• Publisher: Sega
  • Release Date: Nov 15, 2005
Metascore
45 out of 100

Generally unfavorable - based on 28 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 28
  2. Negative: 18 out of 28
  1. I narrowly recommend it for series die-hard, unless it keeps you from buying "Rush", in which case you should opt for your DS all the way. [Dec 2005, p.58]
  2. Shadow the Hedgehog has a couple good ideas that are ruined by sorry gameplay. What happened?
  3. A monumental letdown, no ifs, ands or buts about it.
  4. The magic of the 2D versions have all but been lost in a search for technical accomplishment and it suffers terribly for it.
  5. This premise would still be stupid even if Shadow didn't suffer from slowdown issues, a nonexistent lock-on system, a horrible camera, and bottomless pits in which to fall. But it does, and it is stupid--just like this is a stupid way to spend 50 bucks.
  6. The ability to choose your own destiny in Shadow the Hedgehog is cool, but much of that is overshadowed by the problems with the camera, controls, targeting, and so on.
  7. As a long-term Sonic fan Shadow the Hedgehog fills me with absolute dread and disdain; it's an abysmal game that manages to expand upon the issues of previous Sonic games, whilst completing negating the core ingredients of the Sonic series.
  8. Unlike last years popular and more importantly, playable, "Sonic Heroes," Shadow The Hedgehog is a misstep in almost every direction.
  9. Sonic Team really dropped the ball on mission design, the graphics are lackluster, camera control issues can result in needless deaths, and the storyline can be a little hard to follow for anyone that is not a Sonic junkie.
  10. The action is also largely mindless, with a poor targeting system and a game camera that never quite follows the action the way you want it to.
  11. 47
    A long list of shortcomings, from stupid level design, unrefined controls and useless gunplay to disappointingly outdated graphics.
  12. Shadow the Hedgehog fails to live up to its pedigree due to terrible controls, an uncooperative camera, and an overall lack of effort.
  13. Nasty visuals, odd camera work, silly levels - Shadow suffers from all the problems for which people have criticised every other 3D Sonic game only, for the most part, to a greater degree. Deserves to get lost among the Christmas rush and never found or spoken of again.
  14. The new ideas they've had work surprisingly well - sure, the hero has a gun, but it's a gun that works fluidly and effectively. The only problem is that the rest of the game has been dressed up in an attitude that really doesn't fit the franchise in the least, and then further marred by graphical inadequacy and unpleasant sound.
  15. Shadow the Hedgehog is awful. Stay away from it.
  16. From its stripping down of the series' most successful gameplay elements to its obviously desperate addition of weapons and 'street' cool this is still a product of a development studio with a good imagination. But also, it seems, a lazy one only too happy to jump on the same GTA bandwagon that's currently carrying way too many developers.
  17. The poor controls, tricky camera and an irritation-filled gaming experience is unfortunately what Shadow the Hedgehog is presented as, and this doesn't deserve to be found under too many Christmas tree's this year.
  18. Sega has jumped the shark with their Sonic franchise, as this release massively disappoints with frustrating controls and useless camera.
  19. Flaccid gunplay, horrible stop/start pacing and dull bosses mean that Shadow isn't ready for the limelight just yet. [Apr 2006, p.84]
  20. The new gun combat is horrid. [Jan 2006, p.138]
  21. 40
    Shadow the Hedgehog could signal the death of Sonic spin offs, the title tries too hard to be impressive and ultimately fails miserably.
  22. Someday, Sega might actually do Sonic right in 3D, but at the moment, this is the worst attempt yet.
  23. 40
    For all the consternation about a gun-toting enigma invading a kid-friendly video-game series, the only thing to fear in Sega's Shadow the Hedgehog is the game's slap-dash excution. [Mar 2006, p.80]
  24. 40
    The lack of speed is a real problem here.
  25. Sega seems to be lazily exploiting a franchise that appears way past its sell-by date. Reinvent the character by all means, but give him back his sharp edges.
  26. We could go on and on about the frustrating platforming, inconsistent graphics, but we're anything but sadists. [Jan 2006, p.78]
  27. A couple of good ideas, a couple of bad ideas, but all executed so poorly that the game almost feels unfinished. Combine that with a control and camera system that's been getting progressively worse for the past six years or so, and it's official: The hedgehog has jumped the shark.
  28. Combine the relatively poor visuals with monotonous level designs, and you'll find yourself in the middle of a level with no real visual cues of where you are within the level.
User Score

Mixed or average reviews- based on 47 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 21
  2. Negative: 12 out of 21
  1. OH NO, a positive Shadow the Hedgehog review? I am prepared for the hate. Regardless, Shadow the Hedgehog was released in 2005 and is the first Sonic related game in which the protagonist is not Sonic the Hedgehog and is a character introduced in Sonic Adventure 2. The purpose of the game is for players to find out more about Shadow than they originally knew of in SA2. This information includes Shadow's past such as how he was created and more details about Maria. When it comes to the actual story, it gives you a different feel in each of the different sides you choose. I believe players disliked the story because they didn't want a different style in which you can play through different outcomes and have increased replayablility. Now let's get into the gameplay. Many people found the gun concept to be "Pointless", the speed of Shadow to be too slow, and the performance of the game graphics wise, but I found none of those to be an issue. the guns bring variety to the series, Shadow runs just as fast as Sonic and runs as smoothly as in SA2, and the graphics were not bad. Heck, even the split screen I found fun playing with my friends. The only minor issue I found within the game was, well, nothing. Overall, don't listen to the other reviewers unless you prefer everything to be the same rather than variety. That is why this game deserves a perfet 100. Full Review »
  2. OK, so I am re-reviewing this because I just didn't like the first review of the game I did. It was rushed, and I was just wrong about it. But I won't say anyything about that anymore. Let's move on. It undeniable how popular Shadow the Hedgehog has become...as a character. He is emo, a nega version of Sonic, and he is just flat out cool. But what about his game? Those of you who had played Sonic Adventure 2 and enjoyed it will probably appreciate this one too, at points anyway. The opening cutscene and music in it is phenominal. SEGA has always excelled in opening cutscenes, and Shadow the Hedgehog is no exception. It pumps you up for the action you're about to face. While its not as good as Sonic Unleashed's opening, the main theme of the song, "I Am", Phenominal. The best song in any Sonic game, I don't care what anyone says. Then you start out the game with another cutscene that begins the game with Shadow having no recollection of his past, only remebering Maria and his name...and how to breathe, and talk, and walk, and run, and thank god he hasn't forgotten how to be awesome. Then aleins attck Westopolis, and the leader of the aleins, Black Doom, tells Shadow that he knows him and to "find the seven chaos emeralds and bring them to me, as promised." What happends next is up to you. You enter the level with 3 objectives, each revolving around good, evil, or neutral. Depending on what missions you do determines what level and storry route you will take, encouraging players to play the game multiple times to unlock all of the endings in all of the levels. It's crazy fun to determine the fate of the planet and choose your route. There are ten possible endindgs and to see how Shadow treats the other characters is just plain fun. But what you have to do to get them is where everything goes downhill. The first level in the game, both evil and good missions are exactly the same: kill all of the enemies, except what mission you're doing, you have to defeat either the aleins (good) or GUN soldiers (evil). EVERY SINGLE ENEMY! The first time I played the first level, I wanted to kill all of the GUN soldiers, but then, I used chaos control. The chaos abilities in the game were, indeed, a dissapointment. First off, Chaos blast doesn't have a very good range, and it will be much more fun if you just home attack them. Second, chaos control has got to be the worst move EVER in the whole series. OK, mabey not if you're doing a neutral mission, which just requires you to get to the end every time, but if you are doing a good or evil mission, you have to take your time, and find and/or kill everything, but chaos control blasts you through the stage which means you missed some of your objectives which means you have to back track. I don't have a HUGE problem with this, but you don't really know WHERE you missed your objective and somtimes, you'll be forced to start over, and in doing so, you also get a lower chance of an A rank. It took me 15 minutes just to kill all of the enemies in the first level, and if you use chaos control near the end of the level, you will just go straight to the goal ring and there is now way to stop chaos control in mid air, you will accidentalyend up doing a neutral mission instead of the one you wanted to do. Also, the melle attack is completely useless. Shadow already has the homing attack. Why does he need to use his fists? And why does he need to use vehicles if he moves faster than them in the first place? UGHHH! However, if the next thing in the game weren't present, I wouldve hated it: The level design. Sure, the first level and some others are too simple and require you to go slow, but stage like Lethal Highway, Carnival Park, Final Haunt and some others were just made for running around; FAST. When Shadow goes fast, it is fun, although he is a bit slippery. The level: They're big; and theres lots of them. There are some framrate issues, but nothing to big, except for mabey in levels like The Doom and Lost Impact. The guns in the game are just...well...guns...nothing specilal. The bazookas are worthless as you can bar;ey aim with them, not a lot to be said here. The in-game cutscenes are attrocious. There's NO being nice on this one. It is as blocky as Minecraft (although Minecraft looks a whole lot better), and for some reason, it take several loading screens to load a cutscen. 10-15 seconds, a cutscene loads, and no matter how long it is, it will always take the same amount of time, and more time to load a level. This is true in the begining of the game and in the last story. Also, some of the endings of the game are unstatisfactory. There are like 3 or 4 i which Shadow just concludes that he is the most awesomest Hedgehog in the world and others, he literaly KILLS Eggman...okay then... Shadow the Hedgehog won't blow your mind, but it is worth buying it used from GameStop. The missions lack in variety, not enugh bosses, chaos powers suck, t Full Review »
  3. Sega said it wanted a hardcore hedgehog, so they painted in black and gave it a gun. Seriously , Sega you're a genius in what you do, in fact you are my "idol". This is a huge disappointment in the famous series, yeah, maybe i like the sonic series, but the classic one, forget about the Sonic series is lost. Full Review »