Yo-Yo
HIGH Combos are great, and the movement allows for cool tricks.
LOW Muddy visuals, finicky controls, and overly long levels.
WTF I haven’t seen penguins this mean since Wallace & Gromit.
Sonic Mania was a huge hit in 2017 thanks to Christian Whitehead and his team bringing the series back to its 2D origins. Their first game outside the Sonic series as development studio Evening Star, however, is a 3D platformer with a colorful pastiche that feels a bit more reminiscent of Mario.
Penny’s Big Breakaway stars the titular character attempting to escape from the clutches of Emperor Eddie and his penguin enforcers after an audition involving a sentient yo-yo goes awry. Throughout the campaign, Penny must navigate numerous levels filled with obstacles, pitfalls, and other hazards to reach the end of each stage. Penny can use a number of tricks and combos to explore each level, such as a double-jump, a midair grab and swing, and using the yo-yo like a bicycle.
Each level also has penguins that will chase Penny, and if they catch her, they will attach themselves to Penny like leeches and slow her down. If five (or more) penguins attach, then Penny is sent back to the last checkpoint or the beginning of the level, whichever is closest. Fortunately, she can use her yo-yo to smack them off and save herself from being captured.
Beyond simply reaching the end, each level offers specific sidequest-like tasks that Penny can complete for bonus points. These range from collecting a number of items in a short time to transporting objects to an NPC. These short missions award Star Globes, which are used to access special challenge stages which are more difficult than standard ones. Coins, on the other hand, can be used to buy one-time use items, such as items that stop Penny from falling off the map or prevent her from being seized by penguins.
While Penny seems initially like a winner with a formula like this, some big issues exist.
For example, the visuals get ‘muddy’ past a certain distance from Penny. I don’t know if it was an aesthetic choice to make the world appear this way, but it doesn’t look great, and it obscures the player’s ability to see ahead in the level. I’m not sure why it looks like this, but it significantly detracts from the overall presentation.
Regarding the levels, they were often interesting to look at, but some felt like a slog due to certain spots requiring very precise inputs if I didn’t want to be sent back to the last checkpoint. Level design here feels like a hybrid of Sonic and 3D Mario stages, where players must reach the goal while avoiding traps, getting captured by enemies, and searching for hidden items and bonus tasks along the way. These levels did feel a bit long, and some of the set pieces (such as the rolling penguins boss) overstayed their welcome after a few minutes.
It also doesn’t help that the bonuses from collecting coins rarely felt useful, as the only penalty for falling off the map, losing all life, or being seized by penguins was being sent back to a checkpoint. It would have been nice if those coins could have gone towards something more substantial.
There are also some issues with the controls. Sometimes combos can be easy to do, such as riding the yo-yo or doing double jumps. But other times, like the end-of-level Busker Bonus which had me inputting analog stick and button combos, I felt like I was at the whim of what the game thought my controller input was. For example, in the first boss fight, Penny must get onto a submarine via a special move. Then, after hitting the boss, I was expected to climb up onto the platform the boss was on. However, I found myself unable to jump up or use any traversal tricks to get up there easily, which just wasted time and let the boss recover. In another case, the yo-yo needed a very specific charge time to speed around on water, or into the drink I went, almost immediately.
Some of this stems from the fact that certain moves or techniques aren’t well-tutorialized, but it’s compounded by the fact that some controls are mapped to the right analog stick, instead of the face or shoulder buttons — moves like twirling with the yo-yo, which functions as an attack and a way to get up some platforms. It would have made more sense to keep the camera control on the sticks and rework the moves. On the other hand, the analog stick is also used in a minigame that occurs at the end of every level, but using the D-pad may have been a better, more precise option here. Even with a simple control scheme, I still had a difficult time.
Speaking of difficulties, the camera control is virtually nonexistent. The player is limited to moving the screen only slightly to the left or right, yet I found that certain areas were difficult to navigate without being able to angle for a better view.
Penny’s Big Breakaway shows promise, but it’s bogged down by long stages, smudgy-looking backgrounds, a lack of camera movement, and finicky controls. The yo-yo antics of our heroine felt great and looked cool when I could pull them off, but more often than not, I found myself back at the checkpoint or having to redo a part of the level. I was really hoping for more magic from the former Sonic Mania team. With a little more polish, this feels like it could be a great addition to the 3D platforming genre.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Disclosures: This game is developed by Evening Star and published by Private Division. It is currently available on PS5, XBO/X/S, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PS5. Approximately 4 hours were devoted to the game, and it was not completed. There is no multiplayer mode.
Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of E for Mild Fantasy Violence. The rating summary states: “This is an action platformer in which players help a yoyo performer (Penny) escape from a fantasy kingdom. As players traverse whimsical environments, they can glide on zip lines and smack cartoony penguins–knocking them off-screen. Penny blinks when hit and is quickly reset when defeated. Boss battles depict more protracted combat against larger characters within enclosed arenas.”
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game offers subtitles. Subtitles cannot be resized. There are no audio cues needed for gameplay. This game is fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable.
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