Sonic Unleashed is definitely one of the more polarizing entries in the series, and it's easy to see why. The 2 gameplay styles clash so hard to the point that you're playing 2 games in 1, so it's easy to heavily prefer one style. But the despite that, I still really enjoyed this game for what it is, so here's why, with positive and negatives. Let's start of with the presentation. The presentation of this game is phenomenal, and it still holds up to this day for a game made in 2008. The Pixar-like art direction and the awesome global illumination effects does a great job at making the world feel alive and fits really well with the world adventure theme of this game. Same thing goes for the soundtrack, which is easily one of the best in the series due to how much variety there is and just how darn catchy and fitting it is. The story is also more on the lighthearted side, which is pretty fitting for the world adventure theme of this game. The opening CGI cutscene does an awesome job at setting up the story, and I think the theme of light vs. dark is a pretty neat idea. My main criticism with the story is that I kinda wished there was more that happened between the beginning and the end. At least it somewhat makes up for it with really good character writing, and the voice acting, primarily with Sonic as Jason started to get much better with his performance as the character. Now onto the gameplay! The daytime stages just might be some of the best 3D Sonic gameplay in the series. The sense of speed you have is exhilarating, and the levels are a blast to run through, with some solid enough platforming, and obstacles you have to quickly react to in order to stay alive. As a result these levels can feel incredibly rewarding to master, but they can also be kinda frustrating if you're playing these on your first time, cause some of the later levels can feel a bit trial-and-errorish. It's like the desginers were aware of this, since the levels hand out lives like candy just in case. The controls can also feel slippery but nothing you can't get used to after some time. Now onto the night gameplay! Yes, it is indeed strayed far away from what you'd expect from a Sonic game, but what's here is fairly competent. really enjoy the platforming sequences from swinging on poles to grabbing onto ledges, and it can feel good once you start to get a good flow. The combat is solid enough, though you'll need to level it up quite a bit to get a bigger moveset and power. The puzzles are pretty basic and not anything special, but they aren't offensive either. As a result, my favorite night stages are ones such as Cool Edge and Skyscraper Scamper Act 1, while my least favorites are Dragon Road and Arid Sands Act 1 due to how repetitive those stages are with combat. Some other criticisms I have are that the controls of the Werehog could be a bit tighter, and the lack of a proper drop shadow can make certain sections such as beam balancing ones much harder than they need to be. Overall, I think the Werehog is pretty solid for what it is, but I can't blame others for being fully against the idea. This was clearly something added for padding, as Sonic Team knew that game with just day stages would be extremly short otherwise. As for the boss fights, I think the day ones are pretty good with how you have to boost into the bosses in order to knock them over while dodging their attacks, though they can feel kinda samey. I'll have to give a slight edge to the night bosses, as they all have something to set them apart with how you have to expose their weak point, then attack. Last aspects I'll touch upon for now are the hub worlds and pacing. I think the hub worlds are pretty good and they do a solid job at adding worldbuilding, and it's not too hard to figure out where you have to go. The pacing on the other hand is a pretty major issue, primarily because of the forced medal collecting you have to do in order to finish the game. The medals aren't too much of a problem in the night stages as you're meant to take things slower, they're an issues in the day stages, because you are running by so fast that it is very easy to miss medals. Doesn't help the fact that some of these medals are hidden in REALLY obscure places. While it is something that does become less of a problem on repeat playthroughs, it can be pretty demoralizing to encounter the first time and can absolutely drive away new players from the game. Despite the major flaws, this just might be one of my favorite Sonic games. As for recommending this one, I would NOT recommend this game to anyone trying to get into 3D Sonic. I'd suggest playing Colors and Generations first to get used to the Boost formula, and then ask yourself how much can you tolerate alternate gameplay styles in Sonic. If you have a high tolerance for them, I'd say give this game a shot if you don't mind having to deal with medals. If you don't meet these recommendations, perhaps this isn't the game for you.