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Penny’s Large Breakaway is a loving homage to a considerably awkward interval in gaming historical past. The early days of 3D mascot platformers had been outlined by garish saturated colours, exaggerated character designs, and a wide range of gimmicks because the style discovered its footing on this new setting. Penny’s Large Breakaway matches proper into that legacy, like a misplaced gem that simply acquired a shiny new remaster. However whereas its stylized look will most likely be an acquired style, it makes good use of its gimmick to keep away from some pitfalls of the period it emulates.
The story revolves round Penny, an aspiring yo-yo performer who goes to a expertise present audition placed on by a stodgy Emperor. Alongside the best way, her toy prop fuses with a creature, changing into a type of sentient and voracious pet. The creature grants her all kinds of particular talents but additionally causes bother on the expertise present, angering the Emperor and placing her on the run from his military of penguin goons. Her “massive break” changed into a breakaway, get it?
That units the stage, so to talk, for a number of totally different parts. For one, it units the expectation that phases shall be propulsive with fixed motion. You are a needed fugitive! In consequence, phases aren’t huge open worlds to discover a lot as they’re programs to navigate, usually with nice velocity, as you stunt and trick your well beyond traps and obstacles. You’ll be able to often pause to catch your breath or discover a collectible, however for probably the most half, every stage has you operating from Level A to Level B as quick as you possibly can.
The premise and stage design ethos additionally facilitates the foremost menace of the penguin military. Whereas there are commonplace enemies and a life bar such as you may count on from any 3D platformer, this can be a extra novel component. As a substitute of getting your well being whittled down by enemy crash injury, the penguins are attempting to seize you. They do not injury you in any respect, however they do cling onto you and gradual you down, and if too many swarm you directly, you will be captured. You’ll be able to fling them off in small doses, nevertheless it’s simple to get overwhelmed if too many come directly. They don’t seem to be a relentless presence within the phases, however the menace permits them to be peppered in at key moments to maintain you in your toes or calmly encourage you to select up the tempo. It is a intelligent little transfer that I appreciated extra as I noticed the best way the stage design slyly inserted them at key moments.
Lastly, there’s the yo-yo. That is the foremost gameplay gimmick of Penny’s Large Breakaway, and the impetus in your entire suite of particular strikes and talents. You’ll be able to fling it at enemies, naturally, however you can even use it to cling onto ziplines, to spin big screw-machines, experience like a unicycle, and facilitate acrobatic mid-air strikes. You’ll be able to yank your self ahead for a pseudo-air sprint, or make the yo-yo stick in mid-air a single time to swing off it like a grapple level. It is a versatile set of strikes that feels very pure after only some hours, which helps you’re feeling correctly outfitted all through the progressively rising problem.
On prime of your common talents, the yo-yo may get a wide range of particular talents when it eats sure meals. A hamburger will make it further heavy and in a position to knock down partitions, and a purple pepper offers you a velocity enhance in your unicycle potential, whereas a cake enables you to spin into the air and flutter your method down. Like the usual talents, these are scattered all through phases so as to add a little bit spice and selection.
By default, the usual yo-yo assaults are mapped to the precise stick, which implies you don’t have any digicam management. That is principally effective, as the degrees are constructed to maneuver in a single path and the automated digicam tracks your actions nicely sufficient that it is not usually an issue. However the very uncommon event that I did hit an impediment or pit I did not see made me want for my very own digicam management, and apart from that, I did not really use the stick-based yo-yo controls usually anyway–aside from the spinning maneuver, which may solely be carried out with the stick controls, I favored button-based controls. The suitable-stick management does mean you can fling your yo-yo in a single path whereas operating in one other, which is a pleasant contact, however not usually obligatory. Perhaps it is simply because I am used to the usual bounce and assault button placement, however I used these rather more usually, so the trade-off for full digicam management left me wanting.
Generally, although, and particularly in later chapters, the extent design is a little bit too sparse with its checkpoints. Since ranges are designed to be chains of traversal, tips, and stunts, it is simple to get despatched again to a checkpoint after which need to battle your method again to the place you died simply to attempt it once more. Luckily, there is not any actual penalty for loss of life apart from a price to your excessive rating, since even if you happen to run out of life, your checkpoint spot is retained.
![Penny zooms down a ramp on her magic yo-yo](https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/scale_super/1585/15855271/4263331-ss_323a589c064bab5a1317379eedf8d6db03cedfed.jpg)
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Then, in fact, there’s the visible model, probably the most direct homage to the period that it is imitating, and the one which leaves me with probably the most combined emotions. The transition to 3D was a very thorny one in gaming historical past, because the rudimentary polygon-pushing might solely accomplish that a lot with its energy and settled on easy shapes and saturated colors–think collection like Banjo Kazooie or Klonoa. It is a distinct model, nevertheless it’s one which was outlined by very early limitations, and so it is not one which has aged gracefully. Penny’s Large Breakaway approximates this model nicely, with characters who are sometimes little greater than bulbous spheres with faces drawn on and draped in a number of different bubbly garments. I am not nostalgic for video video games having that look, so I did not discover this visible model interesting, however I can think about it’ll really feel cozy for players who got here of age alongside the N64 and PlayStation.
The story involves a candy little conclusion, although I could not even start to clarify a lot of what occurs in between. The story meanders, typically seeming as if it is coming to a head solely to leap off in another path. Certainly one of my favourite boss-baddies was a strident, by-the-books decide, however his half was so minor and fast that I wanted for extra time with him on the expense of much less memorable antagonists.
However then, even a hazy, dreamlike story may very well be interpreted as a tribute. Penny’s Large Breakaway is a loving tribute to a bygone period, warts and all. Its new and ingenious concepts, just like the acrobatic yo-yo mechanic or the penguins scorching in your tail, present a degree of cleverness, however additionally it is a candy, earnest throwback. I would wish to see Penny return, although possibly subsequent time, this lost-gem motif will be utilized to a much less restrictive period in 3D platforming.
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