They should've just gone all Space Jam or Pixels and had the Sonic characters come out of the game for X reason, and the plot is trying to get back into the game while also trying not to wreak as much havoc; an adventure fish-out-of-water story. Also could've had a pre-teen or teen be the human lead instead of a grown man. Have the characters keep a bouncy CGI style that isn't realistic, or hyper realistic, and keep them as close to the source as possible. Don't let the movie take itself too seriously, but also don't just be absurd and outlandishly stupid 100% of the time. Maybe try to incorporate a side story involving the human lead that's sympathetic (maybe about growing up? idk).
That probably would've worked (or worked better at least).
