We live in the open world fad era where apparently every franchise is going to ask the question "can we make this open world?" The answer is almost always no, and this looks no different. Hey guys let's take a game about speed, tight platforming, and timed challenges.. but OPEN WORLD! Typically that's just going to mean more time wasted exploring empty areas which makes everything feel less slick. And then they feel compelled to actually put stuff to find in some of that open space, which results in bloat (useless upgrades, collectibles, minigames, whatever).
I'm just now wrapping up Bayonetta 3 and it suffers from the exact same problem. It's not even really open-world but sure seems like it wanted to be. The levels are unnecessarily sprawling and a mess in terms of collectibles. There is some good platforming, but it's so bogged down by slowly exploring bland maps and not even being able to tell whether a certain object (building, ridge, cliff) is actually explorable or if it's blocked by invisible barriers or death.
Anyway if this game will help them figure out what actually makes a modern Sonic game fun, then awesome. I'll put my money down when they get it right, if ever lol.
