I have to disagree on the lack of text scrolling by on the screen or a lack of a GRUB menu that prevents you from choosing an older kernel when your machine fails to boot following a kernel update.
One of the great things about GNU/Linux in general is it offers you choice. Sadly the Gnome project is evolving into what RedHat always dreamed it would be, the Microslop of the GNU/Linux world. Gnome has whittled away at user preferences and customisation:
An interesting thread if you have time to read it all.
One area where Gnome and KDE are failing on is the adoption of Wayland over xorg or XLibre, as Wayland is far from being ready for the end consumer. Fine for Enterprise use for complete lockdown, but not for the end user. The number of forum posts on here where users were experiencing difficulty after Zorin's adoption of Wayland as first choice of screen protocol, hidden by the cog (at least in KDE Plasma you can see what display protocol is in use at the login screen.)
There is something to be said about old ways of doing things. It means they are usually known to work well, are stable, and solid, like Synaptic Package Manager. Zorin used to include Synaptic by default. Decent distros include it and some replace it over Software Channels completely (PCLOS, PCLOS Debian, Devuan).