I watched the gamexplain analysis and they do shed some light on the game systems in place.
I must say... i might be falling on the Sonic cycle. I like that this game is taking steps in the right direction. Story, cooler, emphasis on exploration aswell and not only on speed. Central hub.
Its just a shame for poor Knuckles, but if this team can pull it off, we can see Sonic beeing lifted to a sucessful franchise again.