Shadow the Hedgehog

 GameCube
User Score
6.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 226 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 100 out of 226
  2. Mixed: 66 out of 226
  3. Negative: 60 out of 226
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  1. BenC
    Jul 26, 2009
    0
    This game is utter rubbish. Truly a new low in gaming standards. The controls suck, the graphics are a joke, level design is about as well designed as a 2 year olds lego creation. and come on, guns? what the fuck where they thinking? This game is best left forgotten as it is one of Sega's worst products of all time. Also what gives with all the 10/10 ratings? Have they played the This game is utter rubbish. Truly a new low in gaming standards. The controls suck, the graphics are a joke, level design is about as well designed as a 2 year olds lego creation. and come on, guns? what the fuck where they thinking? This game is best left forgotten as it is one of Sega's worst products of all time. Also what gives with all the 10/10 ratings? Have they played the game or are they just stupid sega fans who would bend over happily for the next terrible sonic game?… Expand
  2. sdc
    Apr 3, 2015
    0
    The worst story of all time, forgettable music (In a Sonic game? Oh no...), terrible graphics that shame the 8-Bit systems, mission based structures that bore me, and the worst controls in a Sonic game, this game doesn't deserve the number of defenders it gets.
  3. krazeeKidd102
    Apr 19, 2011
    4
    Ugh...Where do I start? First, after two beautiful, hype-filled cutscenes (yes, the intro scene counts), we start the game with terrible graphics. Seriously, even the Dreamcast games looked better than this.

    Then, there are the bad controls. Steering is nearly impossible because you shoot off at high speed as soon as you push the analog stick forward, not to mention that he goes at the    Ugh...Where do I start? First, after two beautiful, hype-filled cutscenes (yes, the intro scene counts), we start the game with terrible graphics. Seriously, even the Dreamcast games looked better than this.

    Then, there are the bad controls. Steering is nearly impossible because you shoot off at high speed as soon as you push the analog stick forward, not to mention that he goes at the same speed all the time, even with the speed boosters.

    Then, there are the missions. Some are easy and involve reaching the goal, simple as that. However, a lot of them involve finding stuff and defeating forty or so enemies of a single type in the same stage. It's boring and ripped straight out of the Chaotix gameplay of Sonic Heroes. Of course, at least Sonic Heroes had somewhat decent gameplay with a kickass soundtrack. This game's soundtrack is boring and uninteresting, as it sticks to nothing but bland, repetitive techno tracks. "I am all of me" is one of the worst themes of any Sonic game, period. And it's all for a flat-out ridiculous story. Seriously, Shadow and a random bunch of aliens. I know you brought back Shadow because of fan popularity, but this excuse of a story is piss-poor and relates very little to the SA2 plot.

    However, there are a large variety of levels, and the choose-your-own-adventure style is pretty cool (although the missions around that style are not). The level design also has a heavier emphasis on platforming than any other 3D Sonic game before it, which is a good thing.

    The point is: Don't buy this game. There are much better platformers out there, so don't waste your time.

    Overall Rating: 4.5/10

    P.S.: Don't be listen to people when they say that guns are the only thing bad about the game. Trust me. They're ironically the only good, properly functioning part of the game.    … Expand
  4. ohaiKendyl
    May 19, 2011
    4
    Shadow the Hedgehog falls flat under its excessive amount of flaws and lack of identity. Pros: Fantastic visuals and level design; lots of extras/secrets. Cons: Lacks any kind of speed; terrible control and camera; dated graphics; poorly executed "good verses evil" concept.
  5. MrSonicFan
    May 7, 2013
    3
    Don't play this game. Not even if you are a sonic fan. The story is stupid, The graphics and sound are terrible the good, neutral, and evil pathways are filled with plotholes and contradictions. The control is terrible. The level design is stupidly confusing. Just don't play this game. If you must play this game only play the GameCube version. It's the most bearable one. Sonic 06 is betterDon't play this game. Not even if you are a sonic fan. The story is stupid, The graphics and sound are terrible the good, neutral, and evil pathways are filled with plotholes and contradictions. The control is terrible. The level design is stupidly confusing. Just don't play this game. If you must play this game only play the GameCube version. It's the most bearable one. Sonic 06 is better than this. And that's sad.… Expand
  6. mslurr
    Mar 18, 2012
    4
    While the gameplay is near-solid and the branching storyline is impressive, there are so many things wrong with this game I can't imagine how any self-respecting Sonic fan would like this. If you don't do the missions, the levels and game itself is short and forgettable. Not even the level with the Shadow androids is that remarkable. Like Heroes, the enemies have health, but they made itWhile the gameplay is near-solid and the branching storyline is impressive, there are so many things wrong with this game I can't imagine how any self-respecting Sonic fan would like this. If you don't do the missions, the levels and game itself is short and forgettable. Not even the level with the Shadow androids is that remarkable. Like Heroes, the enemies have health, but they made it worse by giving the enemies more health and Shadow a god-awful homing attack. This is to try to urge you to use the guns and vehicles, but they're still hard to control. The control itself is more slippery than Heroes, and the music is mediocre at best, save for the theme "All Hail Shadow" which is arguably one of the best character themes I've heard. And the dark theme has "I'm trying to hard" all over it. The overuse of damn, the unnecessary guns, and the extremely dark levels are just screaming that it's trying to attract the preteen who thinks guns = cool. There are few games that I dislike in Sonic, and this is one of them.… Expand
  7. Draculamarth
    Nov 5, 2013
    4
    Not even recommended for Sonic fans (which I am one of). The gameplay somehow manages to be the least of it's problems, despite, you know, being a game where the Sonic equivalent of Poochie shoots people and rides motorcycles. It's attempts and being edgy would be cute were it not for the cringe-worthy voice acting. Half the people in the voice cast had never voice acted video gamesNot even recommended for Sonic fans (which I am one of). The gameplay somehow manages to be the least of it's problems, despite, you know, being a game where the Sonic equivalent of Poochie shoots people and rides motorcycles. It's attempts and being edgy would be cute were it not for the cringe-worthy voice acting. Half the people in the voice cast had never voice acted video games before. What does that tell you? Also, the plotline makes no sense, even less so than other Sonic games that tried to have a plot.

    It does have pretty good music though, but that's a given for Sonic games.

    4    … Expand
  8. TheReaperX
    Oct 6, 2018
    0
    I wonder how is this getting good revierws. Its a big PIECE OF **** The grafics are bad the gameplay is terrible and the story isnt interesting or good. Its a big disapointment
  9. Luigibarqs
    Jan 30, 2013
    4
    Shadow The Hedgehog is a game that stars the character who's name is in the title. Shadow The Hedgehog (the character, not the game) following Sonic Adventure 2 became a popular character in the Sonic Universe and much like Knuckles The Echidna and his game Knuckles Chaotix on the 32X prior, Sega created a cash-in game based on the most popular character they had at the time. How did theShadow The Hedgehog is a game that stars the character who's name is in the title. Shadow The Hedgehog (the character, not the game) following Sonic Adventure 2 became a popular character in the Sonic Universe and much like Knuckles The Echidna and his game Knuckles Chaotix on the 32X prior, Sega created a cash-in game based on the most popular character they had at the time. How did the game turn out? Sadly not very good. As with most cash-in games, it was released in an unfinished and poorly tested state. The gameplay consists of Shadow The Hedgehog doing various missions (good, evil and neutral) to determine what different level he advances to and what ending he gets and what ultimately happens to the character with regards to his memory, and what different parties are his friends and enemies and the plot's overall conclusion. Pretty much only the Final Story ending is actually canon, the others are all completely pointless. Shadow The Hedgehog uses mostly firearms, melee weapons, vehicles and his own personal abilities to complete his mission objectives. gameplay with firearms flows somewhat decently but the the overall control feel like you are constantly sliding around on ice and fighting the camera's behavior, al ot of the game mechanics are very sloppily designed and barely even function properly, this is especially noticeable when riding vehicles. The game seems to make out the character Shadow The Hedgehog an emo gun wielding lunatic with amnesia which I personally find not all that appealing.The music is your generic gothic and gritty music and excluding maybe 3 tracks, the sountrack is not all that memorable. The story flow is absolutely horrible, sometimes when you transition from one level to another, the plots don't add up and turn the entire thing into a giant plothole, but as mentioned before, since only the final story is canon, these plothole infested player created stories aren't canon in the slightest. The level designs and missions aren't that well designed and are pretty bland. The level designs themselves are very generic and poorly designed, the level visuals are generic, low quality and ugly to look at. Missions are very uncreative as well with such objectives as: beat the boss, destroy (insert number here) of (insert NPC here), reach the goal or find (insert objects or location here). When playing certain missions in the 1-player mode, characters follow Shadow The Hedgehog around to give him advice and certain ones can actually be controlled by utilizing the Player 2 controller and can help Shadow out. There is also a multiplayer deathmatch battle mode with features so limited features, such badly designed level arenas and so poorly designed mechanics that it isn't even worth looking into. In conclusion, the game is a rushed cash-in on a popular character with poor design, and beta testing that was released to stores for sale in a unfinished condition and barely playable, it does have some decent points to it but I'd recommend you avoid this game.… Expand
  10. PringleDringus
    Mar 13, 2015
    3
    Woof.
    There really isn't much to say about this game that hasn't been beat to a bloody pulp already, but as someone who A ranked every level in this game, in my opinion I think that in terms of central design, this is the worst game in the sonic franchise. It definitely isn't worse than '06 however, since it actually you know. Works.
    While this game can provide a small amount of    Woof.
    There really isn't much to say about this game that hasn't been beat to a bloody pulp already, but as someone who A ranked every level in this game, in my opinion I think that in terms of central design, this is the worst game in the sonic franchise. It definitely isn't worse than '06 however, since it actually you know. Works.
    While this game can provide a small amount of enjoyment, overall it isn't really worth playing unless you're EXTREMELY curious. The only good parts of this game are the cg cutscenes (which still look great to this day despite the ridiculousness of them) and a few of the music tracks, especially the vocal ones.
    Horrible level design and gameplay, an absolutely horrendous story, and a game that overstays its welcome by far too much (especially for those who want to beat the entire game), this is one to avoid.
    If you aren't convinced, one of the levels takes nearly half an hour to complete on average. To get an A rank.    … Expand
  11. SlashX
    Jan 29, 2014
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is the worst game I have ever played.
    The amount of **** that you have to deal with in this game is more than I have experienced in every other game I have played. COMBINED.
    First, the controls; What the actual **** Sega? SA1 and SA2 (minus the mech stages) control perfectly! These controls are the WORST. They are the slipperiest controls I have seen in a game thus far. The momentum of jumping is Belmont Syndrome times 1000. 2000, even! If you play this game, which you shouldn't, you will fall off of cliffs an innumerable amount of times due to Shadow's slippery shoes. And if you
    thought Luigi was bad... Have fun playing!
    Next, the level design; AAAAAAGGGGHHH
    WORST. LEVEL DESIGN. IN HISTORY. IF YOU'LL EXCUSE ME I THINK YELL FOR THE REST OF THIS PARAGRAPH. IT'S SO. *SO*. ********SO******** BAD.
    Sorry. Anyway, the game is based around a split-path system. The next stage you go to is based on your actions in the current stage. There are 29 different stages (Though some of them are the same), 10 endings, and a whole ****in' lot of paths. In a single play-through, you complete five stages. To complete the game fully and get the final ending, you must get all of the endings. The problem? THE ALTERNATE OBJECTIVES ARE ****. They, more often then not, require you to seek and kill each and every one of a certain enemy in a stage. In a SONIC game. A SONIC game! Not only is this boring and monotonous, it goes against the principles of the series. AND NO. IT'S NOT A ****IN' ONE-OFF. IT IS A *DIRECT SEQUEL* TO HEROES. It also goes against your slippery control, which is designed for speed, not offense. Can you imagine going back to SA2, making the controls absolute **** and killing EVERY ENEMY in the stage? NO.
    NOBODY DID CAUSE THAT'S A ****TY ****IN' IDEA. The levels are so slow and boring, despite being portrayed as an action game. The levels are so huge sometimes, that in some certain search-destroy missions, you will be on stages for forty ****in' five minutes, if you don't know what you're doing. There are some stages that make you touch certain objects, or kill enemies with a certain weapon, collect rings, etc. But whatever you're doing, you can bet that it's terrible. But the best part is, if you want the full ending, you HAVE to do the stages that you don't like. Scratch that! The best part is that you have to play the first stage 10 times to beat the game fully. TEN. ****ING. TIMES.
    The graphics and music? Muddy, with bad human character models, and voice syncing... And boring, terribly one note (ha-ha) idiotic drivel.
    Enemies are a joke, especially with the guns.If you don't have guns, prepare to mash A.
    Oh, and the guns? They are, ironically, the only thing I can say that works in this game. There's a reason why my score isn't zero. If I had to kill everything with my homing attack... Ugh. I'd give it a negative 10. The guns kill things. End of story.
    Speaking of story...
    This story is terrible. Shadow's sitting somewhere, contemplating his life, because... And then, aliens, because... And then their leader, Generic Antagonist, reveals that he knows Shadow's past, and sends him off to collect the Emeralds so that he may...
    ...Get ready...
    ...Get ready...
    DESTROY THE WORLD!
    OF COURSE! HOW BOUT THAT **** Etc.
    After you finish the first stage, there is a cutscene that shows off two human characters, the President, and a G.U.N. general who lived on the Ark. He was friends with Maria until she died, and blames Shadow for the WAIT. He's a G.U.N. GENERAL. G.U.N. KILLED MARIA, YOU STUPID **** *Clears Throat*. 'Scuse me. He blamed Shadow for her death, because... And sends out troops to kill him. Problem? IN HALF OF THE STORY OPTIONS, THESE CHARACTERS NEVER APPEAR AGAIN. EVER. THEY'RE JUST GONE. WHY?
    BECAUSE! I'm not gonna bother with the rest of the story options. Wanna know why? ... Well, I'll tell you anyway! The Secret/Final/True/Whatever-The-**** ending ret-cons every single one of them! You want an evil Shadow? TOO BAD! You want a neutral Shadow? NOPE! You want an and(not really)roid Shadow? I don't know why you'd want that, but NOPES. SHADOW IS ALWAYS GOOD AND SAVES THE CONTINUITY I mean WORLD!
    Ugh. That's it, pretty much. Worst game I've ever played, and YEAH! I've played Sonic '06. I can at least laugh at that game whenever something glitches. And I find MORE enjoyment instead of less each time I play it.
    So...
    If you ever have money for a GameCube game, GO BUY SOMETHING ELSE. Like Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, or Pokemon XD/Colosseum, or Mario Sunshine, or goddamned Kirby's Air Ride. Just something BETTER. Sigh...    … Expand
  12. Vegeta1995
    Jul 28, 2014
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Shadow The Hedgehog... One of my favorite characters of the Sonic universe but with a game so horrible that even the word sh*t is too good for it. I love Sonic The Hedgehog but damn has Sega really made a bunch of horrible Sonic games such as this abomination... I rather play with my dogs turd than this piece of sh*t... But lets start off with the story; Shadow is seen looming over a cliff hit with a dose of amnesia as he tries to remember about his past, a past in which no one from the previous game, Sonic Heroes, ever bothers to explain to him either because they're stupid or straight up dick's. As he stares off into the city a cloud gathers over it and a bunch of... Aliens... Sigh... Yes aliens begin attacking the city... As Shadow begins to walk away a mysterious figure shows up named, Black Doom, explains to Shadow that he will help him regain his memories as long as he brings him the 7 Chaos Emeralds. After Black Doom vanishes, Shadow begins his hunt for the emeralds. Now this is where the story becomes a real mess... This is the first in the series to introduce branching story lines where you could choose to either follow the neutral, hero, or evil path and which ever you follow determines the ending you receive... The game has multiple endings which are either flat out stupid or hilariously horrible. One ending has Shadow accepting he is an android which is just hilariously horrible. But all those ending don't matter in the end because once beating the game multiple times and unlocking all the endings you unlock the real ending. And the real ending is still unsatisfying. It has Shadow being the hero in the end and beating Black Doom in an old tradition Super Sonic fight. Ill give Sega credit for trying out the branching story line thing but surprisingly they screwed that up. The story is such a mess and filled with plot holes... One example is in Sonic Adventure 2 Dr. Robotnik configures The Space Colony Ark to destroy the world before being sent to prison... But in Shadow The Hedgehog Robotnik configures the Ark to destroy Black Doom's comet before being sent to prison... WTH!? How is that even possible... It makes no sense... Being able to breath underwater makes more sense then that... Game play time... It's your typical Sonic game play but with a new addition of weapons. Shadow can now wield a variety of weapons such as your typical pistol and machine guns too rockets launchers and some Alien weaponry. Surprisingly the weapons handle pretty well (minus the rocket launchers which are a pain in the ass to aim) and I rather use the guns instead of the homing attack because it's programmed rather poorly. It has caused me a lot of cheap deaths because it failed to lock me onto the enemy I want to hit and sent me hurling down a pit to my death. Another thing thats horribly implemented is the handling. It feels as if you're running on ice. It's just horrible such like the various of vehicles you can drive such as motorcycles or jeeps. They're all really slow and clunky. I rather deal with the piss ass handling than drive those broken things. And the graphics are just horrible to look at... They used the same models of the Sonic characters from Sonic Heroes and put them in this dark and gritty environment. They just don't fit. The music is a hit and miss too except for the opening theme and Crush 40's "Never Turn Back". Overall Shadow The Hedgehog is just a bad game that tries to do a couple of new things but ends up doing them wrong. The graphics are as pretty as an old sh*t stained underwear from your fat uncle rob, with a horrible story that's a complete mess that'll make Amanda Byne's seem like she has her sh*t straight and with a mediocre game play. Stay away from this game. It's horrible. If you're feeling suicidal this game is the perfect way to kill yourself. But please... Call someone if you're suicidal... Please.… Expand
  13. JamesDrawsThngs
    Aug 7, 2020
    3
    I'll go ahead and say this right off the bat: This is the worst Sonic game I have ever played. Oh sure, Sonic 06 comes in a close second (and I have yet to play Sonic Boom to form an actual opinion on the game), but I was far more frustrated and bored with this game compared to 06. What few good ideas that are here are not even close to making this worthwhile to sit through. From itsI'll go ahead and say this right off the bat: This is the worst Sonic game I have ever played. Oh sure, Sonic 06 comes in a close second (and I have yet to play Sonic Boom to form an actual opinion on the game), but I was far more frustrated and bored with this game compared to 06. What few good ideas that are here are not even close to making this worthwhile to sit through. From its structure, to the edginess, to its awful story, Shadow the Hedgehog is an absolute failure.

    This game came out during a time where Japanese developers were struggling to keep console gaming profitable in their own country, so many decided to focus on the Western market. Sonic has historically always been popular with Western countries, so it made sense to want to appeal to them. Their idea of appealing to the West (specifically the U.S.), however, was to turn this game into the bedroom of the edgiest pre-teen you can imagine. It's got everything: awkwardly placed, forced swearing, the use of weaponry that feels so incredibly out of place for any character in the series to use, heavy metal and excessive amounts of wangst. The best part is that there is not an ounce of irony to be had. Not even a wink to let you know that, yes, even the developers think this is ridiculous and we're gonna have fun with it. There's no fun, though. You better wear protective gear, because the edge here hurts.

    How about that story? Well, Shadow still has amnesia from Sonic Heroes, and all the characters that know him STILL REFUSE TO TELL HIM ABOUT HIS PAST. While in the middle of some reflecting, aliens pop in out of nowhere and start wrecking the city. Shadow only begins to care when the alien leader, Black Doom, tells Shadow to nab the Chaos Emerald because he owes him a solid. Shadow foolishly agrees, and is off on a treasure hunt to try and learn something (the rest of the characters sure as he** won't tell him squat). So over the course of the game, you are given multiple missions that align with being good, evil or neutral. What missions you perform determines the path you take, leading to multiple endings that allow you to shape Shadow into either a good guy, an evil prick or confused emo robot. Sounds great on paper. Bad news: none of those endings matter. Once you complete all the necessary missions, you unlock a final story segment that leads to what Sega considers cannon, rendering any choices you have made throughout the game (and the game's entire marketing tagline) completely moot. It's not like it matters too much, though, as every part of the story in this game either doesn't make sense or is just awful to sit through, not helped by the game's terrible voice direction.

    Core gameplay falls in line with that of previous 3D Sonic games. You run and platform through the level and either get to a goal, or complete specific objectives like defeating a certain number of enemies or funding a few key items. Almost every mission in the game falls into the latter two, which means at many points you'll be slowing down to scour through the levels to make sure you don't miss anything, making some missions agonizingly long. One decent inclusion they added is that you can warp between checkpoints in case you miss anything, but it doesn't make exploring these boring and bleak levels less frustrating. Not even the music, which is usually the saving grace of a bad Sonic game, isn't particularly memorable save for a few pieces. You know what else makes them frustrating? Shadow's god awful, slippery controls and the frustrating camera. It feels like butter melting around a moving frying pan. You have to just barely nudge Shadow through many of the levels just to make sure he doesn't slip off like a dunce. Ironically, I found the gunplay in this game to be the best part as it is the most functional aspect of the game. It allows you to mow down enemies a lot easier instead of using the gimped homing attack or useless punches. You also have access to two Chaos powers: Chaos Control and Chaos Blast. Both are filled by killing certain enemies. Chaos Control allows you to zoom through the level, but is only useful in instances where you just have to get to a goal. It's more useful against bosses as you can slow down time. Chaos Blast is a bit better as it's just a giant explosion and is, again, good for bosses. Actually, the best part about these powers isn't the powers themselves, but the fact that simply filling the meter gives you unlimited ammo for your weapon.

    I understand that this game does have its defenders, and if you enjoy it, that is perfectly okay. I'm glad you got something out of it. For me, though, oh god no. I will happily defend my stance as this being the worst game in the series that I've experienced. I only hang onto it for my collection. For anybody else remotely curious, do not bother giving it the time of day.    … Expand
  14. nelson2004
    Apr 7, 2021
    3
    6.3 User score for this game huh? People have definitely been wearing their nostalgia goggles for this one. Let it be known that this is the worst 3D sonic game ever. The level design is either straight forward paths with no exploration and tons of scripted sequences, or maze levels that repeat locations just to get you lost in the level not to mention the worst control of any 3D sonic6.3 User score for this game huh? People have definitely been wearing their nostalgia goggles for this one. Let it be known that this is the worst 3D sonic game ever. The level design is either straight forward paths with no exploration and tons of scripted sequences, or maze levels that repeat locations just to get you lost in the level not to mention the worst control of any 3D sonic game, I believe this game is using a modified version of the adventure engine where the speed, acceleration, and friction have all been jacked up making shadow control like if he was on ice all while the game decides to litter enemies across the stage and if that wasn't enough, shadow's other moves were severely nerfed, the homing attack is no longer a reliable tool to platform as you can barely change the direction of your dash leading to death if your trying to reach platforms while hitting airborne enemies, the spindash also makes a return and it sucks as well, you have to be stand still to use it and it only sends you a grand total of about 10 feet, you also can't gain momentum from rolling down slopes like you could in the previous games making the game feel more lifeless and boring, the only alright parts of this game are the music of course, and the gun gameplay, sure it makes shadow's other combat abilities obsolete, but who cares, they sucked anyway.… Expand
  15. SillySalamndr
    Mar 1, 2015
    4
    Shadow the Hedgehog is a great example of a concept which was lost by the time the full game was made. Each playthrough is short, and each plot is alright for how the game is designed, but the initial "charm" of the game crumbles by the third playthrough. The gun mechanics are unsatisfying and unrewarding compared to the traditional Sonic attacks. Bosses are often rehashed, andShadow the Hedgehog is a great example of a concept which was lost by the time the full game was made. Each playthrough is short, and each plot is alright for how the game is designed, but the initial "charm" of the game crumbles by the third playthrough. The gun mechanics are unsatisfying and unrewarding compared to the traditional Sonic attacks. Bosses are often rehashed, and encountering the same boss leaves something to be desired. Because the game uses a mix 'n match of cutscenes for story, you will often feel unsatisfied with the story resulting from the game's path you have chosen. These elements would be bearable in the short play time of the game, but in order to unlock the "final story," you need to do every single ending. As a result, you need to run through the same boring starting level ten times, encounter the same unappealing bosses even more, play through the same repetitive missions, and do all of the final bosses. Oh, did I mention that there are really just three final bosses, just stuck in different endings so that you can have an even *more* repetitive game?

    Shadow the Hedgehog's one redeeming light is that it has a great multiplayer - one which I would find fantastic to play as a standalone - but I would not recommend playing the game just for that; you'd waste far too much time playing the rest of this awful game to unlock the levels.

    Overall, this game *could* have been better, but the repetitive structure of the entire game gave it nearly no replay value, despite the game requiring that you replay it nine times to unlock last bit. Regardless of any clunky controls, the repetitiveness of the game is enough to break the game.

    Personal Rating: 3.9/10    … Expand
  16. greninjaX
    Apr 12, 2022
    0
    too edgey. too repetitive. too tedious. there's not a single thing this game does right.
  17. Maximo_Pepino
    Jun 29, 2022
    0
    One of the worst sonic games ever, Shadow the hedgehog gives a new meaning to the word "trash", which anybody who gave it about 30% or above may have lost their sense of. This is to all those who defended or otherwise sucked on this game. Get a life.
  18. RamenRoodles
    Aug 6, 2021
    3
    2021 Year Review:
    OH man 2005, Get your eyeliner out, get your razors for cutting your wrists, complain about your past and why you can't get along with your dad- roll all that pent up aggression in with an alter ego Sonic named Shadow who rides a chopper with a gun in one hand and a middle finger pointed upwards in the other hand. And you get Shadow the Hedgehog, the decade's most edgy    2021 Year Review:
    OH man 2005, Get your eyeliner out, get your razors for cutting your wrists, complain about your past and why you can't get along with your dad- roll all that pent up aggression in with an alter ego Sonic named Shadow who rides a chopper with a gun in one hand and a middle finger pointed upwards in the other hand. And you get Shadow the Hedgehog, the decade's most edgy character of all time. Bro I aint gonna lie that intro cutscene made me SO stoked to play this game. Shadow looks bad ass he's got some metal music in the background screaming "I AM ALL OF ME" which makes no sense but at the end you see Sonic crumbling to his feet and shadows just over him looking sinister as hell. **** crazy. BUT- do NOT, I repeat- do NOT, buy this game. Why? Cause you know its bad I know its bad you just wanna see someones opinion on an old game and I just threw it into my gamecube for the hell of it one night and it was a good laugh for about 20 mins and then I realized just how terrible of a job SEGA did my boi Shadow. It looks like an adventure game but plays NOTHING like an adventure series game. Its more like a dungeon crawler with side quests and the nothing storywise makes that much sense but the cocaine rock and gun action is supposed to carry you through it all. SURE, alternate endings are a dope idea, learning about Shadow's origin and his relationship to Maria within the Ark is all story that COULD be interesting. UNFORTUNATELY it is NOT executed well WHATSOEVER. There is one barely saving grace that is the 2 player dueling. I thought it was fun but you need to have a good knowledge of the game mechanics and GOOD LUCK finding someone else out there that has "mastered" Shadow the Hedgehog. RIP
    Put it in for nostalgia but then tuck it away until its a collector item if you already own it.    … Expand
  19. E102Gamma
    Nov 15, 2021
    2
    I believe Shadow the Hedgehog is just as bad as Sonic Heroes but for opposite reasons. Where I found Sonic Heroes's gameplay to difficult to get used to, Shadow the Hedgehog returns to a more simplified move set as it focuses on one character rather than 12. It is also one of the most stable 3D games in the entire series which came as quite a shock to me. I never came across any gameI believe Shadow the Hedgehog is just as bad as Sonic Heroes but for opposite reasons. Where I found Sonic Heroes's gameplay to difficult to get used to, Shadow the Hedgehog returns to a more simplified move set as it focuses on one character rather than 12. It is also one of the most stable 3D games in the entire series which came as quite a shock to me. I never came across any game breaking glitches in all of my playthroughs. General movement in Sonic Heroes was also horrible. Here Shadow's movement is more constrained. It takes him time to accelerate to full speed, and while at full speed, turning is delayed to prevent the player from flying off the road. It does, however, make maneuvering around corners and dodging projectiles a little problematic. Wish there was at least a side step. He also retains the floaty jump that all the games have. As far as general controls and stability, Shadow the Hedgehog is a step in the right direction. Though the spindash sucks now because Sonic Team wanted to place more focus on the weapons which also work really well.

    So the basic movement, stability and mechanics seem to be leagues ahead of Heroes but nearly everything else is far behind. The game's story is awfully generic and the levels feel bland from the very start. Add on the fact that none of the levels are built like Sonic levels. The levels do not compliment Shadow's control at all. Instead they are open areas filled with drones. Drones: enemies with AI so dumb they are no challenge to kill. Enemies continue to have health bars like in Heroes and the combat is boring. Just fire and spam the same attack till they die. No thought goes into these encounters. Every level follows a mission structure and completing a mission will lead Shadow to a different level and what was probably supposed to be a different side of the story. This game has ten endings, all of which are fundamentally the same. Once the player discovers all ten they gain access to a secret eleventh which completely discards the entire concept of the game. It, much like Sonic Heroes, is a complete **** show.

    I'm not going to go over the darker tone of the game because its a weak argument. Everyone complains about an anthropomorphic hedgehog wielding a gun but no one bats an eye at the squirrel (Conker). There is a fundamental difference between Conker and Shadow, though. Conker's Bad Fur Day is an absurd concept and it revels in that absurdness. It knows when to make fun of itself and when to take itself seriously. It has likeable and memorable characters. The developers at Rare wanted that game to be many things but they knew that none of that would ever matter unless the game was good. If the game isn't good then nothing else it offers matters. Conker is like a roller coaster with many twists, sharp turns and hills. Shadow the Hedgehog is a straight line that loops ten times over with one sharp turn at the end. Conker has personality in excess while Shadow the Hedgehog is as dull and generic as one can get.    … Expand
  20. luigiguy
    Dec 14, 2022
    3
    this game is painful to play but theres a decent amout of good things about this game like some levels the soundtrack and the 9 endings. and strangly its more memrable then forces as a exprince
    3.7/10 its trash but i respect it

Awards & Rankings

75
#75 Best GameCube Game of 2005
2
#2 Most Discussed GameCube Game of 2005
3
#3 Most Shared GameCube Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
51

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 22
  3. Negative: 10 out of 22
  1. Thunderbolt
    40
    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.
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  2. AceGamez
    40
    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.
  3. Nintendo Power
    80
    An enjoyable, high-octane adventure. Naysayers be damned. [Jan 2006, p.111]
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