This is an *extremely* unpolished step in the right direction. It feels like a significant amount of testing and focus group feedback went into the first area, as it felt /amazing/. As the game progresses, that sense continues to wane with some jankiness that ends up preventing proper mobility. If the game could feel like it did in the first area, this would be an easy 8.5/10. However, as it is, this is closer to a 6/10. What it does good, feels freaking amazing. When the new mechanics don't feel good, it can be enough to make you want to put down your controller.

Sonic has four stats, which must be leveled up as you progress through the game. Strength, defense, speed and ring cap. The first two level up at a fairly decent rate by finding items out in the field, primarily dopped either within boxes or by enemies that you encounter naturally on your way. The latter two are raised by collecting a single resource (some not-quite-chao lifeforms) and deciding which stat you wish to turn it into. Unlike the first two, this is not a 1:1 ratio. Starting into the third map, my first two stats are just under 50 while the latter are at 25 and 5 respectively. As a result, I have to question if it's this comparitively low level of speed that makes it feel as though the boost mechanic isn't doing much of anything unless I'm on a rail.

On note of the boost mechanic, I feel like I'm actively getting punished for using it more than half the time as it will either send me flying off the map, or a rail, or launch me into a mechanic to make me traverse backwards. This feels like a major disconnect for a franchise revolving around "gotta go fast."

The writing is... Surprisingly decent. While there are some obvious repetitive cutscenes to skip (entering/leaving a stage, depositing resources, collecting an emerald), I'd recommend /not/ skipping the story cutscenes.

The music is great, and harkens back to some of the pre-Crush40 days with a more modern feel. The overall soundtrack has somewhere around 150+ songs, so there's plenty of decent variety.

Amidst the open-world areas, are stages that can't seem to decide if they want to be more like it was in Generations; some feel more 'Classic', some feel more 'Modern', some are... A strange hybridization between both. Completing objectives in these levels unlocks vault keys, which you need to gain emeralds. However, the weight of the objectives feels slightly off. Each stage has a rank based on nothing but your time to get through it, all other objectives be damned. While there is one objective to get a high rank, and stages can be repeated without penalty to get the other objectives, it just feels bad when you've gone out of your way to get the other objectives completed and feel like you're being punished for it with an otherwise low rank because you had to spend a few seconds here and there doing something. Additionally, there doesn't seem to be a wide variety of stage themes. Mostly I'm seeing references to Green Hill Zone and Sky Sanctuary (in the case of 90% of these so far), but there are occasionally other references thrown in such as Chemical Plant Zone.

Big the Cat is back, and so is fishing, but it actually feels like it has some amount of use. Sonic's the one fishing, and you can use this to /drastically/ reduce the amount of resource farming on your current map. It's also used to unlock a fast travel mechanic between resource deposit sites, so it's best not to ignore.

The graphics are gorgeous. There's also a large sense of scale making it feel somewhere between Breath of the Wild and Shadow of the Colossus.

The camera locking is excessive and will lead to your death, if not a sense that you have none of the freedom they've tried to give you. The third island in particular seems to be the biggest culprit of this so far.

Grab it for the story, the graphics, and those moments where they've truly done something right. Just be prepared to take breaks.

This is an *extremely* unpolished step in the right direction. It feels like a significant amount of testing and focus group feedback went into the first area, as it felt /amazing/. As the game progresses, that sense continues to wane with some jankiness that ends up preventing proper mobility. If the game could feel like it did in the first area, this would be an easy 8.5/10. However, as it is, this is closer to a 6/10. What it does good, feels freaking amazing. When the new mechanics don't feel good, it can be enough to make you want to put down your controller. Sonic has four stats, which must be leveled up as you progress through the game. Strength, defense, speed and ring cap. The first two level up at a fairly decent rate by finding items out in the field, primarily dopped either within boxes or by enemies that you encounter naturally on your way. The latter two are raised by collecting a single resource (some not-quite-chao lifeforms) and deciding which stat you wish to turn it into. Unlike the first two, this is not a 1:1 ratio. Starting into the third map, my first two stats are just under 50 while the latter are at 25 and 5 respectively. As a result, I have to question if it's this comparitively low level of speed that makes it feel as though the boost mechanic isn't doing much of anything unless I'm on a rail. On note of the boost mechanic, I feel like I'm actively getting punished for using it more than half the time as it will either send me flying off the map, or a rail, or launch me into a mechanic to make me traverse backwards. This feels like a major disconnect for a franchise revolving around "gotta go fast." The writing is... Surprisingly decent. While there are some obvious repetitive cutscenes to skip (entering/leaving a stage, depositing resources, collecting an emerald), I'd recommend /not/ skipping the story cutscenes. The music is great, and harkens back to some of the pre-Crush40 days with a more modern feel. The overall soundtrack has somewhere around 150+ songs, so there's plenty of decent variety. Amidst the open-world areas, are stages that can't seem to decide if they want to be more like it was in Generations; some feel more 'Classic', some feel more 'Modern', some are... A strange hybridization between both. Completing objectives in these levels unlocks vault keys, which you need to gain emeralds. However, the weight of the objectives feels slightly off. Each stage has a rank based on nothing but your time to get through it, all other objectives be damned. While there is one objective to get a high rank, and stages can be repeated without penalty to get the other objectives, it just feels bad when you've gone out of your way to get the other objectives completed and feel like you're being punished for it with an otherwise low rank because you had to spend a few seconds here and there doing something. Additionally, there doesn't seem to be a wide variety of stage themes. Mostly I'm seeing references to Green Hill Zone and Sky Sanctuary (in the case of 90% of these so far), but there are occasionally other references thrown in such as Chemical Plant Zone. Big the Cat is back, and so is fishing, but it actually feels like it has some amount of use. Sonic's the one fishing, and you can use this to /drastically/ reduce the amount of resource farming on your current map. It's also used to unlock a fast travel mechanic between resource deposit sites, so it's best not to ignore. The graphics are gorgeous. There's also a large sense of scale making it feel somewhere between Breath of the Wild and Shadow of the Colossus. The camera locking is excessive and will lead to your death, if not a sense that you have none of the freedom they've tried to give you. The third island in particular seems to be the biggest culprit of this so far. Grab it for the story, the graphics, and those moments where they've truly done something right. Just be prepared to take breaks.