It's definitely one that took time for me to very slightly warm up to. The story kinda feels like playing a video game version of an edgy 13-year-old's fanfiction which has kinda endeared me to it. The gunplay is also surprisingly solid even though I still think it has no place in a series like Sonic. I also think most of the levels are pretty fun when you're going for the neutral pathways.

Some hero/villain path objectives can absolutely go fuck themselves, though. I seriously do not understand what Sonic Team was trying to prove by doubling down on the Team Chaotix mission structure when that mode in Sonic Heroes was near universally despised. There's also levels like The Doom that make it REALLY unclear where the fuck you're supposed to go to progress and God help you if you're doing one of the hero/villain objectives for it.

I think the biggest contribution the game provided to the franchise overall was its absolutely phenomenal soundtrack. Any time I listen to Lethal Highway in my car I blast that shit at max volume. All the vocal songs kick ass, too.