I haven't really played classic Sonic before but it's not that hard to grasp — I think Neiteio's original post describes my experience exactly (although I've only cleared four zones so far). It certainl has a unique playstyle to it, but I see that as a boon. Plus as someone with a Breath of the Wild avatar, I'd expect you could appreciate a game that leaves you to our own devices and lets you figure things out through experimentation.
BOTW might just be one of my favourite games in quite some time, the openness of it is a big part of that. In BOTW however I feel vindicated for my troubles and I don't feel punished for making the wrong move, you are instead encouraged to explore, the generous save system helps. Many times I'll fluke my way through a shine, completing it by doing something from my own ingenuity. Sonic on the other hand imo punishes me for everything. I never feel good about finishing a level. It is true that you can go back and subsequent playthroughs will bear new fruit but when I'm being ricocheted from left to right and back again I don't feel as if I have much agency in my direction, almost akin to the mine-cart levels in donkey Kong. You press the jump button a second too early or a second too late and you've just missed a puzzle piece, similarly here if you hit a bumper it's often lights out for that other path you was eyeing.
Yes you learn these things as you play and yes I don't need every game to explain everything, exploring is cool but sonic feels at odds with these things. I play sonic slow, I like collecting everything and killing everyone, 20 years of Mario does that to you. That in and of itself is not a fault of Sonic, this isn't Mario so yes a lot of this is a case of old habits die hard but the game could be a little clearer. Most of these grievances are things that become understood after a session or two, some easily rectified with a simple Google search or two I would imagine but when say a bonus level presents itself above one checkpoint and not the other I don't know why, is it a lack of coins? I don't know. Or when I find the big ring that takes me to a 3D level in which I have to "catch a UFO", I assume the blue orbs make me faster, but when they turn yellow and I lose all of a sudden, are yellow ones bad? I'm too busy trying to catch the UFO to know! Next time I'll know, if I can find that stage again, something I found by happen-chance in the first place. Why does getting crushed kill me even when I have coins? How the hell do I control Tails reliably? Press jump and jump and hold up, and then mash up to ascend? It's flaky as hell. One of the bosses requires you to jump on blue missiles which then hit him...I think? Everything was too fast to discern where I even was which might be more of an indicator of my terrible eyesight, but it felt that way, but whenever I'd try to jump on or over a red missile I'd take a hit and lose coins.
It's all "feel" and things that I'd pick up over time, things that are easily learned after a fail or two, I plan to finish this game and I'm sure I'll come around quickly but first impressions are that the music is incredible, the style is amazing but there's something regarding gameplay that I find frustrating. I see potential and I see why people like the game and series, and hell the actual platforming feels good! So long as it isn't bouncing me about, nothing feels worse then feeling like you've been cheated a path because of some bullshit spring or jelly...thing that bounces you to a whole new area. I don't feel like I'm making progress at all, when I reach the end of a level I don't feel like I earned it at all, I just...kind of ended up there.
EDIT: I keep calling the rings coins, I just did it here too...