While I find this game to have more to offer than Sonic Forces, that doesn't mean this game is good, the game is incredibly buggy, not to mention if you get a Game Over in the first stage, which is incredibly likely with the buggy controls and the mach speed sections, then you'll just get sent back to the first cutscene of the story and will have to make your way back to the stage and try to complete it, which is utter bullshit.
Thank God that Shadow and Silver's stories weren't nearly as fast-paced as Sonic's, else this game would have a much lower rating, I personally think they redeemed Shadow from how they portrayed him in Shadow the Hedgehog in this game, taking him back to his Adventure 2 days of being just a distant character, not to mention the line he says at the end of his story to Mephiles always gives me goosebumps.
Speaking of which, I love Mephiles as a villain, and I don't think it's surprising that I find him to be a better villain than Infinite, because Mephiles actually has a purpose in the story, he's the reason Silver tries to kill Sonic and he's also the very first villain that has ever been able to accomplish one feat: Killing Sonic.
Though, it didn't last very long, this scene alone defined why Mephiles is one of the most underrated villains in the Sonic Series and one that I would actually love to see brought back instead of Zavok or Infinite.
Silver is also a great character who is determined to save his future from the Iblis disaster.
Not to mention, the last part of his story is also really good with Silver trying to seal Iblis away, but Blaze stepping in to do it when he can't, it's sad to say that they never really went anywhere with Silver's character, in the games, at least, because I really like him.
I used to hate Elise as a character, but now, I've grown to actually like her character overtime, I still think she gets captured way too much in this game and that forcing her into a romance with Sonic is absolutely disgusting, but overall, she's not as bad as I remember her being.
The story's not also anything to write home about, (Sonic's at least) but it's definitely a step-up from the story in Forces, not to mention, all of the other Sonic characters, such as Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Amy, and Blaze are all playable in this game, though their controls are not that great, it's still a step-up from Forces in that regard.
Thank God that Shadow and Silver's stories weren't nearly as fast-paced as Sonic's, else this game would have a much lower rating, I personally think they redeemed Shadow from how they portrayed him in Shadow the Hedgehog in this game, taking him back to his Adventure 2 days of being just a distant character, not to mention the line he says at the end of his story to Mephiles always gives me goosebumps.
Speaking of which, I love Mephiles as a villain, and I don't think it's surprising that I find him to be a better villain than Infinite, because Mephiles actually has a purpose in the story, he's the reason Silver tries to kill Sonic and he's also the very first villain that has ever been able to accomplish one feat: Killing Sonic.
Though, it didn't last very long, this scene alone defined why Mephiles is one of the most underrated villains in the Sonic Series and one that I would actually love to see brought back instead of Zavok or Infinite.
Silver is also a great character who is determined to save his future from the Iblis disaster.
Not to mention, the last part of his story is also really good with Silver trying to seal Iblis away, but Blaze stepping in to do it when he can't, it's sad to say that they never really went anywhere with Silver's character, in the games, at least, because I really like him.
I used to hate Elise as a character, but now, I've grown to actually like her character overtime, I still think she gets captured way too much in this game and that forcing her into a romance with Sonic is absolutely disgusting, but overall, she's not as bad as I remember her being.
The story's not also anything to write home about, (Sonic's at least) but it's definitely a step-up from the story in Forces, not to mention, all of the other Sonic characters, such as Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Amy, and Blaze are all playable in this game, though their controls are not that great, it's still a step-up from Forces in that regard.