Sonic Generations: Game Design Review

Sonic Generations is a game celebrating  the history of Sonic. In the game each level is divided into 2 acts. Act 1 you play a level as Classic Sonic which plays on a 2D plane and in Act 2 you play as modern Sonic who switches between 2D and 3D gameplay.

This game is honestly one of the best Sonic games I've played in a long time and deserves your time. I don't normally like collecting objects in games but this is one of the few game where I actually spent a lot of time hunting down the secret Red Rings which are placed in the alternative routes of the level and completing all the optional challenges.

It feels fast, it feels fluid and the game design in both the classic and modern Sonic levels feels both familiar and new at the same time. This completely beats my Sonic 4 experience hands down.


What I disliked
Way too fast- I heard a Youtube reviewer mention that Sonic has only been getting faster and faster in the latest Sonic games and after playing this and then returning back to play the first three sonic games. I understand his sentiment. On one hand, Sonic should feel fast but on the other hand the current Sonic speeds in Generations make Sonic a bit too fast to handle especially if you're holding down the boost button when playing as modern Sonic. Yes some people might complain but I think the rest of us will probably be thankful if they slow Sonic down.

No bosses- There are bosses every three acts and rival battles but its a shame we aren't seeing more bosses and more of Eggman's crazy machines from the past.

More levels- There are 9 level in total with 3 from each 'Sonic Era' and you have to play each Act as classic Sonic and modern Sonic. On top of that you also have 10 challenges per level. Some of which have very different gameplay. That's a lot of gameplay. The problem is despite this variety you're only seeing 9 levels in total which I think is a shame. What about all the other levels? Personally I would have liked to see less challenge levels and more money spent on increasnig the number of levels in the main game. Who wouldn't want a new Casino level or Mystic Mine level?

Conclusion
Sonic Generations is a game that restores my faith in Sega. I like it a lot and compared to my experience with Sonic 4, this is light years ahead. Sega needs to work on Sonic Generatiosn 2 or a spiritual sequel to the gameplay in this game. Considering the Sonic games recently released by Sega that have been receiving mediocre reviews, the next Sonic Generations game couldn't come sooner.