Penny's Big Breakaway is an earnest attempt at making a unique 3D platformer. It unfortunately stumbles in too many critical aspects. I cannot recommend anywhere near it's MSRP. Wait for a deep sale if you adore the genre and really want to try it.

I had an avalanche of objective and personal issues.

On the practical side, collision detection and physics broke a couple dozen times. I also had numerous dropped inputs for jumps while running, ending with my character just jogging off cliffs. All of the level geometry needs a serious once over in terms of stability testing. The physics and camera tolerances could use stress testing too, as you can rubber band either the camera or the player off cliffs or through sheer surfaces too often.

As for personal gripes, there are numerous:

- The HUD and menus are more stylish than functional
- End of stage QTEs create needless friction
- Level, art and enemy design are not varied enough
- Depth perception is sporadically hard to gauge
- Despite a lax overall difficulty, the checkpoint spacing frustrates

There are probably countless more small gripes. I hate to harbor them, as this is a highly regarded genre for me. I also love the studio and try to champion new IP. However, this just isn't designed or polished well enough for me to earnestly endorse.

I think a bunch of issues and adjustments should be ironed out with patches. I also think a sequel would be where Penny becomes a proper respected franchise.

Until then, be cautious with this game.

dance if you HATE penny's big breakaway ♥♥♥♥ this game ♥♥♥♥ this game it made my brain melt and I got erectile dysfunction from playing it, I might even have gonorrhea too

Back when I initially saw this game's reveal during a Nintendo Direct, I wasn't particularly hooked on it. And then they said that the game was made by some of the devs behind Sonic Mania. And after that, Evening Star just shadowdropped it on a random Wednesday during an Indie World showcase, and I bought it here. 11 and a half hours of 100% achievement completion later, I can safely say that I am excited for what Evening Star cooks up next, because this was a REALLY good meal.
Penny's Big Breakaway is kinda lightish on story, but its very charming character designs and unique artstyle are definitely one of many highlights the game has. Level and world design is also very unique and varied in almost every aspect, with many a few gimmicks and bosses that i couldn't even think of if i was designing a game. There's also a few side missions and hidden collectibles to find scattered throughout each world act, which is cool if your're doing 100%. There's also a score system gives you concept art if ya score high enough, which is done via stylish play. Time Trial I haven't dabbled into yet but I'm sure it's a good quick play option if you're looking to practice speedrunning.
The game's controls can take a while to actually get used to, but once it finally clicks, it REALLY clicks. The yo-yo movement is really satisfying in a way I can't really explain correctly. There's also a lot of speedrun tech here that I personally can't pull off, but man it is satisfying to actually pull them off if you can.
Tee Lopes and Sean Bialo are genuinely gods at their field of work, and PBB's soundtrack has some of the best music i've ever heard in a 3D platformer. Personal favorite tracks include Balearic Birds, Puppet Pioneer, And Mano-E-Yo-Yo. (keep up the good work you guys <3,)
A few minor cons, I really wish there were more enemies than...just the Pengos, traps and bosses. Also some of the acts, especially some in the later worlds, fluctuate in terms of difficulty, some are easy while others are kinda hair-pully. And sometimes I clipped into the floor after doing some yo-yo swings and dashes, but aside from that I can't really think of any other bad things.
I really hope Penny's Big Breakaway takes off more someday, as I feel like it deserves the praise, and I'm glad the dev team fixed some issues around the launch of the game. I'm honestly thinking of getting into speedrunning it someday, I enjoyed my time with it a lot. The Sonic Mania devs have a bright future ahead of them, I'm sure of it.