I’m very turned off by the fact that the game judders when the desktop resolution isn’t set to 60hz. You would think that they would have at least implemented an in-game refresh rate toggle, but apparently an intuitive solution was too much to ask for

Amazing game and rouge is goonable.

This is a review for the game "Shadow Generations", which is the main attraction of this package which also features a very nice addition of a (slight) remaster of Sonic Generations. I should mention that I played this game on PlayStation, which does not allow you to review games, so ignore my hour count.

Shadow Generations is the best Sonic has been since the release of Unleashed or maybe even the PlayStation 2. It acts as a disconnected parallel story to Sonic Generations, while also being a sequel to Shadow the Hedgehog, a 2005 game. You control Shadow who is stuck in a time vortex caused by the events of Sonic Generations, through this you will be able to explore a huge hub area that will slowly gain more and more content over the course of the game. In the hub world, you'll find 12 regular levels and 4 boss fights split between them. Let me just say, the gameplay is the best modern Sonic has to offer, and might utilise the boost formula even better than Unleashed does. The level design is frankly superb, and Shadow's moveset is amazing and accompanied by new and awesome traversal techniques similar to those found in Sonic Colours. The high-speed, edgy and gritty platforming action is extremely cathartic, and the main levels have amazing variety in their approach, with simply too many alternate routes to count that will leave you wanting a replay almost immediately. The boss fights are very cinematic and also fantastic. This game simply has a level of quality you unfortunately do not expect from a Sonic game. It is very presentable, pretty and feels like a blockbuster hit. It is a joy to play from start to finish and I love it. It goes without saying that the music is also absolutely ear-bustingly good. Sonic games have good soundtracks and this game is up there with the best. The story is also great, and ties up a bunch of stories established over the last two decades of Shadow the Hedgehog. It's almost on the same tier of storytelling as Sonic and the Black Knight, which is something I'm shocked to be saying nowadays. I even teared up at the end. If you were a fan of the admittedly unpopular Shadow the Hedgehog game like I am, you'll love this game.

The game is not perfect, however. A common complaint you will find is that a few of the levels are broken up by story moments which cannot be skipped. I personally don't care much about this, but if it bothers you then that is very understandable. Also, in between getting to new levels, the game will present you with miniature challenge levels. None of these are optional, but only last around a minute each, and I personally enjoyed them. Lastly, this is a Sonic game and Sonic games are usually short. This is no exception, and will take you 3 hours if you're only interested in the story, and likely 6-10 hours to do everything this half of the bundle has to offer. But the high replay value more than makes up for this.

All things said, this game is fantastic. I hope it is a major turning point for this franchise, I would welcome more games of this quality. Shadow Generations gets a 9/10.