The next game from the team behind 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sonic Mania was announced at this week's 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Nintendo Direct, and it looks just like what you🎉 would ༺expect the Sonic Mania team to make without access to the Blue Blur.
is a colorful 3D platformer starring a brand new mascot, a girl named Penny who wields a living yo-yo weapon. From the brief trailer, the game seems to have a lot of ideas and, given the critical and commercial success of Sonic Mania, it's a shame that the team is using those ideas in a game for Private Division instead of Sega.
Sonic Team's Takashi Iizuka told that the Sonic Mania team almost worked on 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sonic Superstars, but the plans fell through. It makes sense that Sega would want to continue its working relationship with Christian Whitehead and the rest of the Mania team. That 2017 sidescroller was the best reviewed game the series has seen in years, and recaptured the physics and speedy charm of classic Sonic far more successfully than many of Sega's own efforts, like Sonic the Hedgehog 4.
Now we see what Whitehead and co. have been working on and it looks like a lot of fun. Though the graphics aren't as polished as the gorgeous 2.5D of Sonic Superstars, Penny's Big Breakaway looks really inventive and Penny’s yo-yo seems to be a tool with Swiss army knife versatility. Penny can ride on it — a nod to that other Sonic Team mascot, Billy Hatcher, and his giant egg? — swing it in a circle around her body for spinning attacks, and use it to slide along rails. She can throw it up in the air and swing from it (a la Grapple Dog and GameCube Spider-Man). The trailer also shows the yo-yo grooving along what looks like a ridged barbershop poll, riding all the way to the top. It can be a helicopter and paraglider, too. Is there anything Penny can't do?
More than Sonic Mania, Penny's Big Breakaway reminds me of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Super Mario Odyssey. That game had a similarly flexible central mechanic, and Mario could even perform some of the same moves Penny does in the trailer, like throwing his hat in a circle to grab rings or take out enemies. Also, like Cappy in Odyssey, Penny's yo-yo is personified and named, fittingly, Yo-Yo.
It's exciting to see a team that has proven itself to have major chops working to bring a new 3D platformer with a brand new mascot to market in 2023. Though Sega has expanded its brand significantly, with the Like a Dragon series and Total War, it's been a while since it had a truly great 3D platformer. It can be tough to make the transition from 2D to 3D and time will tell if Penny's Big Breakaway ends up being that good. But, if it is, Christian Whitehead and the team at Evening Star are incredibly talented developers and Sega should be kicking itself that their next game wasn't a success for Sega.