Round Up: The Previews Are In For Penny’s Big Breakaway

A new 3D platformer from the Sonic Mania team

In case you missed it, Penny’s Big Breakaway is a brand new 3D platformer from the Sonic Mania developers.

It was previously announced for the Nintendo Switch last year and is scheduled to arrive at some point in “early 2024”. The first previews of the game (for PC) have now gone live, so if you are curious to see the initial impressions – read on! Here’s a quick description as well:

“In this 3D platforming adventure from the team behind Sonic Mania, you’ll explore the bright and colorful world of Macaroon as Penny and her newly animated friend, Yo-Yo. Perform stylish, acrobatic tricks to avoid the clutches of the grouchy Emperor Eddie and his massive horde of pushy penguins in Story Mode.”

“Power up Yo-Yo to protect Penny and put your speed running skills to the test in Time Attack Mode to unlock special items and complete secret stages. Penny’s Big Breakaway launches on Nintendo Switch early next year.”

The previews get off to a good start with God Is A Geek mentioning how it could be an “all time high for the genre”:

“Penny’s Big Breakaway is an incredible 3D platformer that I wish I was playing right now. The amount of ways you can use your yo-yo to get around is truly impressive, and the ideas packed into each linear stage never ceased to impress me. If you love colourful platformers as much as I do then this is a game that absolutely should be on your radar, because it’s looking like it could be an all time high for the genre.”

Digital Trends highly recommends it if you’re a fan of the Blue Blur:

“Sonic Mania’s developers understand that the fun of Sonic comes from mastering the controls, platforming, and high speeds, not just the speed itself. At Evening Star, they’ve recontextualized those strengths into a whole new kind of platformer, affirming the studio as a developer to watch in the genre.”

Screen Rant called it “beautifully replayable”:

“Walking away from the preview, the thing that’s most obvious is just how beautifully replayable Penny’s Big Breakaway is. The elusive appeal of mastery beckons with open arms, both in racking up points in the campaign or racing for better times in an included Time Attack mode.”

Shacknews called it a “charming throwback” but thinks it needs a little more time in the oven:

“Penny’s Big Breakaway feels like a charming throwback, one aimed at simpler concepts like score chasing and time attacks. In fact, Time Attack trials will open up for each stage after completing them in Story Mode. It does look like it needs a little more time in the oven, as we saw some performance hitches during cutscenes. Despite that, we’re excited to see this game when it’s ready, because Penny and Yo-Yo were born for a bigger stage.”

And last of all Kotaku’s Australian branch noted how it did a good job transporting players back to simpler times:

“It’s an effective throwback to a simpler time and understands what made its inspirations tick. It’s easy to think of these games as being in some ways archaic or uninteresting by modern standards, but there’s still such a thing as a simple pleasure. I think Penny’s Big Breakaway falls very neatly into that category. It isn’t perfect, but it was a pleasure to play and it sent me right back to an era of design I still have a lot of affection for. One to watch if you, like me, have a soft spot for the genre.”

Are you looking forward to this upcoming release? Let us know in the comments.

When he’s not paying off a loan to Tom Nook, Liam likes to report on the latest Nintendo news and admire his library of video games. His favourite Nintendo character used to be a guitar-playing dog, but nowadays he prefers to hang out with Judd the cat.

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