It’s now been nearly seven years (yes, really) since the release of Sonic Mania, which indisputably marked a high point for Sega’s troubled blue mascot. Much of the game's success could be attributed to the team of passionate and talented fans (led by Christian Whitehead) that came together to develop it, but rather than coast on their success by producing the Sonic Mania 2 that many fans expected, this team instead rebranded themselves as a boutique studio called Evening Star and set out to launch their own IP with a new 3D platformer called Penny’s Big Breakaway.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

Though the influence of the Blue Blur is immediately apparent in Penny's Big Breakaway's design, Evening Star's debut adventure very much feels like it asserts its own identity. Some minor performance quirks aside, this is a spectacular, creative, unique, and deeply enjoyable new entry in the 3D platforming genre that no fan will want to miss.

The story is set in the dreamlike world of Macaroon and begins with an entertainer named Penny conveniently finding a magical sentient yo-yo named, er, Yo-Yo while Emperor Eddie is holding auditions for a talent show. Using her skills and the newfound powers afforded to her by Yo-Yo, she quickly skips the line and puts on a stellar show for the emperor. Unfortunately, Yo-Yo has the temperament of an unruly dog, and he quickly goes off-leash and steals the emperor’s pants in front of a captive audience. Furious, Emperor Eddie quickly brands Penny a felon and sics his massive army of penguins on her, kicking off a wild chase across the kingdom as she desperately evades capture.

It’s not much of a story, but there’s some interesting lore here that’s slowly revealed as you explore more of Macaroon and learn of Yo-Yo’s true origins. Plus, along the way you make various friends and frenemies that aid you on your journey, each featuring a memorable design and some cute interactions with the perpetually aghast and silent Penny. As you’d expect, it’s quite a lighthearted tale making it a perfect fit for the free-flowing fun that follows.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

Gameplay in Penny’s Big Breakaway feels like a mixture of a momentum-focused 3D Sonic game and a collectathon. Rather than taking the open-world approach used in games like Banjo-Kazooie, Penny’s Big Breakaway breaks things up into three to ten-minute levels that present razor-sharp level design and plenty of opportunities for optimizing your time and score. Every movement-based action in Penny’s repertoire has a point value attached to it, and mixing up your moves while touching the ground as little as possible will bolster your combo and score multiplier, a bit like style ranks in Devil May Cry. Stages are ultimately built around pushing this score as high as possible and doing so fast.

One run through a stage will teach you the basic layout of the level, but you’ll quickly realize that environmental hazards and platforms are perfectly placed to take advantage of Penny’s moveset. Slopes you can roll down to build up speed usually follow big drops, and precarious jumps are always conveniently spaced just as far apart as your zip dash can carry you. One run isn’t enough to get the most out of this kind of level design, and you’re encouraged to learn each level thoroughly until you can execute a nearly flawless run. There’s a certain kind of ‘language’ that you come to understand about these levels as you deepen your knowledge of what Penny can do, and putting it all together to pull off that golden run feels incredible once everything finally clicks.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

A big part of what makes subsequent reruns so engaging is that Penny's controls are tight, responsive, and versatile. Yo-Yo reminds us a bit of Cappy from Super Mario Odyssey, in that he offers you a variety of combat and platforming moves that can be chained together in interesting ways once you understand their timings. The zip dash can be used to quickly reposition Penny mid-air, but it doesn’t take long before you realize it’s also a great way to build speed. When you first start, Penny can admittedly feel like she’s a little too technical to control well, but you soon find yourself pulling off some impressive chains as you swing, roll, and yoink your way through stages with elegance and style.

If rolling around at the speed of sound isn’t your thing, each level hides three collectable bolts hidden on side paths as well as three brief side quests from NPCs. These side quests task you with getting a certain score within a brief window, delivering an item to an NPC further on in a level, or picking up a series of collectables on a time limit. There’s plenty of leeway in Penny’s Big Breakaway to take things slow and root around in search of pickups, even if the focus is ultimately more on fast-paced, madcap action rather than careful exploration. These collectables aren’t for nothing, either, as you can spend the bolts on secret, extra-short levels that really test your mastery of Penny’s moveset. There’s also a shop you can use to pick up some consumables to make Penny’s journey a little easier.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

Level design is another major plus here, as every stage expertly weaves in new concepts and level gimmicks while later revisiting old ones in inventive ways. For example, diving boards you can use to spring to new heights or huge bodies of water to skim over the surface help to give the different worlds a unique flavor, while also showcasing the versatility of Penny’s controls. Moreover, there’s a certain kind of crazy energy present in each stage as you tear around corners on Yo-Yo, launch over death pits, and frantically attempt to shake off the hordes of penguins chasing you. Penny’s Big Breakaway is a game that’s focused on fun in a way that feels delightfully old school, as it rapidly throws all kinds of new ideas at you without ever feeling too half-baked.

The only real complaint we have against Penny’s Big Breakaway is that performance on the Switch is noticeably lesser than what you can find on other platforms—here the frame rate is locked at 30fps while everywhere else it’s 60fps. We didn’t observe any notable frame drops in our time—it's a rock-solid 30fps—but this is the kind of game that really benefits from those extra frames. We also noted a fair few small bugs along the way, such as Penny getting stuck on level geometry in odd places. These bugs weren’t bad enough to substantially affect the gameplay experience but we’re still hoping that a patch goes out in the future to clear out those rougher edges.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

Visually, Penny’s Big Breakaway adheres to a graphical style that makes it feel like a lost classic from the Sega Saturn, characterized by dreamlike levels, goofy character designs, and bright, neon colors all over. With penguins all over the place and level hazards adding to the visual noise, it can sometimes feel like a bit much, but Penny is always clearly visible, and the camera does a fantastic job of framing the action throughout.

This is then matched by a bouncy and poppy soundtrack from Sonic Mania composer Tee Lopes that really feeds into the whimsical nature of these worlds. The catchy music helps to make subsequent runs of a level feel a little less like busywork, while the inclusion of some house, rock, and drum & bass elements keep individual tracks feeling diverse and fresh.

Conclusion

Penny’s Big Breakaway is a tremendous achievement by Evening Star, expertly combining tight controls, excellent level design, and a raft of creative ideas, all while throwing in a hefty dose of pure speed. Though the Switch version can feel a little rough around the edges at times, this is still an easy recommendation to make to anyone who considers themselves a fan of Sonic, 3D platformers, or both. Penny’s inaugural adventure has got it where it counts, and if you’re looking for a challenging, yet approachable new 3D platformer to add to your library, it doesn’t get much better than this.