The All As 180 Emblem life is for the masochist. I'm just here for the chao man.

That's a really excellent way of putting how it feels to play Frontiers. I don't blame you for holding off on the DLC. It was fun to come back since release to play with the new characters and relearn Sonic, but I felt drained after 100%ing the base game. I think this is okay as a good starting point. Make the stages actual stages instead of these Generations 2 ass stages, make combat not feel like a newgrounds animation, and you're golden.

granted, i haven't played this since I was the target demographic's age. I bet I'd feel the same as you now lol. I remember the combat being really engaging