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News Penny's Big Breakaway, from the creators of Sonic Mania, announced for PC and consoles (UPDATE: out today!)

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TheQuietone said:
I must be blessed or something because I literally cannot tell the difference between 30fps and 60 fps as long as it's stable.
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My experience with high frame rates has been:

An unstable thirty is playable, and anything less is painful.

A stable thirty is where performance becomes less noticeable, and goes from playable to feeling "good" to play.

An unstable sixty is better than a stable thirty.

A solid sixty is just great all around, the bump over even fifty is noticeable.

I can't tell the difference between sixty and ninety unless they're side by side.

A hundred and twenty makes me motion sick.

VR, for me, has a minimum of sixty to avoid motion sickness, but unlike a flat screen, more is better.

Call me lucky or unlucky, but "solid sixty" is my preferred framerate on a flat panel. Above feels like a waste of performance for me, because much higher and I either don't notice or become ill.
 
Pillydillsy said:
I remember hearing about a streamer who got the Scott pilgrim physical set from LRG and waited two years for it to actually come to his house. So yeah, LRG is bad
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Dropshipping Game Cards sucks timeline wise and shouldn't be allowed. Nintendo should, unironically, go back to its system of requiring a minimum order to be held by the publisher before they authorise a physical release. They of course DO impose a minimum, but like, that minimum should be higher, way, way higher. The barrier of entry for physical games is simultaneously too high for consumers and too low for publishers, and it blows, but the situation with LRG is unacceptable.
 
I've only played it for a few mins so I don't have much to say yet but I the one thing that immediately stuck out is that I swear the sound effect that plays as you're scrolling through the menu's is almost exactly the same as the menu soundeffect in DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi 3. Maybe just pitched slightly differently? Anyone else hear it?
 
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30fps on Switch is an interesting outcome; woulda thought this is the kinda game you build with Switch in mind first and then just scale up for everything else (like the recent Prince of Persia)
Red Monster said:
any word on Steam Deck performance?
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Steam lists it as Steam Deck-verified, so I'm guessing it'd be fine. Doesn't seem like something the Steam Deck should really struggle with
 
It drops today!? That made the Direct for me I think, but we were kind of expecting this lol. I was worried this would drop later, will probably play it on Deck tonight!
 
Yeah, leaning into playing this on my Deck based on general impressions. But I'm not sure if I want to get it now or wait. Still got a lot of games to play...
 
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I got it for Deck. I hardly need another game to play so close to Rebirth, but this game is special and deserves some attention.
 
Didn’t look great on Switch. That’s a shame. If it’s good I’ll grab it later on via BC on Switch 2.
 
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Alright, so I played till the 2nd world.

I thoroughly adore the game. It’s got issues but MAN it’s really fun. It does take a bit to grow on you, and there’s a learning curve with the controls. I haven’t experienced any glitches, but I’ve heard some peopel have encountered nasty ones.

The yo-yo is really fun and allows for some physics based platforming. Base Penny still feels clunky, and I think that’s cause she’s quite slow.

Switch version looks passable, but 30fps is not great. It’s deff a fine way to play the game though, and it’s not hurting my enjoyment of it!

There’s something really cool here. I really like what I’ve been playing.
 
Also played through the second world now. First impressions are that it’s a really fun game that controls great but with a learning curve. It’s a lot about maintaining momentum and chaining moves. The touch-points for me are cappy jumps from Odyssey, chaining combos in Tony Hawk and momentum and speed from Super Monkey Ball. Definitely some Katamari Damacy craziness and Ape escape in there too.

All in all very polished and unique I would say. Same kind of retro but also very modern feel that Sonic Mania had.

Lovin it!
 
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Played through three levels. I like it a lot, but I suck at it. There’s definitely a learning curve.

Visually it’s gorgeous, looks and runs really nicely on the Deck. I love the character designs (except for Penny, who is one of the ugliest main characters I’ve ever seen in a 3D platformer). The levels are bright and colorful. The only issue I have with the presentation is the music, which blows. Like it straight-up sucks. Hopefully it’s just the world 1 theme and the rest of the music is good.

I encountered one glitch where Penny got stuck in some geometry and required a restart.

All in all, first impressions are good. It’s not the immediate masterpiece that I thought it would be, but I have no doubt that as I get more familiar with the controls, the game will start to shine.
 
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God this is so good! Once the mechanics start clicking even for moments at a time, the game just plays brilliantly. Even for a 3D platformer with these fixed cameras some areas you can just find quite a few different methods to build up your speed and just go.

Switch version is still playing really well. In World 2 and locked 30fps while still looking really nice in handheld and docked. Hopefully this lasts throughout the entire game.
 
I’m only three levels in, but I… am not enjoying myself and I really hate that, colourful 3D platformers are my jam and I was super hyped when I saw it shadowdropped to get going. I’m hoping I’m just in the wrong headspace or it starts slow and will ‘get it’ another day. Really feeling that it’s me, not the game and I can’t place what.
 
ammonite said:
I’m only three levels in, but I… am not enjoying myself and I really hate that, colourful 3D platformers are my jam and I was super hyped when I saw it shadowdropped to get going. I’m hoping I’m just in the wrong headspace or it starts slow and will ‘get it’ another day. Really feeling that it’s me, not the game and I can’t place what.
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I felt this way too. The intro level is actually quite bad and I don't like a lot of the aspects of the presentation, like how the entire story is presented and how Penny can't talk. But man... just finished World 1 and I'm hooked. The controls eventually click and it's great.
 
Brock Reiher said:
I felt this way too. The intro level is actually quite bad and I don't like a lot of the aspects of the presentation, like how the entire story is presented and how Penny can't talk. But man... just finished World 1 and I'm hooked. The controls eventually click and it's great.
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Thank you for saying that, I appreciate it. I’ll head back to it tomorrow with that in mind. I really want to like it, and will give it every chance!
 
Kind of a muted response it feels like. Not just here but in other places as well. It hasn't reached the top sellers list on the US eshop for all games but it is at 16 under downloads only. It seems like people are either loving it or are enjoying some aspects but really not liking others.
 
HockeyBird said:
Kind of a muted response it feels like. Not just here but in other places as well. It hasn't reached the top sellers list on the US eshop for all games but it is at 16 under downloads only. It seems like people are either loving it or are enjoying some aspects but really not liking others.
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It's been interesting following how polarized the reception has been. Between the unconventional controls and steep learning curve, and the constant glitches some are encountering, it hasn't been an instant hit even if most aren't going so far as to call it bad either. Even the music seems love it or hate it, which was shocking to me having only been aware that Tee Lopes was doing the soundtrack.
 
I just played through the tutorial and I love how Penny controls! What is this strange mix of Yoshi’s tethering tongue and Sonic’s speed rolling? This feels legit. I dropped into 1-1 and listened to that music a bit, so far equally legit! I am so excited to see how this game ends up.

For real though, in the tutorial alone I felt like I was doing things that I’ve been wanting to do in 3D Sonic for ages! Yeah Sonic has more or less done all these things in all his own 3D games but in Penny I’m doing them at my leisure without 39 boost pads pushing me forward. So far so good!
 
Jahranimo said:
God this is so good! Once the mechanics start clicking even for moments at a time, the game just plays brilliantly. Even for a 3D platformer with these fixed cameras some areas you can just find quite a few different methods to build up your speed and just go.

Switch version is still playing really well. In World 2 and locked 30fps while still looking really nice in handheld and docked. Hopefully this lasts throughout the entire game.
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Whu? Switch should easily get 60fps out of this. It's barely above GC level it looks like from what I've seen. Does it do crazy shit not obvious to the eyes or something? I'd have thought how gifted Christian Whitehead is as a programmer that 60fps on Switch should've been like, the most obvious thing.

Like normally 60fps isn't a priority for me, but this feels like a glaring issue to me.
 
Hero of Legend said:
Whu? Switch should easily get 60fps out of this. It's barely above GC level it looks like from what I've seen. Does it do crazy shit not obvious to the eyes or something? I'd have thought how gifted Christian Whitehead is as a programmer that 60fps on Switch should've been like, the most obvious thing.

Like normally 60fps isn't a priority for me, but this feels like a glaring issue to me.
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Was also shocked this wasn't 60fps on the Switch, it obviously can handle it when games like Odyssey and 3D World have more complex visuals and still manage 60fps just fine. Gonna get the game elsewhere.
 
Lucifer said:
Was also shocked this wasn't 60fps on the Switch, it obviously can handle it when games like Odyssey and 3D World have more complex visuals and still manage 60fps just fine. Gonna get the game elsewhere.
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The question for me is, is it at least stable 60fps? I know some games like Bombrush Cyber Funk also have a frame uncapped mode too.
 
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Hero of Legend said:
Whu? Switch should easily get 60fps out of this. It's barely above GC level it looks like from what I've seen. Does it do crazy shit not obvious to the eyes or something? I'd have thought how gifted Christian Whitehead is as a programmer that 60fps on Switch should've been like, the most obvious thing.

Like normally 60fps isn't a priority for me, but this feels like a glaring issue to me.
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I was kinda wondering what's up with it too, as I noticed it's not available on PS4 or XBone. This game doesn't look too heavy to run on those but.. 🤷 Dunno.

60fps on PS5 and Series, 30 on Switch, and not even available on PS4 and XOne. It might be a beefier game underneath than we realize.
 
As far as I know they opted to develop their own engine for this game. Was kind of expecting 60 on Switch since the developers had said in interviews that performance and smooth gameplay are their priorities. From what I can tell it runs very well and at high framerates on all other platforms as well. Hard to guess at what the issues are. I didn't get it on Switch so haven't tried that version but perhaps some gameplay elements such as lots of penguins on screen or something like that caused the framerate to be too unstable and they elected to have a locked 30 instead.

I just kind of assumed that the Switch was the target hardware for this game but perhaps it wasn't.
 
I honestly think they were likely developing it on Switch with a target of 60fps but maybe they couldn't get it to a locked 60fps so they opted for a locked 30.

I usually don't like platformers at 30fps but I haven't really had any issues due to it being stable. If the game did have framerate drops then I'd be annoyed. I'm up to World 4 and it's been smooth. So yes, Whitehead and Co. made the right choice for a locked 30 as the best performance for this hardware and their proprietary engine.
 
chocolate_supra said:
I was kinda wondering what's up with it too, as I noticed it's not available on PS4 or XBone. This game doesn't look too heavy to run on those but.. 🤷 Dunno.

60fps on PS5 and Series, 30 on Switch, and not even available on PS4 and XOne. It might be a beefier game underneath than we realize.
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According to DF's John the game runs at 4k120 on PS5/XSX (on displays that support 120hz output of course). It's not that demanding. The lack of last-gen versions is likely due to active playerbase on those platforms and porting costs not adding up.
 
Good game but it definitely has a few things holding it back from being really good.

No camera control is annoying when you want to head back through a level as you can't really see where you're going.
Levels don't really seem structured for the kind of secrets and side objectives that they have. You want to go fast but you also don't because you don't want to miss any of the side stuff. Same problem with so many of the npcs having dialogue. It forces you to go slowly if you want to see everything.

The music only changing per world instead of per level means it gets really repetitive. I'm surprised I'm not seeing this complaint more. By the 3rd level of each world I am soooo tired of hearing the same music each time.

Bosses also kinda suck.
 
Dreamed about playing this last night. I've been playing on Switch, may have to pick up on Xbox at some point...

I understand the issues with glitches and camera but... I like 3D Sonic games and this has less glitches than basically all of them. The controls are definitely tricky though, if you mash you're gonna have a bad time between accidentally dashing and throwing out yo-yo's with no momentum stopping. But I'm confident they're tricky in the same way Souls games are tricky for newcomers.
 
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Game looks like a pretty catastrophic failure financially that most reviewers aren't even bother to review and it looks to have launched in a really bad technical state.

Take-Two should have launched this into early access and I have no idea why they didn't.
 
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It's alright but I wouldn't say it's worth the asking price. The first thing that stuck out to me is how unappealing the character design is and the art style just screams mobile game. It's a very ugly game. 120fps is cool tho. (No idea why the Switch version can't hit at least 60fps, it should be a done deal for a game like this)

Can't say much on gameplay as I've only got up to World 3 but it's honestly starting to get a bit repetitive. Single acts can go on for way to long and there isn't enough variety mechanically or visually in the environments to keep it interesting, at least not so far.

Pretty lukewarm experience thus far.
 
Damn, I'd love to try this someday but 7/10s aren't gonna cut it with my current backlog. Gotta finish Dead Space, Mario v DK, Mario Wonder, play and beat Bayo 3, etc.
 
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Game currently has 250 players on Steam. It’s too bad because it looks like it’s quite good, but studios should understand by now that outside of very rare cases (games from an existing IP, games that were in early access), it’s never a good idea to shadowdrop an indie game.
 
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