5 years.
That is how long it has been since the last proper Sonic game. A game so bad, that it was my least favourite game of all time. After that, I was sure that Sonic was dead. the characters were horribly written, the humour was cringy, and all of the stories were absolute letdowns.
Then the teaser came out. People were sort of excited, but since it was a teaser, we needed more. then we got the gameplay trailer, and people were livid. Saying that the level design looked like it was just random assets strung together like some sort of test stage, and it just looked like a fan game in the infinity engine.
The story trailer came out, and people got hyped. They were genuinely interested in where the story was headed and they thought that the level design looks better. Then the showdown trailer came out, and people were convinced that yes, Sonic was back, baby.
Then finally, after a year of waiting, the game came out.
I thought Sonic would never be able to recover from Forces, but this game... I say, without a doubt, this is the best Sonic game, ever. It was worth the 5 year wait, it was worth Forces killing the franchise, and it was worth the $80.
Pretty much every single thing about the game is positive, although I do have 2 complaints that are more nitpicks then anything.
1. Forces and Boom are referenced, making them canon. I feel like those 2 things should be marked as non-canon. Plus it throws a wrench into my timeline that I spent the last 2 years thinking of.
2. The disappointing absence of Jun Senoue and Crush 40. They are THE band for Sonic, please just get them back Sega, I am begging you.

Overall, while I still believe that Shadow of the Colossus is the best game ever, I feel that Sonic Frontiers, is my actual favourite game of all time.
11/10. The only game that I love so much that it goes outside my rating system, something I never do. It is just that good.

I cannot wait for the mods and DLC that will inevitably come out at some point in the future.
Now please, never, under any circumstance, make us wait more than 3 years for a game ever again.

Edit: I also really like how Sonic's arm is treated like a reverse Devil Bringer, where instead of making the person stronger, it makes them weaker.

Edit 2: Got robbed at the Steam awards by CoD MW2 and GoW, both remakes of games that came out in the 2000s. This game has gotten done dirty. This is my Game of the Year.