If the game had showcased levels that emphasized this in the later half of the game instead of resorting to cheap gimmicks and horribly unfair trial and error gameplay, they could have had something special on their hands. What the engine needed to flourish was wide open areas akin to Desert Ruins Act 1 and the Hyrule dlc level.
Much agreed on this point. SLW was a delight to play when given open spaces. I kind of want to compare controlling Sonic in Lost World to playing Jet Set Radio or Just Cause 2. A lot of the fun comes from simply what the players are able to do with the character they're controlling, and figuring out how to traverse the environments was a large part of the fun.
The problem was, they didn't exploit this, so large spaces or stages that required utilizing Sonic's skills were few and far between. Thinking back, JSR and JSRF did this in later stages.
I recall people pointing to the 3DS version saying it was the better game because it did this. And while the 3DS version did require the player to utilize Sonic's skills more than the Wii U version, it was not the better game (mainly due to too many bottomless pits, recycled content, and a rushed ending).
