A terrific 3D platformer appears to be a uncommon and particular factor as of late. I feel Psychonauts 2 was the final one that basically took my breath away, however outdoors of that (in addition to clearly each 3D Nintendo platformer), I usually wrestle to think about many video games that may very well be thought-about its equal. There’s at all times one thing holding them again, is not there? Whether or not it is a wonky digital camera, barely unwieldly controls, or the platforming itself is just a bit too pedestrian to ignite the creativeness.
So the place does Penny’s Massive Breakaway match into the equation? That is the following recreation from former Sonia Mania dev Christian Whitehead’s new studio, Night Star, and yep, you possibly can positively inform this was made by some actual Sonic heads. Penny and her (surprisingly toothy) sentient yo-yo, err, Yo-Yo, really feel like a ball of vitality simply ready to bust out throughout the colorful surroundings of their house world of Macaroon, and golly, they positive can fly with simply a few well timed button presses. Alas, there’s a however. For me not less than, Penny and Yo-Yo are maybe a bit too energetic for my platforming tastes, and having spent a couple of hours with an early preview construct, I usually discovered them fairly a rambunctious pairing to maintain below management.
![A young girl swings on a yo-yo zipline in Penny's Big Breakaway](https://assetsio.reedpopcdn.com/PYO_Preview_Screenshot-(6)a.jpg?width=690&quality=80&format=jpg&auto=webp)
Then once more, I’ve at all times by no means been a lot of a Sonic head myself. Mario was my platformer of alternative rising up, and Sonic’s dizzying speeds and homing dashes have by no means been fairly my cup of tea. Penny clearly shares numerous Sonic’s underlying DNA, too. She’s takes a second to actually get going from a standstill, for instance, however as soon as she will get going, she will really feel fairly slippery below the thumbs – and as somebody who prefers their platforming mascots to have the ability to activate a dime, this made even fundamental navigation round Macaroon’s numerous themed ranges tougher than I used to be anticipating.
I do like how Night Star have made use of Penny’s Yo-Yo, although, and integrated it into her moveset. Not solely can she sit on its axel and journey it like a tiny go-cart, however she will swing it round in a whirlwind assault, fling it outward to smash capsules and sprint forwards, and even spin it in midair as a makeshift swing level. They’re all nice platforming strikes, and at velocity can actually zip you thru a degree with out a lot time spent touching the bottom. The issue is that almost all of those strikes are all mapped to the identical button. Bounce is A, sprint is a double A faucet, and also you maintain down A to swing, and you too can backflip by urgent A once more mid-jump. The latter is form of like an arrested double-jump, however man alive, that is three too many issues all on the A button for me, and I used to be continuously messing up the timing of the whole lot within the course of.
Now I do not learn about you, however my first intuition at any time when I mess up a soar is to try to rapidly course right by vainly mashing the suitable button combos repeatedly. However Penny’s fastened digital camera could be a proper satan in these conditions, making it onerous to evaluate the gap between you and your subsequent platform. I used to be always falling brief in numerous circumstances, or worse nonetheless, overshooting as a result of I would underestimated the sheer drive of Penny’s ahead propulsion. After all, there is a very sturdy likelihood I merely have to spend extra time mastering its controls and getting used to the tempo of Penny’s motion. However I by no means actually felt totally in charge of the place I used to be aiming Penny throughout my time with the preview construct, and I need to admit I discovered all of it a bit of too irritating for my liking.
![A young girl talks to a robot citizen in Penny's Big Breakaway](https://assetsio.reedpopcdn.com/PYO_Preview_Screenshot-(5).jpg?width=690&quality=80&format=jpg&auto=webp)
I am unable to say I used to be an enormous fan of all of the penguins chasing you, both. These precise blue balls of vitality will repeatedly burst out of the surroundings to chase you in each degree, and if 5 of them clamp on to you directly, it is recreation over (or again to the closest checkpoint, anyway). It is easy sufficient to fend them off in equity, as they are often swiftly disposed of both by whirly-gigging Yo-Yo round in a spin assault, or just working away from them. However when Penny herself is a little bit of a handful to manage at the perfect of occasions, attempting to platform below stress simply provides a complete further wrinkle of friction into the combo.
Why penguins? Properly, after humiliating the (human) emperor Eddie throughout a efficiency along with your Yo-Yo bud, he units his fleet of penguin guards on you to convey you to justice. That is the true purpose why you are bounding throughout these vibrant biomes. You make your making your escape and attempting to remain out of bother. A really twee, cheerful and upbeat type of escape, admittedly, however an escape nonetheless – even when half the time the penguins come throughout as extra of a low-level nuisance than a really critical menace.
![A young girl spins across a large gap with her yo-yo in Penny's Big Breakaway](https://assetsio.reedpopcdn.com/PYO_Preview_Screenshot-(3)a.jpg?width=690&quality=80&format=jpg&auto=webp)
![A young girl performs yo-yo tricks in mid air on a water level in Penny's Big Breakaway](https://assetsio.reedpopcdn.com/PYO_Preview_Screenshot-(2)a.jpg?width=690&quality=80&format=jpg&auto=webp)
It is also an escape the place you’ve got obtained loads of time to assist out the locals with numerous sidequests, too, the profitable completion of which can add a number of bonus factors to your finish of degree rating on the finish. These principally encompass ‘convey this merchandise to my pal manner over there’ and ‘please acquire x variety of objects in a set time restrict’, however they’re nice sufficient diversions more often than not, they usually normally happen proper there on the earth map. That is one other factor I fairly like about Penny’s Massive Breakaway – its ranges are nearly large and twisty-turny sufficient of their a number of pathways that it will possibly match the whole lot it must on the principle concourse. There is no whisking you away to separate little rooms like Mario that break up the stream. It is all there within the degree in entrance of you, and it does fairly a superb job of tempting you again in for one more spherical to see what you missed. The flip aspect to this, after all, is the fixed and crippling nervousness that you just’re lacking one thing accidentally, which I positively felt greater than as soon as, however I additionally needed to resign myself that this was simply going to be the way in which of issues.
So sure, a little bit of a wobbly begin for me and Penny’s Massive Breakaway, however possibly I am simply being an enormous outdated sausage fingers and have to spend extra time with it. My lack of Sonic prowess is sort of actually an element right here, and I believe that true blue blurrers will discover extra to love. It is coming to Steam in full in early 2024, so hopefully we’ll have the ability to take it for an extended spin very quickly.