I'm not sure how Evening Star knew exactly what sort of platformer I wanted, but they did. Clearly, there was some variety of incepting being done to pull the concept out of my subconscious: this incredibly colorful, joyous, and above all skillful adventure.

I believe that learning how playing games is a skill, and Penny fully embodies this idea. Despite its bubbly exterior, this is a journey that asks you to buckle down and make mistakes as you learn how to maneuver both her and her yo-yo. At first I sucked at the game. I was incredibly bad.

But in remaining dedicated, in really sitting with the mechanics and using the freedom given by Evening Star to experiment, I found myself on this extremely fast skill elevator towards a skill ceiling which seemed to continue receding. I kept learning just how immensely meticulous Evening Star's vision is.

So hang with it and hone your ability. When you're jaunting through brilliantly-colored worlds, dancing across the controller as you glide to one of the greatest game soundtracks of the last several years, Penny is just symphonic.