Penny’s Big Breakaway: First Impressions

Penny’s Big Breakaway is an upcoming platforming title from developer Evening Star. I’ve been excited for it since I saw its trailer in the June 2023 Nintendo Direct and I’ve had the pleasure of playing a preview version!

Penny’s Big Breakaway Is Yo-Tastic

Penny’s Big Breakaway starts with the titular Penny auditioning for the Gala, an annual show put on by Emperor Eddie. On the way she find Yo-Yo and the two put on an unforgettable show! Mainly because Yo-Yo eats the Emperor’s clothes. Cue shenanigans.

Penny runs from Eddie’s Penguin police and the game is afoot.

Platforming Paradise

Everything in the game revolves around using Yo-Yo in some very inventive ways.

The ‘Pro’ controls have movement on the left stick. On the right stick players can control the direction of Yo-Yo throws. Spinning the stick makes Penny throw Yo-Yo in a circle around her. This method of control allows for precise pitches of Yo-Yo.

But wait, there’s more! Tapping the stick twice in the same direction pulls Penny towards Yo-Yo, creating a dash mechanic. Holding the stick ‘walks the dog’, keeping Yo-Yo in place. Doing this in the air creates a static point for Penny to spin around.

Other moves include a double jump, riding Yo-Yo, along with various powerups for Yo-Yo. These include transforming Yo-Yo into a wrecking ball, a propeller to glide over the landscapes, or an upgrade to make Yo-Yo riding go faster.

The trick with all these moves is to string them altogether. Platforming becomes amazingly fun using the moveset to chain together incredible combos.

Don’t Tangle The String

There’s a lot of moves in Penny’s Big Breakaway. The game does a good job of introducing these concepts but doesn’t really teach you how to combine them. It made for some frustrating moments in the early game searching for collectibles. I recommend experimenting with movement tech and getting used to chaining moves together as early as possible.

It suffers from not having a fully rotatable camera. I found a lot of my deaths came from falling off ledges because I couldn’t see the angles properly. The camera can be moved but it is limited to a few degrees around Penny.