I actually do find myself liking this game quite a bit, although it definitely has it's share of flaws.
Some of the added gameplay elements - like the parkour system, multi-homing attack, and even the tubular level design - do offer the potential for expanding upon the series' core gameplay and design when it comes to replayability through alternate means of traversal. I think the game's levels do tend to provide a good base for that, although I do have to admit that these mechanics are somewhat utilized, especially when it comes to the occasional gimmick levels - which honestly I didn't find as much of an issue as others do but the ones that were there definitely were among the weaker stages of the game. Still, I think most of the core stages were at least fun enough and did at least somewhat utilize the new mechanics, although there's definitely a lot of room to expand upon them.
The controls are... a mixed bag. Sonic consistently has a weird amount of "floatiness" to him, and with the addition of the "run" button, it often feels like he has two speeds - feeling really slow when the button isn't held, or feeling too sensitive when it is. The parkour mechanics are also not really explained well to the player, and the Wisps definitely don't feel as good as Sonic Colors.
Still, there are a lot of things I like about Sonic Lost World. The core stages themselves are definitely fun, the soundtrack is pretty good and the visuals are bright and colorful, although I do feel like it has some sense of "first game" syndrome for a formula that was never continued (other than the 3DS version of Lost World, which I admittedly haven't played through).
Some of the added gameplay elements - like the parkour system, multi-homing attack, and even the tubular level design - do offer the potential for expanding upon the series' core gameplay and design when it comes to replayability through alternate means of traversal. I think the game's levels do tend to provide a good base for that, although I do have to admit that these mechanics are somewhat utilized, especially when it comes to the occasional gimmick levels - which honestly I didn't find as much of an issue as others do but the ones that were there definitely were among the weaker stages of the game. Still, I think most of the core stages were at least fun enough and did at least somewhat utilize the new mechanics, although there's definitely a lot of room to expand upon them.
The controls are... a mixed bag. Sonic consistently has a weird amount of "floatiness" to him, and with the addition of the "run" button, it often feels like he has two speeds - feeling really slow when the button isn't held, or feeling too sensitive when it is. The parkour mechanics are also not really explained well to the player, and the Wisps definitely don't feel as good as Sonic Colors.
Still, there are a lot of things I like about Sonic Lost World. The core stages themselves are definitely fun, the soundtrack is pretty good and the visuals are bright and colorful, although I do feel like it has some sense of "first game" syndrome for a formula that was never continued (other than the 3DS version of Lost World, which I admittedly haven't played through).