Shadowser's Fury | Sonic X Shadow Generations REVIEW

[@ArloStuff]

PINNED X COMMENT GENERATIONS Head to www.squarespace.com/arlo to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code "arlo" ALSO I have been informed that Shadow Generations has a performance mode. The fact that this was off by default and part of a separate suite of options from Sonic Generations is frustrating.

[@jamesmackay4913]

PERFECT pun I love it lol

[@Skipler-J320]

You can turn on performance mode in the Shadow portion.

[@JillianStartzel-b5i]

@arlostuff I either expected you to call it} super sonic 3d world+ Shadow's fury, Sonic's return to Dreamland deluxe with Shadow's epilogue or onic country tropical freeze with new Shadow mode (neuvo modo shadow), then again I guess you gotta leave some puns for antdude 😅.

[@sails9311]

Your PS5 may be set in the settings to prefer Graphics over Performance, which games will respect. Mine automatically picked Performance for that reason.

[@jordancooney6817]

Nah Arlo, Sonic fans who love Sonic Generations to pieces hate the final boss. Have for years. You're good.

[@Mojo1356]

For a good reason. It’s still the worst final boss in the series to this day.

[@JLuisJoni]

Yup, it's stupidly underwhelming.

[@Arkouchie]

Yeah, its not good. Luckily, the Shadow final boss *easily* makes up for it

[@geistgrace6452]

I wouldn't say the worst. Sonic Spinball holds that honor IMO

[@randoncourter4923]

That looks like a homing shot

[@DanGamingFan2406]

This game is incredible. It feels great to play, the story is awesome, and all of the scenes with Maria really pull at my heartstrings, especially where she says why she named him Shadow. That was beautiful. It feels like Sega's writers finally understand the kind of character Shadow is again.

[@manuelinacio4038]

Didn't you write this before?

[@2yoyoyo1Unplugged]

@@manuelinacio4038maybe he wants to make sure he expresses it in more than one place?

[@matthewharner1744]

​@@2yoyoyo1Unplugged say that again...

[@SoraFantasia]

A bit of misinformation in this review: Shadow generations does run at 60 fps alongside sonic generations, the game simply starts you on quality mode which runs at 30

[@Mojo1356]

Wait, what? How do I change it then? I want my 60 fps on my Series X. Shadow only runs at 30, and I cannot find any method of boosting the frame rate and just game up assuming the Xbox Series X simply got the short end of the stick.

[@carlodavies9227]

@@Mojo1356 look in settings for more than 30 seconds

[@That_man-hcu]

​@@Mojo1356Go the Display Settings in Shadow generations's option menu, switch image quality to performance priority.

[@rouge939]

@@Mojo1356how do you care about framerate but don’t bother going into the menu to check? Most games today have a performance or resolution option

[@MrSofly2010]

I found out after I beat it you can play it at performance. Plays better on performance mode.

[@Mojo1356]

10:00 Don’t worry Arlo. The Time Eater is legit the worst final boss in Sonic history. Nobody likes it.

[@MisterTTG]

its actually extremely disappointing they didn't take the opportunity to fix it in any way

[@Mojo1356]

@@MisterTTGA) it’s a remaster- not a remake. I fail too see why people expect an overhaul Ala the Crash N Sane Trilogy when this is more like a Sly Cooper HD port. B) that being said, however, there is no excuse to get everyone to just shut up during the boss fight. Something that would take such little effort to program, and they didn’t do it.

[@dinasauro4457]

@@Mojo1356 putting the voice slider on 0 does the trick, only way I could get the no hit achievement without going insane

[@iannazario2028]

​@@Mojo1356nobody said they wanted the time eater to be completely remade dude, just that it's bull crap they did literally nothing to fix the worst boss in sonic history.

[@deedoubs]

@@Mojo1356 It's hardly a remaster. It's a mild touch-up with some pointless changes.

[@Peetwenty]

This game is unnaturally polished for a Sonic game. Shadow's campaign is a dream come true. We are SO back Shadowbros.

[@mio3199]

they really prove themself giving bigger budget to the team after frontiers, im so happy

[@RaiginAnimator]

Yeaa I mean I think sonic jank is 2 things one Sonic games are naturally. Harder to control due to how fast the games move. And 2 Just physics and colllision jank so for more casual players it can feel weird to be bumping into things a lot

[@seacliff217]

@@mio3199 Don't know if it's so much budget as it is scale and direction. Not particularly disappointed in Shadow Generation's length, but it is a smaller game than Frontiers. And levels like Sunset Heights and Chaos Island has the benefits of reusing assets to cut both costs and time efficiently. That said, what is here is also pretty impressive for a game that only started development shortly before Frontiers finished. It shows that Sonic Team can achieve quality without the AAA bloat plaguing a lot of other studios right now.

[@jasonblack2477]

​@@mio3199its also a different team lol

[@RedheadButNotReally]

5:26 Oh my good-THANK YOU! Arlo absolutely gets it! So many people that I talk to think that Sonic is just about going fast, then they complain when the level design stops them from going fast, so they just assume that Sonic games are a janky mess. No, that was NEVER the case, because speed is the reward for good, skillful play. And how do you get good in these games? By replaying them, memorizing the levels, and taking advantage of your moveset to achieve quicker times, and smoother runs. Arlo gets it.

[@Mojo1356]

Pretty much. It’s one of those games you suck at first but replay a lot to become better, learning the map and improving your reaction speed… unless your name is Sonic Forces.

[@JLuisJoni]

In short, they're speedrunning games.

[@TheRibottoStudios]

Exactly. Sonic plays like someone who's an adrenaline junkie cause he is one. But he focuses up when he needs to. To get better at the stage, you need to understand Sonic's character. Shadow meanwhile plays very smooth, very responsive AND responsible. Which fits his characterization.

[@DesertRider-zs2qb]

@@Mojo1356 I can attest to this. My first time playing levels in Sonic Generations was awkward. But every subsequent attempt, I kept getting better.

[@RyderPlatinumWarpstar]

18:32 There is an option to enable Performance Mode in the options menu in Shadow Generations on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X. I assume most of the footage was recorded on PC, but the option for 60fps is there on PS5 and Xbox.

[@sparksshepherd3313]

On PC is goes up to 120 fps actually

[@BrerOswald]

Yep. The Fidelity mode was on by default. I couldn't handle it, needed the 60 FPS.

[@GiygasUCD]

Arlo! You can turn on 60 fps in the settings for Shadow! ARLOOOO!!!

[@chaneterzaro5388]

NO ARLO!!!!!!! THE GAME LOOKED THAT GOOD 12 YEARS AGO!!!!!!! ARLOOOOO!!!!!!!!

[@Mojo1356]

No- that’s just what most reviewers say. It’s not an Arlo thing.

[@Skitt64Gaming]

Seriously, OG Generations was not lacking ANYTHING in the looks department. It was only ever limited by hardware.

[@bam_bino__]

they added chao collectibles, changed dialogue and called it a day.

[@Mojo1356]

@@bam_bino__in all fairness, Generations is still a fantastic game regardless. The only real things I needed changed were the level design for Planet Wisp and a complete rework of the Time Eater boss. However, this is a simple remaster, so that’s asking for too much. Not to mention that Shadow Generations took significantly more priority, and it ended up paying off.

[@Skitt64Gaming]

@ Would have been best if they’d done literally nothing tbh, the changed dialogue is jarring as a fan of the first game

[@MDGamestation]

Shadow Generations blows me away by its high quality and polish. If this carries in Frontiers 2 we are golden.

[@rickyronny4019]

Agreed

[@KeebeThePlush]

Since we’ve now been given an explanation for shadow’s boss in generations, now I wonder what was going on with silver during his encounter

[@graybilljunker8199]

We’re just gonna have to wait for Sonic x Shadow x Silver Generations to find out.

[@luigiplayer14]

I’d love for Silver to get a second chance.

[@Miriam_J_]

@@graybilljunker8199 Want this bad ngl, if only Silver was in more games to pull from.

[@sontho6995]

​@@Miriam_J_Ngl there's enough to make an intriguing narrative. With egg man nega, the ifirit & all of 06. There's a decent story that can be told.

[@pozitron3792]

Silver was an awesome idea for a third hedgehog but his intro in the series was ruined by it being in 06, and then he never appeared in a major role in a mainline console release again despite being set up as one and still being a part of the main cast normally. I would be hype for a redo for him

[@TheRibottoStudios]

I can't believe people actually hate Ian Flynn. Shadow is so back. He's literally giving us everything we ever wanted. He's fixing the damage the 2010s did to the franchise. WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE WANT?!

[@geistgrace6452]

Sonic fans are like that one SpongeBob meme: "BUT I DON'T LIKE THIS THING!" /"THEN WHY DID YOU ASK FOR IT?"/

[@billcook4768]

I want a pony

[@diccchocolate416]

Because his writing is kind of vapid and forgettable? Nothing he's done so far for the games is that interesting. It's either overly somber and serious or just rehashing ideas he didn't come up with.

[@shadow1111111]

My issue with the rewrites in Sonic Gens are just Ian's obsession with self referential dialogue. It feels very Family Guy "this is just like that time when (insert past game reference)" and it just takes me out of it. The Shadow gens writing is better, at least, but not perfect. The yellow emerald subplot, while a neat reference and cool continuity, is very clumsy in execution, especially the dialogue. I appreciate Flynn's respect for the material, and he can write some good Sonic content, but he's not perfect

[@TheRibottoStudios]

@@shadow1111111 Speaking of the yellow emerald....Was that the FIRST time we hear Shadow say Tails' name in game? I'm trying to rack my mind thinking of times he hasn't called Tails "fox" but....he just usually calls him "Fox." Also the dialogue to me felt better than in the original. Especially Shadow's line in the end. You cannot tell me with a straight face "you GOT this Sonic." is better than "On your feet."

[@DarkLink1996.]

Two things: 1: Nobody liked the Time Eater fight in the original. In fact, the 3DS version had a much better final boss 2: There is a mod for the original Generations that tunes up Classic Sonic immensely. Showin's Classic Sonic Improvement. And also, the 3DS version, again, had much better Classic Sonic physics. Sadly, the Classic Era stages in the 3DS version are direct ports of their Genesis versions, but the rest is wholly original.

[@manuelinacio4038]

No Arlo, you're absolutely right about the boss in Sonic Generations, it's really bad. Not only is it not fun to play but you don't understand what you're going seeing half the time on the screen. Thankfully Shadow Generations had a good final boss

[@eanderson9599]

15:46 Arlo you missed the most OBVIOUS pun in existence

[@diddly_dude]

Live and learn was RIGHT THERE

[@khythedestroyer]

Theres an image quality mode and performance mode found in the settings of shadow gens. The game also runs at 120 on pc.

[@nitinanku]

Funny arlo thinks they remastered this game to be in line with the new games, generations just looked that good on the 360

[@ctpp64]

really, it's moreso the case that the new sonic games haven't actually progressed that far in terms of visuals lol

[@GameDragon2k]

Hmm, maybe I'm too forgiving. But at least with Shadow Generations I didn't actually feel much jank at all? I actually felt like most of the time I died or hit a brick wall was completely my fault. There are NUMEROUS times where you fail an obstacle, the game gives you a break and drops you to another pathway.

[@aidenkarma3844]

yeah im not sure of it myself. i think there was little to no jank, i think theres a bit of a skill issue moment lmao but p good review regardless

[@ctpp64]

i have 14 hours in shadow generations, haven't run into a single glitch. ngl i think the "jank" he was referring to was probably just him having a skill issue lol. especially in the final zone which he called unfair, i got through perfectly fine. the only difficulty is stuff that the game has well-trained you for. with the sonic gens remaster, i'll admit that there is some legit jankiness, and the controls are still outdated. but shadow gens is smooth sailing outside of doom morph

[@Makoto0729]

Honestly I encountered ZERO jank in Shadow Gens but a significant amount in Sonic Gens that also wasn’t in the original i’m wondering if maybe the different platforms might be jank in different ways, maybe?

[@GameDragon2k]

​@ctpp64 I died a decent amount of times on the final zone in Shadow Gens. But I don't think it was ever because of any "jank". Always felt like it was just due to my own mistake.

[@angrydiddykong262]

Honestly, it's a bit weird. He sort of complained about sonic staples trying to act like button prompts were a design issue when that's not the case. Maybe that's what he was referring to? Shadow generations doesn't consist of jank at all and gives players enough control, so not sure. It doesn't sound like he's that invested in sonic games, so it probably was a skill issue.

[@blahbliff9726]

There is a middleground between being a speedrunner and casual prompt recognition based playthroughs, and that's Time Attack! (or simply playing for your best time in the event the game has no time attack mode) That's Sonic's bread and butter, and the magic design trick to many of the games. You have these levels which present a simple/easy platformer if you just want to complete them. Then you have a built in custom difficulty based on speed. The faster you try to go, the harder the game becomes. The automation that assists you on a normal playthrough becomes an obstacle that slows you down when you play for speed. The fact that it's so easy to survive no longer matters when you can't get hit even once because of the time setback. The levels shine in all new ways when approached this way, and it can be quite challenging and satisfying. It also opens up a reason to explore, as you look for skips and try routes. Anyway, I have no problem with your review whatsoever. Just wanted to share. Enjoyed the video a lot

[@lasercraft32]

Its okay Arlo, NOBODY liked the final boss of Generations. XD

[@CyanBlur]

One of the fun exceptions for Shadow Gens was that it never does the 2d-3d mixed level. As far as I can recall, every act 1 is 100% 3d, and every act 2 is 100% 2d excluding the last.

[@spongebobfan78]

No need to butter up on the graphics department. Sonic Generations is just basically the original with a higher resolution and higher quality HUD alongside the added content and rewritten dialog. Then again, a lot of people call the 360 original on Series X a "remaster" just because of the resolution boost.

[@rouge939]

They call it a remaster because it’s 60 fps on series x not because of the resolution

[@aidenkarma3844]

It is a remaster though with up scaled graphics and a 60 fps boost.

[@ctpp64]

tbf the graphics are changed in some areas. green hill for example is more saturated, and city escape has brighter lighting. but for the most part yeah, it's the original game

[@Jaynosurname]

On the frame rate issue, switch to performance mode and it’s way better.

[@Arkouchie]

19:23 the last level is expecting you to really make use of the doom wings. It's extremely long if you don't, but if you do, it's one of my favorite levels in the package.

[@supercyclone8342]

Funnily enough, I decided to do them without the wings just cause it felt cooler to reach Doom without his fancy power lol. But now I still have yet to replay with the wings and I really like those 2 levels! I was so surprising to hear him say they're too long give the typical Sonic discussions, but I almost agree... or more like I wouldn't want them to be any longer. Which is interesting because Spark 3 is my favorite speed platformer and it's last 2 stages are absurdly long, but I love them so much!

[@twolve]

honestly? i played them without the doom wings since i wanted to play the whole level and it's absolutely fantastic. it's exactly what i want from a final gauntlet level and im having a ton of fun trying S ranks on it

[@raphaelmartins6529]

You can play Shadow Generations at 60 frames per second on the PS5. To achieve this, you need to adjust the settings from “Image Quality” to “Performance.” This change will result in the game running at 2K resolution instead of 4K resolution, while maintaining the 60fps frame rate.

[@allknowing-iu8jt]

Sorry Arlo I really tried not putting this down but skill issue man just a skill issue

[@FSAPOJake]

So, fun fact. They didn't do anything to the visuals of Sonic Generations other than up the resolution and framerate. What you see here is exactly what you would have seen on the Xbox 360. Hedgehog Engine games from that era just aged extremely gracefully.

[@ctpp64]

some textures and lighting actually were adjusted, but it's ultimately very minor stuff that you'd only notice in side-by-side comparisons. so you're mostly right, gens' art style is very timeless. kinda like zelda wind waker

[@SharpEdgeSoda]

"I'm not sure I like how Sonic games are about playing it over and over and overcoming jank" He says with 14 playthroughs of SOULS GAMES in 2024.

[@LgameZ]

I love your videos Arlo, but Sonic x Shadow Generations is the least jank Sonic game. It’s primarily skill issue this time around. Also 60 FPS is possible through settings on PS5

[@sometf2player752]

18:25 well guess what you can get the game to run at 60 if you switch to performance mode in the options they probably should've made that more clear (btw on PC it runs at a smooth 120 fps)

[@jaelin_javelin]

Even on my Steam Deck it runs at 70-80 fps on low-medium settings. Not sure what platform he's using lol

[@Amethyst4041]

Personally I don't agree with Shadow Generations being janky at all it's probably the most polished Sonic game ever it's Mario and Astro Bot quality level of polish imo I only ran into one bug or iffy thing throughout my 8+ hours of playing the game and time attacking it.

[@rehaansiddiqie]

18:30 homie, you're showing 60 FPS footage on PS5, its literally possible there.

[@nickb6425]

Yeah wth 🤨😂

[@ctpp64]

he's showing footage from another channel. he probably just assumed they were playing on PC lol

[@MosiahWhite]

This is a decent review considering how much of a Nintendo fanboy you are, but all the "jankiness" you pointed was IMO just skill checks. Not everything has to be made super easy and seamless. It's always been a core gameplay design concept for Sonic games to want you to memorize stage layouts, get good at them, and time things out. You have to EARN the fluidity that you were saying was a highlight of the game. I did have similar gripes about doom morph though. The problem for me is that it's basically just another water squid thing except that you have to use a homing attack to trigger it, which I thought was lame. I think the Doom Squid should activate as soon as you touch the dark goo instead of requiring some weird trigger. I really disliked too how much the Doom Squid slows things down. Sonic Team really learned a lot about how important keeping momentum is in Sonic Frontiers, so I'm hoping the fact that it wasn't included in Shadow Generations was so that his controls would differ too much from Sonics. But yeah that's all that's missing really IMO is proper momentum and physics carrying over from moves. Nothing feels worse than immediately slowing down when you let go of the boost button.

[@DeeboFromHI]

I almost had a stroke trying to read that title

[@diccchocolate416]

Not a long stretch of time? Arlo, Generations came out 13 years ago.

[@ctpp64]

well in terms of modern gaming, the last 13 years aren't THAT massive in terms of graphical improvement. there are still games from that era that look better than current games, so i get what he meant

[@FloopLoopz]

About the framerate thing, Shadow Gens bizarrely runs on quality mode by default even though it’s framerate is inconsistent. Switching to performance makes it totally locked to 60 fps.

[@caveirainvocada9438]

I just dunno about the platforming complaints and the first run on the levels being too rough, I never had a problem with these. I'd say it's a little bit of skill issue but I'm a Sonic junkie so maybe I'm the one who's too used to that stuff lmao

[@the.bloodless.one1312]

I feel like people who aren’t Sonic fanatics like us don’t realize that Sonic’s levels are designed with replayability at the forefront. Sonic’s level design has had this ethos since Sonic 1 (and I’d argue it’s one of the characteristics that separate it from platformers like Super Mario). For me playing these new Shadow Gens levels for the first time and missing alternate paths or fumbling made me excited to go back and replay them and nail those sections and be rewarded with new level chunks to play or be rewarded with the satisfying feeling of blazing through the level without killing my flow.

[@DariusRoman-p6x]

Roses are red ❤ Violets are blue 💙 Arlo likes Sonic 🔵💨 And so do I too 👍

[@lakitudude7577]

No idea what you're talking about with performance. It's a rock solid 60

[@Deylxe]

Hey Arlo, I would really recommend if you haven't in the settings changing the graphics preset to prioritize frame rate since you said it was being choppy for you. I played on PS5 and had the same thing but when I switched it to prioritize frame rate it runs really smooth and from what I can tell the graphics difference is hardly noticeable at all, at least I didn't notice it looking bad or worse anywhere. Looked the same for me.

[@MediocreChuch1837]

I see people flooding the replies on twitter and here saying this but imma say it anyway. Do urself a favor and turn off performance mode. The game can get up to 120 fps. It’s gorgeous.

[@shadouraito7935]

Most of your complaints about Sonic gens are, as you mentioned, just a Sonic thing. Sonic games aren't meant to be played through once and that's it. The fun lies in replaying the levels to master them and improve your times. This is why there's a ranking system. I think if it like this: a first playthrough of mario is better than the second playthrough, while a second playthrough of Sonic is better than the first playthrough. I get how you'd rather it be better the first time around, but most sonjc games are short so they make the replay value very high compared to other games. As for the doom morph, the game just doesn't explain it properly. After watching a video by Stick man guides on how to use doom morph, I found it to be one of my favorite abilities after getting used to it. It's definitely janky if you don't know how to use it, but it's hella fun once you master. (btw the final boss of Sonic gens IS bad, it's not you lol) Other than those 2 points, this is one of the best reviews I've ever seen. I like how when you criticize something about the game, you also show some understanding for why that is the case, or why that specific thing isn't clicking for you personally. You're also very honest with whether or not you believe that critique to be due to you or the game itself. This is just a great review in general and how I believe all reviews should be handled. You don't get emotional when reviewing, either hating the game to hell or praising it nonstop, but instead, you do it very professionally. Edit: I forgot to mention that the game has a fidelity mode and a performance mode like all ps5 games nowadays. Fidelity runs at 30fps, while performance runs at 60 fps aka the superior experience 👌

[@tenshifox1150]

You have to switch the game to performance mode for 60 FPS

[@divertedgamer1050]

is no one going to tell arlo that you can turn on 60fps in the settings?

[@BansheeScreams]

Shadow generations runs at a fine 60fps if you play it on premformance mode…

[@murderman8578]

Actually worth getting all the S ranks

[@darkestnobody]

i 100% shadow gens on my ps5 and it was completely smooth. i gotta disagree on that one. maybe you didn't have performance toggled on

[@OurHeroXero]

Butternut Squash? Yes Please!

[@davidmendez8306]

Arlo's iconic catchphase that he definately says a whole lot

[@kong27]

You can get 60fps if you put it in performance mode.

[@Vehlar]

Heads up, try changing it to Performance mode in the settings for a buttery smooth 60fps on PS5

[@omranessa3016]

I admire your opinion but your problems isn't even a problem for most people 4:35

[@TemporalZack]

Arlo, since you're playing it on the PS5, you can go into the settings of Shadow Generations and turn on performance mode, that would allow the game to run at 60 FPS. Highly recommend doing that because framerate can be pretty important for a Sonic game imo.

[@JohnTK]

It’s alright Arlo, most people don’t like how classic sonic controls in generations, to the point where some people jokingly say that he’s actually an evil sonic doppelgänger named Santiago. So you’re definitely not alone on that opinion lol.

[@SoftEndy]

His controls in Generations are not why people call him Santiago

[@Mojo1356]

I mean I don’t think it’s bad by any means, but this dude cannot do many things he could pull off in the classic games. Heck, the one saving grace is the spin dash. It is absurdly powerful- moreso than any 2D game ever.

[@nepdisc3722]

it's not "hard to tell" if the game is unfair or unfun in places, you've just been bullied into being afraid of just being confident in your assessment and I don't think that's fair. You've played a lot of games over a lot of years and your thoughts and feelings and criticisms are valid, don't let angry internet people gaslight you into believing otherwise!

[@aidenkarma3844]

Yeah I don't really agree with the jank part like it really feels more like a skill check than it is jank but otherwise a pretty good review

[@BritBox777]

You can turn on 60 FPS on XBOX and PS. It's not locked at 30 like it says in this review. Or on PC it runs at 120.

[@Dudeman715]

1:20 I wanna know what that picnic table is made out of.... Like there's a huge black hole. Knuckles is ripped off of it. And like it's still there totally fine.

[@zacharybillotte7406]

I don't think you would survive Sonic Unleashed 😭😭

[@triwolfblade8614]

if he thinks needing reaction time in one of the most polished sonic games out there is JANK. He'd review unleashed like IGN did no cap

[@aidenkarma3844]

TRUE

[@SuperSonic68]

4:25 The core Sonic fanbase is with you on this too, Arlo. We're tired of 2d getting shoved into modern sonic when they're already making fully 2d games already like Superstars.

[@mysteryperson1958]

This is honestly one the best sonic things....ever? Yeah. Ever. My fav game sonic generations done justice with an awesome shadow game i really like. I'm gonna be coming back to this for a long time.

[@legomania2427]

Sonic the hedgehog

[@superstartop]

Sonic the hedgehog

[@richardhoule9302]

Sonic the hedgehog

[@Blueblurz]

Sonic the hedgehog

[@lookitsnicholas]

Sonic the hedgehog

[@allknowing-iu8jt]

Im just going to say I get the similarities of bowser fury but shadow generations does much much more

[@Kaleid0skull]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you need to check your settings, because I had no performance issues, and haven't heard that from anyone, or any of the people I have seen play it on PS5.

[@dusk173]

You’re right. I have the game and there’s a 60 fps performance mode.

[@ReddTurtl]

Yeah the game defaults to the 30fps mode

[@Aether_Athea]

I don’t play Sonic games anymore, maybe I’d consider it sometime but I don’t think it’s my genre, that said this sounds pretty neat including the Shadow Generations and additions to the Sonic Generations!

[@LoneSpeedsterDX]

Yeah Arlo, I think you played the quality mode of Shadow Generations which is set to default. Performance makes it run at 60

[@hereforonereason5820]

There being 2D sections in Modern Sonic's levels is well worn critique in the Sonic community, a lot of us are actually MORE game design purist about it, so nothing to worry about there.

[@EvanBailey-y3g]

I could relate to what this man said every second of the video and I love it, keep going arlo, you doing good

[@sometf2player752]

19:21 skill issue honestly those levels are tough but it never felt unfair I think you might've missed something the game was telling you

[@triwolfblade8614]

6:33 skill issue, ACTUAL SKILL ISSUE Generations is one of the most polished sonic games out there Held up 13 years later so I can say with confidence it's you being unable to keep up with the game.

[@dusk173]

Agreed. Unfortunately, Arlo assumed that any frustration he had was because “sonic games are inherently janky.” It’s annoying to me how even the MOST polished Sonic games ever (which could easily pass for polished games in general if not for the Sonic stigma) are presumed to be inherently janky, buggy, mediocre, and bad. Oh well. I guess since Arlo wasn’t sponsored by Sega this time around he was able to show his true colors again as a fake Sonic fan. Remember his atrocious Sonic movie 2 review? This man is so incredibly hateful towards Sonic for literally no reason. His excuse used to be that it wasn’t the classic Sonic he grew up with in the 90s and yet Generations is mostly that and he still doesn’t like it. That’s rather telling; especially the fact that he either didn’t check the options for performance mode (which is a common feature in games nowadays) or he deliberately ignored the feature and went on to spread misinformation about the game to make it look worse than it is. Then again, he *is* a longtime Mario fanboy so it makes sense that he would secretly resent Sonic and want to downplay his successes.

[@AnxietyDanvers1994]

This is basically Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury on steroids and I love it

[@TheJmack90]

As someone who’s a Sonic fan AND someone who rails against Arlo’s views and nitpicks frequently…this was a pretty spot-on review. Through and through.

[@TheBlueWizzrobe]

Classic Sonic in Generations has a very different feel from Sonic in the original 2D titles, but I do think he is very fun to handle once you get the hang of him and accept that he is just not the same as those games.

[@alliesangalli1757]

I wholeheartedly agree about Shadow Generations. I'm liking the base game a lot, but Shadow feels sooo much better. It's the most fun I've had with Sonic in years.

[@Senorgato029]

For sonic generations I still remember imprinting the square button into my thumb during that final boss, fun memory, don’t wanna do it again

[@edsknife]

That's basically everything I would say about Sonic games. It's just that their level design doesn't have enough readability when you're going so many miles per hour. Maybe they could learn from Most Wanted 2005, how they use landmarks to communicate where you are and what kind of interactions you'll soon have with the environment. Need for Speed was even very predictable on GameCube, although I never finished it for other reasons. Maybe they just need a certain theme that's used for every location you crouch, another theme for every time you jump, a different one when you charge up... Something memorable; something intentional... I'm talking level design themes, but music would also make a ton of sense. It would help get the player ready for each move.

[@Nickika]

I personally like Sonic Generations more, and it's all on the level design. Because I'm experienced with Sonic games, I know how the level design works, so I look at it, and I pay attention, after I observe the level, I say, "Can I do that? Maybe if I boost at this exact moment I can get to that cloud that will bounce me back instead of doing the platforming. Or I see to my left, "Wait, there is shorcut here, this is defenetly faster" "Ok, wait, if go trough that ramp, Ill crash into the wall, exept that if I just keep boosting I'll just slide trought it, meaning that if I jump here it can get me directly at that ring, now I have to do this homing attack chain, but I only really need to do one then boost and skip the other Robots" Sonic Generations does that all the time, and it takes skill and its callenging, but even though Shadow Generations does that too, it's just like "take this ring to skip the plataforming section" or "Hit the spring and boost trough this rail to skip this part" The problem is that it is not very interesting, and Something else that generations does is that the levels have so many paths to take, like if you go one way, you are in this section of a level, if you go the other way you are in another completely different section, and I think that's cool. Oviously both games are very good, and two great games for 50 bucks is cool

[@Noah0_]

Arlo, youre playing Shadow Generations in Graphics Mode, there's a performance mode available in the settings..

[@_Fizzy]

Hi Arlo! In regards to Shadow Gens frame rate, did you switch it to performance mode? AFAIK, the quality mode is set by default & runs at 30fps. This could’ve affected your experience!

[@sporky1207]

"its kind of silly how you have classic sonic which is 2d and modern sonic which is 3d and 2d" Welcome to the sonic community, weve been complaining about this for years -w-

[@belindamiller8796]

The vibe in this vid is perfect!

[@ivanalmeida4555]

The reason why Shadow Gens felt more polished to you is probably because it uses the Hedgehog Engine 2, as opposed to Engine 1 from 2011

[@soceity5818]

skill issue

[@FlamingFoxProd]

0:37 So! Uh, fun fact: No they didn't! Like. At all! In fact it's uh. It's the exact same visually! They changed ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, in the graphics department. No higher quality textures, no higher poly models, no lighting changes, nada. The one thing they did was like, make all the colors more vibrant, that's it. Oh, and they adjusted the shape of Classic Sonic's quills... to look worse. The only major change in Sonic Generations is the fact that they re-recorded nearly all the voice lines... to sound worse, and rewrote several of them to... to be worse. It's actually more of a de-master if anything.

[@rehaansiddiqie]

Generations is hella well designed and Shadow too. I agree with Sonic Gens he controls too heavy, but saying its jank is nonsense

[@JLuisJoni]

Personally speaking, having finished the game between Launch and the next day, I really enjoyed my time with both campaigns. And I'm with you on the Classic Sonic thing, it definitely feels strange to go from Superstars to this. It wasn't the worst thing, but woulda been nice if they coulda made it more like Superstars, control wise. Even with that, though, Modern Sonic is DEFINITELY the highlight, both when it comes to the levels and the bosses. My one complaint is that I feel more could have been done to the story's presentation. All they did was touch up some dialogue and alter some little things in the cutscenes, but while I do appreciate that they even paid any mind to the thought of touching up the story to better fit with the current direction of the series... It can sometimes feel like patchwork of a story made by a different team under a SEGA and Sonic Team with a much different mentality. Not to mention, Shadow. Shadow's cutscenes and writinf are so on point and well done that it makes me wish the original Generations had been given the same treatment, especially when we do have models for Classic Amy and Knuckles that can be used from Origins and Superstars. Still, not enough to drag the overall package down, they did really well here. One thing's for sure, they did much better here than they did with Sonic Colors Ultimate and I am just so glad I can say that. Colors Ultimate is easily one of my least favorite Sonic games, and this despite my love for the original Colors on the Wii. Side note, I appreciate that Shadow essentially took what Frontiers did, in terms of control, cinematics and all that, and just improved on it while keeping the Generations flare.

[@THEonlyAEON]

I like this review a lot, I must admit I didn't experience a lot of the Jank you talked about or really any frame rate issues with Shadow Gens (haven't played Sonic Gens yet) but that might be because I'm so used to the gameplay of what sonic games expect of me that I don't count them as jank. Absolutely loved my time with Shadow Gens, looking forward to what sonic team gives us next.

[@Dharengo]

I am just so happy this game exists. Clearly Frontiers crawled so this game could soar.

[@KD_771]

If you were playing on PS5, than I think Shadow Gens. was running at 30 fps because you didn't set it to performance mode in the options

[@Numocron]

This game turned out fantastic😃👍🔥❤️

[@Olimario34_]

Chaos Control is incredibly fun i really hope we get a full Shadow the Hedgehog 2 with these mechanics

[@jaretco6423]

I was worried if this remastered plus new mode was gonna flopped like Sonic Colors Ultimate or Origins has. But thank goodness I was wrong. This is without an doubt the best 3D Sonic games we had in such an long time and one of the best Sonic games period.

[@TopherCadence]

9:57 No, no. Arlo. You aren’t wrong. A majority of the fans of the original game also hated this final boss 😝😭

[@irishijo1]

If memory serves, the X is used as a sort of punctuation mark in Japan, indicating both words are together (SpyXFamily, for instance)

[@mattemattics5667]

Shadow controls SO MUCH better than Sonic in this game. Idk why they didn’t just re-script Sonic to control like Shadow does.

[@peteypiranalover]

Dont worry Arlo everyone hates the gameplay of The final boss of Sonic's campaign. Its cool boss narratively. The characters saying use the homing shot over and over. Having a hard time hitting him. 3DS did the fight better. It the only consistently disliked fight though

[@JudaBoi]

Honestly i didnt see anyone encounter jank on the shadow gens side nor did i encounter any of the sort. Thats odd...

[@dusk173]

Neither did I. Arlo just assumed that any challenge he had meant that the game was inherently janky because it’s a Sonic game which might as well be considered a logical fallacy at this point.

[@BritBox777]

This game is polished as hell and haven't run into any jank on either the PC or Switch versions. Not sure what version they were playing but, the one available to the public runs great.

[@funkermonker6485]

Sonic Generations was undoubtly the best game of the 2010's and this remaster cements it's genius. I feel some people may think Gens only gets the praise it got because every other sonic game at the time was blurry booty cheeks. Other than that just being incorrect the game still holds up as a true mastery of Sonic's formula. Not even touching on the shadow stuff. Doesn't need explanation. The most that's worked in any sonic for awhile. Best Stroytelling Best Cutscens Best Graphics Best Everything. Oh yea, to everyone geeting angry at the referency "pandery" dialouge rewrite, grow the heck up. Just a few years ago we had no one, literally not a single soul on the team, cared about the integrity of these guys. Butchering them cuz they're just Sonic's dumb friends. Only problems came from this new approach. Now they're being respected and properly written as people with thoughts and feelings and personalities.

[@RaiginAnimator]

15:17 as someone who Plays the game a lot That’s very true. But it’s pretty simple if you know the trick whenever you realease the swing you spring in its direction Like if you fully hold the ability and swing the full distance it’s a normal Spider-Man swing. But if you hold it for a second and let go of the button shadow will grappling hook through the morph all and shoot off in the adjacent direction