The moment I found out that Christian Whitehead, the developer behind the magnificent Sonic Mania, was creating a brand new studio in order to create brand new IPs outside of Sega’s realm, I was really excited to find out what kind of game he would eventually come up with. Was it going to be yet another high-quality Saturn-era 2D platformer? He did eventually assist in the development of Freedom Planet 2, so that wouldn’t have been completely shocking. Nope, it was something else. The studio known as Evening Star came up with Penny’s Big Breakaway, a game I can best describe as “a hidden gem from the Dreamcast era that just so happened to come out 22 years after its demise”.

Penny’s Big Breakaway is a 3D platformer that heavily feels like a game that could (and should) have been released back in 1999, as part of the Dreamcast’s initial launch lineup. Everything about it just oozes the kind of vibe that was synonymous with that system: incredibly colorful, fast-paced, innovative, but also quite flawed due to some bold, but eventually unfortunate design decisions.

In it, you play as Penny, a street performer who’s incredibly talented with the yo-yo. One day, when en route to a nearby castle in order to partake on a talent show, her yo-yo gains sentience. She then proceeds to excel at the talent show, but her sentient toy just decides to eat the king’s clothes. She is declared a traitor, a fugitive, a criminal. In essence, the plot revolves around just getting the hell away from that kingdom, avoiding the king’s police guard in the process. It also just so happens that said guard is 100% comprised of penguins. Why? No idea. Don’t ask. Just rejoice. It’s penguins.

This is a straightforward 3D platformer in the “go from point A to point B” sense of the word. Despite featuring some extra collectibles in each level, this is not a collectathon. Just like Sonic Adventure, Crash Bandicoot, or Chameleon Twist, these collectibles are there to just give you an extra incentive to replay a level once you’re done with it for the first time. In a neat change of pace, combat is all but disincentivized. You can smack the penguin cops with your yo-yo, but that’s kind of a waste of time; whenever a penguin horde shows up, it won’t exactly stop spawning until you get away from the particular section they are patrolling. You should basically use the yo-yo as a stun method, in order to get away from danger. Of course, the yo-yo is more useful than just that. A lot more.

Think of the yo-yo as your main means of traversing through Penny’s Big Breakaway‘s large, creative, but occasionally confusing levels. You will use it as a tool to propel you in the air. It will be the item you’ll use in order to perform a double jump, as well as a bizarre triple jump. In essence, it will spin indefinitely in the air, and you’ll be able to swing around like you’re Tarzan or something. The yo-yo can also be used as a propeller, a grappling hook, a hammer, a ridable vehicle… the list goes on and on and on.

Each level introduces a brand new way for you to use your yo-yo, but there is an additional catch: you cannot control the camera, as the right stick is also tied to using the yo-yo in the first place. It can be used if you want to perform more precise attacks, or if you want to aim your tool in a specific direction. That was quite weird, because the X button can also be used to perform the same functions. There was no reason not to give the player complete control of the camera, if not because of a design standpoint. This is why I said Penny’s Big Breakaway could have been released for the Dreamcast if Christian Whitehead wanted to. With some proper (as in, massive) downgrades, the control scheme could have been adapted to that system’s controller.

Not giving players control of the camera wasn’t a particularly neat idea. This is not a fixed perspective platformer like Super Mario 3D World or Super Lucky’s Tale. There are many moments in which the camera struggles to keep up with you, especially during high-speed sections with your yo-yo emulating a car. Add in the occasionally confusing button prompts and the excessive amount of functions the yo-yo can perform, and you will die quite a few times due to the game just not getting a hold of what you wanted to do in the first place.

This is a glaring issue, but there’s another even weirder aspect about Penny’s Big Breakaway: despite this flawed design decision, I was still having a lot of fun with it. As previously mentioned, each level introduces a new mechanic or an exciting setpiece. The presentation is incredibly colorful and charming. It’s impossible not to smile while playing this game. The visuals are downright adorable, and the soundtrack might actually be the single best aspect about the game as a whole. Songs are catchy, upbeat, and have instruments added and/or removed depending on the situation. If penguins are chasing after you, the tempo increases, for instance. It’s that kind of charm that was so characteristic of Sega games from the late 90s and early 2000s. Sonic Adventure, Billy Hatcher, Nights, the list goes on.

I had a great time with Penny’s Big Breakaway, despite some glaring gameplay issues. It features a confusing control scheme, and the lack of camera control is something I don’t exactly miss from the late 90s. Still, it managed to win me over with its infectious charm, innovative ideas (even if some of them didn’t exactly pay off), and exciting set pieces. It’s hard not to smile while playing it, it’s just that upbeat, it’s just that fun. You will need to understand it’s far from perfect, but in an industry filled to the brim with samey and generic titles, I’d rather give a flawed but honest attempt at innovation a shot.

Graphics: 8.0 Incredibly colorful visuals which feel deliciously retro (most specifically, from the Dreamcast era of gaming) and oddly modern at the same time. The draw distance effects are a bit weird, but considering how fast-paced this game is, you will rarely be able to even pay attention to them.	Gameplay: 6.5 The yo-yo mechanics are bold and innovative, but there are so many functions you can perform, it can become overwhelming. The lack of freeform camera controls was also a blatant mistake.
Sound: 8.5 It might actually be Penny’s Big Breakaway‘s strongest selling point. Songs are catchy and upbeat. Furthermore, they change in instrumentation and tempo, depending on what’s happening onscreen.	Fun Factor: 8.0 It’s far from perfect, but it won me over with its innovative mechanics, interesting level design, and most importantly, its infectious charm. This game makes me smile when I play it.
Final Verdict: 7.5

Penny’s Big Breakaway is available now on PS5, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch.

Reviewed on Intel i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, RTX 3060 6GB.

A copy of Penny’s Big Breakaway was provided by the publisher.