Penny is a street performer with a yo-yo who found a mysterious cosmic string that brought her yo-yo to life and caused quite a ruckus when she attempted to perform for Emperor Eddie. Now she is on the run through colourful levels and the experience is one that needs to be played to be understood. Penny can grapple and swing across gaps, launch her yo-yo into the sky to get a boost and attack enemies, and these are just some of the things she can do in a game where players have found some amazing ways to traverse through the game.
It needs to be noted that this is a game with fixed camera angles and linear stages because this is a throwback to an older style of game. From the visual look to the experimental gameplay, this is a game that calls to mind the Sega Saturn and it just feels right. There are plenty of things hidden in the stages though, with three golden nuts hidden that are needed to unlock bonus stages, as well as three people in need of help who have different missions you will be tasked with.
On the surface, this may seem simple, but Penny’s Big Breakaway has, as mentioned, had a number of players find unique ways to explore the stages and find everything. Some of these ways were intended by the developers, sure, but some seem to have been unintentional but worked out for the best. This is a mark of a good platformer in my opinion, and it shows how much potential there is for fun in the game.
You will always find some way to boost a score as well because everything is scored in the game. Making a great series of jumps? That gets a score. Get a good amount of enemies defeated. Wow that is a nice combo. The best thing is that this is not mandatory but was put in by the developers to encourage replaying and speed runs, which just makes it better. The combat is great and the puzzles that are found have interesting solutions as well, giving the game a well-rounded feel.
I really love Penny’s Big Breakaway, especially with the unique powerups you will find in the game but there are some issues as well. I noticed a number of bugs when I played, but these were not game-breaking. The game ran well enough on Switch and looks fine, but I am eager to see how it will look and play after the patch that will bring in 60 FPS performance and anti-aliasing options. The one thing I think has been a bit of an issue is that in some stages, the checkpoints are too far apart and this can cause problems when you get to a difficult area.
Still, even with this issue, Penny’s Big Breakaway is a fun game, and as mentioned, the developers are still working to improve it and fix the issues. This is a brilliant throwback to an earlier style of game and has a charm that I find is lacking in far too many games today. The fact that the developers are clearly putting their blood, sweat and tears into making this work is commendable and I did overall love the experience.
Penny’s Big Breakaway is a game that even with its flaws, should be played and experienced by all. The developers made a game anyone can enjoy and the result is something special. To compare it to another game, Penny’s Big Breakaway succeeds in bringing in the spirit of a classic era of platformers that Balan Wonderworld failed at doing. Do not pass this one up, and take the chance to play one of the best indie platformers so far this year.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
Reviews on Nintendo Switch
