Best official 3D Sonic you can play today, in my opinion. Adventure wasn't a series I grew up with, so I don't have nostalgia for that. I played 2D as a kid, and came back when Colors / Generations were new. I came back to play Unleashed, the Adventure series later since I grew up a PS2 kid.

PROS:
- The feel of traversing the world is amazing. The experience may not be the most refined, but you can really reach exhilarating speeds. Grabbing a maximum ring count gives you an upgraded boost that feels amazing. The set-pieces in the world bounce you all around quickly. It feels very Sonic-y. A game with fast-pace is my favorite design.
- THE BOSSES. OH MY LORD THE BOSSES ARE AMAZING.
- The OST is one of my favorites for ANY game. Metal, EDM, soothing orchestral tracks, it has a wide genre reach, but they all feel natural without any whiplash between moments.
- Good cyberspace stages break up the overworld action with some small, bite sized platforming. This is where platforming design is at it's best, as each stage is finely tuned to be run through quickly. Great music in here too.
- Lots to do in the overworld, lots of little goodies, even a fishing mini-game for giggles in case you need to relax a moment. Not everything is mandatory for trophies, which is nice.
- Story is above average with some high points I really loved, not some hot-garbage writing we've seen in previous entries. I wouldn't feel embarrassed to play this game around other people. I actually got a couple laughs with some jokes here instead of cringe.


CONS:

Even though I call this the best 3D Sonic, that doesn't mean it comes without it's faults. There are a number of issues that I have with this game.

- Pop-in. I really don't know what to blame here (I know DEV team is at fault for the issue being present). This game was made with dated hardware in mind (Switch, PS4, Xbox One). This may have limited how the game runs on older hardware, however, there are NO settings for optimizing this on PC. Render distance is fixed and CANNOT be changed. Render distance is something that NEEDS to be included because some overworld puzzles are frustrating to solve because you can't even see half of the platforms from far away.
- 2D lock-in. Overworld design, specifically midway through the game. At one particular point (you'll know when you get there) there is a fixation on 2D designed puzzles. This isn't bad in it's own right, BUT ONCE YOU START A 2D SECTION, YOU CANNOT LEAVE IT UNLESS YOU FINISH IT OR TRY TO LEAVE FROM THE BEGINNING. It's a horrible choice that could be fixed with a, like, reset puzzle button that pushes you to the beginning, or a way to jump out. It ruins the flow.
- The puzzles start to feel very same-y in the overworld after you get 75% done. I liked doing most of it, but Island 3 kinda ruined it for me, it wasn't designed very well.



So, overall, I recommend this game. It is a HUGE step in the right direction in ALL aspects. However, there is a lot of jank to be found. If you can look past the cons, this is a solid 8/10 game. The worst of cons bring this game way down, it's a shame. But the heights with bosses, gameplay in others were some of the best gaming moments I've had in years.

If you aren't a Sonic fan, wait for a sale ($30 is an easy worth), hopefully by then it is patched too for pop-in... but I won't hold my breath.

In the meantime, here's hoping for DLC, I'll be playing this game multiple times.