While not reaching the heights of genre pillars, there's heart poured into crafting a nostalgic yet fresh experience
Penny's Big Breakaway is an indie 3D platformer developed by Evening Star and published by Private Division. It aims to recapture the magic of classic 3D platformers from the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 era while also innovating with some unique mechanics centered around the titular Penny and her living yo-yo companion. The game shows flashes of brilliance held back by a few technical issues and some questionable design choices. However, those able to look past its flaws will find an enjoyable nostalgia-filled romp through a colorful world.
The story is basic but serves its purpose. Penny is a street performer who accidentally embarrasses the Emperor during an audition. To avoid exile, she goes on the run with her trusted yo-yo. This sets the stage for platforming levels that must be completed in a timely manner to escape the Emperor's penguin soldiers in pursuit. It's a simple premise that fits the gameplay well without taking itself too seriously.
Levels are mainly linear obstacle courses taking Penny through open areas, narrow pathways, and other challenges common to the genre. Additional goals like collecting items or reaching destinations in a time limit offer more challenge. These areas are creatively designed to encourage both precision jumping and maintaining momentum. Tight platforming sections are balanced with wider zones perfect for chaining combos and utilizing the speed boost from rolling Penny's yo-yo along the ground.
This is where Penny's Big Breakaway truly shines as Evening Star marries the best of Mario and Sonic. Levels expertly toggle between precision challenges and speed-focused zones that make acing sections with perfectly timed maneuvers deeply satisfying. Later levels in particular show off the developers' mastery of 3D platformer level design. When everything comes together, it feels like a true successor to classics of the genre.
Of course, getting to that point requires mastering Penny's movement set. Her yo-yo is used for combat, traversal, and speed boosts. Jumping, dashing in the air, swinging from horizontal walls, and riding the yo-yo add complexity. It takes time to feel comfortable, though simplified controls make it accessible. Once the rhythm is found, chaining combos is immensely fun and fits well within levels emphasizing momentum.
Combat has Penny swinging her yo-yo to defend against the penguin soldiers and larger enemies. It's serviceable if a bit basic, providing context for chase sequences without overstaying its welcome. Bosses offering more involved battles round out each stage. Additional challenges provide extra objectives for completionists or high scores.
This is where some of the game's issues emerge. Challenges lack proper introductions, throwing you straight into strict time limits without understanding objectives. Failures result in restarting from the beginning rather than checkpoints. This grows frustrating, diminishing the will to replay stages seeking better scores and challenge runs.
Technical problems also hold the experience back at times. Clipping through surfaces, inconsistent collision, and animation glitches plague certain areas. Also some design choices feel just weird. Take dashing for example, you do it by quickly double tapping a button, but that button is the attack button. In the levels, you find a lot destructible objects that you can break with your yo-yo. We all know that 100% of players just mash the attack button to break stuff in game. But when you do that here, Penny will dash and 9/10 times you are close to a ledge, so yeah, back to the last checkpoint. The other annoying thing is the fixed camera perspective. You don't have any control over it and that causes a lot of unwarranted deaths that feel unfair.
Penny's Big Breakaway is at its best when movement feels crisp and levels showcase Evening Star's knack for balancing complexity and flow. But frustrating challenges and technical hiccups weigh things down. The colorful, upbeat presentation featuring charming low-poly vibrant visuals and a bombastic menu theme help make flaws more tolerable. While not reaching the heights of genre pillars, there's heart poured into crafting a nostalgic yet fresh experience.
In the end, Penny's Big Breakaway shows promise as an original 3D platformer, delivering quality level design and satisfying mastery of unique movement abilities when things come together. But it also demonstrates how technically unrefined aspects and questionable design choices can hold back an otherwise charming experience. With some polish, its blend of speedrunning exhilaration and precise platforming could shine brighter. As is, it remains an entertaining trip for fans of the genre willing to overlook occasional frustrations. Thanks for reading!
The game was reviewed on a PS5 using a review copy provided by the publisher. Penny's Big Breakaway is available on PlayStation, Switch, Xbox and PC.
