To help new players or those with less experience, we’ve detailed the controls and movement in Penny’s Big Breakaway in this guide.
Controls and Movement
This guide contains some tools that will help new players who have difficulties with the mechanics of the game and help them improve their experience! The technology mentioned in this guide is not listed in the game’s controls or any tutorials. If you want to learn basic controls and moves, please see the Tutorials tab in the in-game pause menu.
1. Peel Out
You can press and hold the ride button to charge the speed of your yo-yo. Release the button to take off! This move can only be performed when you are not moving horizontally, however it can be performed in the air.
Edit: This move is only really usefull on small platforms where you don’t have room to build momentum.
2.Dash Ride
You can perform a dash and then immediately press the ride button to get a huge burst of speed without having to wait. This can be performed on flat ground or in the air, and is all around a much better alternative to the peel out.
3. Yo-yo bounce
This is essentially the Cappy jump from Mario Odyssey. Press and hold the yo-yo button while grounded to throw out the yo-yo, then jump on top off it to perform a yo-yo bounce! Simply running into it will only bounce you away.
4. Wall jump
This one is pretty basic, but since it’s not covered in the game’s tutorial, I figured I’d list it. You can perform a wall jump by jumping into a wall, making contact, and then pressing the jump button again.
5. Yo-yo wall bounce
This one is a little tricky, but can be very useful for sequence breaking or getting out of bounds. Jump towards a wall, and just before/as you make contact with it, press the yo-yo button. The yo-yo will come out, get stopped by the wall, and Penny will bounce off of it. This gives you more height than a standard wall jump, and can be performed in conjunction with the Yo-yo bounce and wall jump to get you higher than the devs may have intended. To clarify, to get super duper high, perform a yo-yo bounce near (but not touching) a wall, then perform a yo-yo wall bounce, then perform a wall jump. If you still want to get even higher, (and who doesn’t?) perform this next trick at the end of the sequence.
6. Ledge grab
Yes, you can grab ledges, but not with your hands. Press the yo-yo button above or at a ledge to throw out your yo-yo while you are in mid-air. As long as the yo-yo is at or over the ledge, it will snap to it and pull Penny up grappling hook style. Very useful when combined with the yo-yo bounce, yo-yo wall bounce, and wall jump. Once you start utilizing all these techniques, platforming will feel way more forgiving.
7. Little things to Help Movement Feel Better
Do you feel like the yo-yo ride is too slippery and doesn’t turn hard enough? Try turning at a hard angle before the turn. Still not enough? Jump, perform a dash mid-air, and then press the ride button again for those super tight turns.
Having trouble sticking those landings? Although it isn’t mentioned in the in-game tutorial, press the jump button in mid-air to do a (sort-of) double jump. It won’t give you much height, but it will help you get just a bit further.
Need to get just a little bit further? Tap the yo-yo button in mid-air to throw the yo-yo, but don’t perform a swing. Penny will remain suspended for a bit during the animation, allowing you to make more precise jumps that may not warrant a full swing. Speaking of the swing…
While performing a swing and jumping at the height of the swing will get you further, this may not always be what you want, and can have you overshooting platforms and falling to your death (it has happened to me too). If you release the swing midway, or at the bottom of your swing, you will fall straight down. It can be hard to time, but it certainly helps to get that level 3 busker bonus at the end of the stage.