Developer- Evening Star
Last June, when I first saw Penny’s Big Breakaway, it immediately piqued my interest.
For as long as I’ve been an adult, I’ve always clamoured for a fresh new 3d platformer that looks and feels like it’s from the golden era of the 90s. Nowadays, Nintendo seems to be the only one capable. Even then, 3d platformers are few and far between. even 3D Mario's being a once-in-a-generation sort of thing.
Indie developers have been trying to fill that void, and games like 2017’s Yooka Laylee; personally, didn’t scratch that itch. However, from the footage I’ve seen prior to release and the pedigree of talent behind it, I wasn't worried. Now that I’ve played it, I'm delighted to say, Penny’s Big Breakaway is a gem of a platformer; one that boasts confidence in its style, music and most importantly gameplay. It feels familiar in play but has a personality all its own.
Penny’s Big Breakaway is the debut game from developers, Evening Star. a team made up of former members who made one of 2017’s best games and a personal favourite of mine, Sonic Mania. The studio also boasts the talents of Christian Whitehead, who rose to fame with iOS ports of the classic 16-bit mega drive Sonics. Making the surprising decision not to work with Sega again, Evening Star have instead collaborated with Rockstar’s indie publishing label, Private Division.
It’s refreshing to see a platformer in 2024 with a protagonist like Penny, a mute who has sharper edges than a table corner, she has a timeless look to herself. While simple the setup, Penny’s adventure starts with her as an aspiring street performer looking to show off her talents, no better place than the upcoming audition at the emperor’s palace. Long story short, it goes all horribly wrong, and she’s wanted for assault. So as a newly accused felon, she’s on the run across plant macaroon trying to clear her name.
The relatively short story is a by-the-numbers; whimsical light-hearted tale, you’ve come to expect in a platformer. Like myself and other older gamers, platformers were a gateway to gaming for kids. While the genre needs to evolve, the storytelling doesn’t. Though this does come across as a mixed bag, with hand-drawn cutscenes, that by and large look fantastic, but are a rarity that I wish were used more frequently but possibly due to finite resources and time, weren’t.
On the other hand, the in-game dialogue scenes could benefit from the same polish, being mediocre at best, these are hampered by jarring, stilted animation. this does partly detract from charming scenes at times. Despite this small gripe, it's easy to overlook when stories are often a long-distant afterthought in games of the same genre.
The worlds in Penny’s Big Breakaway look like they’ve been ripped right out of the Saturn/Dreamcast era, with modern refinements that make them feel present. Penny’s Big Breakaway colour schemes favour oranges, pastel pinks, and greens, which call back to the 16-bit Sega days. These themes are distinctly nostalgic and hold semblance; spanning across 11 worlds and 40+ levels, these small-focused sandboxes exude personality and charm. You’ll venture with Penny to locales such as; theme parks, to dawn beaches, with there only being around 3 levels in each world none of the motifs overstays its welcome.
What is a platformer if it doesn’t have good music? Returning to help Evening Star, seasoned composer Tee Lopes is back. Not limited to the faithful 16-bit chip tunes in Sonic Mania, Lope’s talents shine. Rolling through Zaphara’s cobalt sands with a homophonic melody or muddy lead heavy syncopated synths in Industria. The soundtrack to Penny’s Big Breakaway helps elevate the whole package and I’m eager for it to come to streaming services.
As already discussed, this game wears its Sega influences on its sleeves. The inspiration is most clear from, Sonic. with the moment-to-moment gameplay and a very similar ring jingle, to name a few of the elements borrowed from the blue blur. It's not just Sonic though, even ‘Nights into Dreams'’ hoops are referenced here. Being a Sega kid, these hit right in my nostalgic bones.
Approaching any new level for the first time, I tackled it like a traditional platformer. Looking ahead for the immediate goal, while scouring every nook and cranny for collectables along the way. This has bled into how I approach most games nowadays, set by the 3d platformers/collectathons of yesteryear (Banjo Kazooie/Jak+Daxter), I expect there to be hidden trinkets before reaching the goal.
Included in every stage, are the cliche 3 hidden, hard-to-reach coins called show pieces. Once you have a good few in the bag, you can cash them in the bonus world to unlock extra levels, set outside the planet Macaroon. these are bitesize stages that really test your skills with some super-hard pure platforming, these require nigh-on perfect precision that by the end, fills you with elation when conquering them.
On top of that, something I hadn’t seen myself in a platformer since Super Mario Odyssey, was active side quests. Littered around each stage, you will encounter many bystanders called, Denizens. These folk all have personal dilemmas for you to complete. These side quests can range from reaching a target trick score, delivering an important item to a fellow denizen, or obtaining a certain number of collectables under the clock.
All are fun, even under pressure, being flamboyant enough to complete a task while not breaking your rhythm, or a comical fallout that leads to some amusing dialogue from the NPC. The variation here just adds to the feeling I got of, the perfect mix of nostalgia and innovation. What isn’t fun under pressure is the posse of penguins that are on your tail right from the get-go. Intruding on only a handful of levels, if enough of them grab you, it's game over. These are easily avoidable but on later levels with some tricky platforming can be a nuisance.
Certain key levels have temporary power-ups; while only a handful, what is included fits into the overall vibe Penny’s Big Breakaway is portraying, be it a comically large hot pepper that propels Penny across the plains or a big magnet to fling her through a strong magnetic field. I just wish these carried over into more levels than present here, as they help add even more variety on how you can approach runs.
While I’ve referred to Penny's Big Breakaway as having a lot in common with 3D platformers of old, the gameplay is most akin to Tony Hawks Pro Skater. Like Tony’s skateboard, zipping around on your yo-yo is the main way of movement. The ever-present combo meter on screen, is also similar to Pro Skater and Hack n Slash games; DMC and Bayonetta. with the demand for constant fluid inventive tricks, before touching the floor and resetting the count.
Controlling Penny is very similar to a ‘twin-stick shooter’, moving with one and releasing the yo-yo with another. It’s a simple enough scheme to work with, but along with the jump and air dash, requires quick fingers to control. I had no problems with the controls, I was expecting them to feel abit slippery, with how quick momentum can shift. But Penny handles like a dream with snappy and responsive feedback.
Learning the rhythm does take some adjustment, but once you have the movement down, it’s an utter joy to play and very expressive in motion. One playthrough of a level and you'll notice that most environmental hazards and platforms aren’t just placed willy-nilly to be obstacles, but in pixel-perfect placement to encourage daring repeated plays once you feel confident enough with movement.
Even in my newly found naivety with my own ‘skills’, one look at the online leaderboards and I was quickly humbled, my PBs were nothing. After countless runs and a lot of willpower, I was able to break into the top 100 in a couple of them. I essentially tackled the levels much as I do Mario Kart tracks, being very eagle-eyed for optimal routes before putting the knowledge of the level layout that I’d scouted into action, I was honestly surprised I got so invested in besting previous runs as I’m the type of gamer that dislikes retreading the same areas and the feeling of Déjà vu.
Though zipping through the biomes at full momentum and keeping the CCCombo building is the main jest of Penny, level layouts are somewhat reminiscent of Super Mario 3D Land, including the fixed camera angle. While serviceable at first, the camera does become a nuisance on a handful of levels. Misjudging depth and getting caught in jank, led to some infuriating moments when I was trying to set a PB in time trials.
The few hours it took me to venture through the colourful adventure, I had a grin on my face the entire time. A legit nostalgia trip for the Sega kid inside of me, visually nostalgic and a dream to play. So much in fact, while writing up this review I cleaned up the remaining trophies and earned the platinum.
While many developers of now, retread the safe formulaic blueprint 3d platformers had in a bygone era. Evening Star has paired influences from past 3d platformer classics, and others that on paper wouldn’t seem ideal. A peculiar pairing that has led to a modern classic, that I hope others take note of. instead of trying to get an easy win, appeasing to single-minded nostalgic fans. Genres evolve.
While Sega fans wanted a follow-up to 2017's Sonic Mania, myself included. Penny’s Big Breakaway is a well-needed breath of fresh air, with new mascot platformers being a rare occurrence nowadays. Penny’s Big Breakaway is a joyful experience from start to end. I would recommend it to any type of player, with it’s ease to enjoy from the get-go and surprisingly deep movement options. Quite a surprise to myself, it’s now an unforeseen frontrunner for my personal game of the year!
Platform - PS5
Hours to beat - 9
Pro's:
Tight momentum based movement
Great Level design
90's Nostalgic look
Memorable soundtrack
Con's:
Fixed camera can be an issue
Ever present Penguins
SCORE: 9/10
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