It’s now been almost seven years (sure, actually) for the reason that launch of Sonic Mania, which indisputably marked a excessive level for Sega’s troubled blue mascot. A lot of the sport’s success might be attributed to the workforce of passionate and gifted followers (led by Christian Whitehead) that got here collectively to develop it, however fairly than coast on their success by producing the Sonic Mania 2 that many followers anticipated, this workforce as an alternative rebranded themselves as a boutique studio known as Night Star and got down to launch their very own IP with a brand new 3D platformer known as Penny’s Huge Breakaway.
Although the affect of the Blue Blur is straight away obvious in Penny’s Huge Breakaway’s design, Night Star’s debut journey very a lot feels prefer it asserts its personal identification. Some minor efficiency quirks apart, it is a spectacular, artistic, distinctive, and deeply pleasing new entry within the 3D platforming style that no fan will need to miss.
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The story is ready within the dreamlike world of Macaroon and begins with an entertainer named Penny conveniently discovering a magical sentient yo-yo named, er, Yo-Yo whereas Emperor Eddie is holding auditions for a expertise present. Utilizing her expertise and the newfound powers afforded to her by Yo-Yo, she shortly skips the road and places on a stellar present for the emperor. Sadly, Yo-Yo has the temperament of an unruly canine, and he shortly goes off-leash and steals the emperor’s pants in entrance of a captive viewers. Livid, Emperor Eddie shortly manufacturers Penny a felon and sics his large military of penguins on her, kicking off a wild chase throughout the dominion as she desperately evades seize.
It’s not a lot of a narrative, however there’s some attention-grabbing lore right here that’s slowly revealed as you discover extra of Macaroon and be taught of Yo-Yo’s true origins. Plus, alongside the way in which you make varied buddies and frenemies that assist you in your journey, every that includes a memorable design and a few cute interactions with the perpetually aghast and silent Penny. As you’d count on, it’s fairly a lighthearted story making it an ideal match for the free-flowing enjoyable that follows.
Gameplay in Penny’s Huge Breakaway seems like a mix of a momentum-focused 3D Sonic recreation and a collectathon. Somewhat than taking the open-world strategy utilized in video games like Banjo-Kazooie, Penny’s Huge Breakaway breaks issues up into three to ten-minute ranges that current razor-sharp degree design and loads of alternatives for optimizing your time and rating. Each movement-based motion in Penny’s repertoire has a degree worth hooked up to it, and mixing up your strikes whereas touching the bottom as little as attainable will bolster your combo and rating multiplier, a bit like model ranks in Satan Might Cry. Phases are in the end constructed round pushing this rating as excessive as attainable and doing so quick.
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One run via a stage will educate you the essential structure of the extent, however you’ll shortly understand that environmental hazards and platforms are completely positioned to benefit from Penny’s moveset. Slopes you may roll right down to construct up pace normally comply with huge drops, and precarious jumps are all the time conveniently spaced simply as far aside as your zip sprint can carry you. One run isn’t sufficient to get probably the most out of this type of degree design, and also you’re inspired to be taught every degree completely till you may execute a virtually flawless run. There’s a sure type of ‘language’ that you just come to know about these ranges as you deepen your data of what Penny can do, and placing all of it collectively to drag off that golden run feels unbelievable as soon as all the things lastly clicks.
An enormous a part of what makes subsequent reruns so partaking is that Penny’s controls are tight, responsive, and versatile. Yo-Yo reminds us a little bit of Cappy from Tremendous Mario Odyssey, in that he presents you quite a lot of fight and platforming strikes that may be chained collectively in attention-grabbing methods when you perceive their timings. The zip sprint can be utilized to shortly reposition Penny mid-air, nevertheless it doesn’t take lengthy earlier than you understand it’s additionally a good way to construct pace. Once you first begin, Penny can admittedly really feel like she’s a bit of too technical to regulate nicely, however you quickly end up pulling off some spectacular chains as you swing, roll, and yoink your manner via phases with class and elegance.
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If rolling round on the pace of sound isn’t your factor, every degree hides three collectable bolts hidden on facet paths in addition to three temporary facet quests from NPCs. These facet quests process you with getting a sure rating inside a quick window, delivering an merchandise to an NPC additional on in a degree, or choosing up a sequence of collectables on a time restrict. There’s loads of leeway in Penny’s Huge Breakaway to take issues sluggish and root round in quest of pickups, even when the main focus is in the end extra on fast-paced, madcap motion fairly than cautious exploration. These collectables aren’t for nothing, both, as you may spend the bolts on secret, extra-short ranges that basically take a look at your mastery of Penny’s moveset. There’s additionally a store you need to use to choose up some consumables to make Penny’s journey a bit of simpler.
Degree design is one other main plus right here, as each stage expertly weaves in new ideas and degree gimmicks whereas later revisiting outdated ones in creative methods. For instance, diving boards you need to use to spring to new heights or large our bodies of water to skim over the floor assist to present the completely different worlds a singular taste, whereas additionally showcasing the flexibility of Penny’s controls. Furthermore, there’s a sure type of loopy vitality current in every stage as you tear round corners on Yo-Yo, launch over demise pits, and frantically try to shake off the hordes of penguins chasing you. Penny’s Huge Breakaway is a recreation that’s centered on enjoyable in a manner that feels delightfully old skool, because it quickly throws all types of recent concepts at you with out ever feeling too half-baked.
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The one actual grievance we’ve got towards Penny’s Huge Breakaway is that efficiency on the Swap is noticeably lesser than what yow will discover on different platforms—right here the body fee is locked at 30fps whereas in all places else it’s 60fps. We didn’t observe any notable body drops in our time—it is a rock-solid 30fps—however that is the type of recreation that actually advantages from these additional frames. We additionally famous a good few small bugs alongside the way in which, akin to Penny getting caught on degree geometry in odd locations. These bugs weren’t unhealthy sufficient to considerably have an effect on the gameplay expertise however we’re nonetheless hoping {that a} patch goes out sooner or later to filter out these rougher edges.
Visually, Penny’s Huge Breakaway adheres to a graphical model that makes it really feel like a misplaced traditional from the Sega Saturn, characterised by dreamlike ranges, goofy character designs, and vivid, neon colours throughout. With penguins in all places and degree hazards including to the visible noise, it might probably generally really feel like a bit a lot, however Penny is all the time clearly seen, and the digicam does a incredible job of framing the motion all through.
That is then matched by a bouncy and poppy soundtrack from Sonic Mania composer Tee Lopes that basically feeds into the whimsical nature of those worlds. The catchy music helps to make subsequent runs of a degree really feel rather less like busywork, whereas the inclusion of some home, rock, and drum & bass components maintain particular person tracks feeling various and contemporary.
Conclusion
Penny’s Huge Breakaway is an amazing achievement by Night Star, expertly combining tight controls, glorious degree design, and a raft of artistic concepts, all whereas throwing in a healthy dose of pure pace. Although the Swap model can really feel a bit of tough across the edges at occasions, that is nonetheless a simple advice to make to anybody who considers themselves a fan of Sonic, 3D platformers, or each. Penny’s inaugural journey has bought it the place it counts, and should you’re on the lookout for a difficult, but approachable new 3D platformer so as to add to your library, it doesn’t get significantly better than this.