolution is pushed down hard
