Introduction
Today we will be diving into a Gamecube game, Shadow the Hedgehog! How does this game fair in this era, after so many years of release. Is this game worth playing after all this time? In this game you will play as Shadow and fight aliens, you can even shoot them with guns in third person and use lightsabers! This almost seems like a Halo game with Shadow the Hedgehog, however you can choose what kind of path you will take! Will you be good or evil?
What did I think before playing Shadow the Hedgehog?
I did not know what to expect when starting this game, but I did know that there are multiple endings. Also, playing as Shadow the Hedgehog sounded very fun. I was wondering how much difference there would be in the endings and if Sonic would be involved. Could you also become a hero and defeat the aliens? For more information we went to the Wikipedia page.
The Wikipedia page
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_the_Hedgehog_(video_game)
This page shows a lot of the gameplay and how there are a lot of endings. I am wondering if there is a secret ending. The gameplay has you hold guns and shoot aliens while also keeping the original Sonic gameplay. Abilities like light dash and homing strike are included.
Rating
I rate Shadow the Hedgehog with a 6.4 before playing.
While I did like the idea of multiple endings, guns and aliens sound kind of weird in a Sonic game.
Story
The story follows Shadow, who does not know who he is anymore. The only way that he can remember who he is, is by collecting the chaos emeralds. Whilst doing this, he can choose, follow the orders of Black Doom or help Sonic fight him?
Rating
I rate the story of Shadow the Hedgehog with 7.8
I always like multiple endings, I have already cleared four endings, what more is there to discover in this game?
Gameplay
The game starts with three paths right in the first mission, go your own way, destroy the human population whom are trying to kill the aliens. Or who knows, you might be a hero and help Sonic kill those pesky aliens. Depending on the action that you take, the next mission will change and so on until you reach a new ending!
While going through the levels, you can collect keys to open secret rooms. Collect guns that are littered everywhere, from normal assault rifles to alien plasma beams. If you are going to help the heroes, you will need a lot of guns to take out all the aliens. Depending on your score, which will increase if you clear the level faster and by killing many enemies, your rating will go up.
The hardest problems in this game are the camera controls and platforming. This game is not really made for platforming, as your character will easily jump over any platform or slip. However, it is doable, but errors will occur.
Rating
I rate the gameplay of Shadow the Hedgehog with a 6.1
While the story has multiple endings, the gameplay does seem a bit odd. The controls feel a bit clunky, aiming is kind of hard with guns, especially with boss fights.
Sound and Graphics
Graphics
The graphics are what you would expect from an older game. The cutscenes look great, and I think the game has aged quite well. Especially if you like nostalgic games. This does not mean that you can see the aged graphics in certain levels.
Sound
While the music might be good, that is if you like metal music. It feels very out of place in a Sonic game, also it is very loud and distracting. The usual Sonic rock songs were great, the sound effects are a bit weird, I keep hearing guns! The voice acting is not per se good, but I did like it.
Rating
I rate the sound and graphics of Shadow the Hedgehog with a 6.9.
I enjoyed the visual side of this game, but after a lot of distracting soundtracks, I decided to mute the game.
What did I think after playing Shadow the Hedgehog
The gameplay is still fun despite having some problems like the camera. I used the homing strike more often instead of the guns to take down the enemies. Aiming was very hard to do, most of the time I hit the good guys instead of the bad guys that I was aiming for.
Depending on your actions, be it evil or good, you will fill up two special attack meters. When activated, you will be invulnerable or even have infinite ammo. You can even build up both meters at the same time, but not use the skills at the same time. I enjoyed using these skills when fighting bosses.
Rating
I rate Shadow the Hedgehog with a 6.7 after playing.
The game gets quite repetitive after a while if you are trying to get all the endings!
What are my personal thoughts about Shadow the Hedgehog?
I am still working on getting multiple endings to see if there is a true ending, but that neutral ending had me going like, wait is that neutral? It felts full on dark but then again, if the aliens take control there is no fighting back. At least Sonic and his friends could beat back the empire of Shadow. Interested in the ending? Look at the video below!
Rating
My personal Rating of Shadow the Hedgehog is a 5.5
I rather play other Sonic games, even if Shadow is not playable.
Last Words
Pros
- Unlock multiple endings depending on your actions.
- Use guns and skills to take out pesky aliens, they even bleed
- The graphics have aged quite well for a old game.
- The story is unique in that it has many endings.
- Play different levels depending on your actions.
Cons
- The platforming and camera movements feel out of place.
- The soundtracks are not fitting and very distracting.
- Shadow the Hedgehog gets boring after a few runs.
- Guns in Sonic are out of place.
The transition of making choices could have been smoother, instead of having to pause the game all the time.
Final Rating
6.8
Let me know what you think of Shadow the Hedgehog in the comments!
I hope you enjoyed reading this review, I hope to see you in the next review!
If you liked reading this review, maybe you would like to share this review with your friends!
Mateusz
Sonic with a gun is awesome.
Silentrets
6.9 is so low.
long shade
Good review! This game has aged quite well.
PoeticKatana
Looks decent enough. The choice between good and evil and the multiple endings must have been a big innovation at the time.
supersven
It was indeed great for that time!
Jaromir Krzyszczak
Sonic games are always good 🙂
Riddler
Multiple endings are good
Michael Lo
nice play
DonCarlos
My first reaction to this game:
"There are guns?!"
supersven
And aliens!
jon doe
where there's sonic, there's shadow
Javier del Ríos
Agreed, guns and Sonic don´t mix.
fano23
Looks like a cool Sonic game to play for some time
Wonder
This game, alongside other Sonic games of the early to mid 2000s, tends to be quite divisive in the Sonic fandom. It seems people either grew up with the Genesis Sonic and hate a lot of the games that came afterward, grew up in the 2000s era and will rabidly defend the Sonic games of that era despite their flaws, or they simply do not care! Regardless, I would recommend checking out Sonic 06 (or, simply, Sonic the Hedgehog) for a game that is by far the most divisive Sonic game and probably the one that is the worst in quality, due to being rushed out for the holidays despite all the hype it garnered.
As for myself, I find this game too clashing in tone with the rest of the Sonic series, especially the guns and the swearing Shadow does in some routes. I think even Shadow himself was mischaracterized in this game as being too edgy, a problem he still faces today!
supersven
It indeed clashed a lot with the tone of Sonic games, I would love to take a look at that game.
Ney
Nostalgic 🙂
metalhead8489
always wanted to play this one but never had the chance
supersven
Maybe now you should!
eFe
I still remember when I played it for the first time and my surprise when I saw a black Sonic using guns xD