Edna has a problem. One day she wakes up in the cell of a nuthouse and remembers nothing. But she knows that she needs to get out of there. After all she feels completely healthy and her stuffed animal rabbit Harvey agrees with her. So Edna has to find a way out of the asylum and discover why Dr. Marcel, the leader of the institute, keeps her there against her will.
Edna & Harvey: The Breakout is a classic 2D point-and-click adventure comparable to titles like Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle. On the box art it is advertised as "made by people who love Monkey Island". The player has four commands available ("look", "take", "talk" and "use") through which he can command Edna to interact with the environment. It allows Edna to pick up, combine and use items, talk to other people with dialogue trees and ultimately solve the many riddles that stand between her and her escape from the asylum.
Harvey also plays a very important role in everything. Since he is, as he says himself, a projection of Edna's consciousness, he not only has a funny comment on almost everything in the current location, he also helps Edna to remember doing specific things. In a process called "Tempomorphing", he can lead Edna back into the past to a situation where she learned a particular skill that is very useful in the present. In these visits to the past the player can control both Edna and Harvey, but only Edna can interact with the environment. Harvey instead scouts the proximity and examines various items. Since he can't use these items, he only acquires a topic from it. When the player then uses such a topic on Edna, she will be inspired to do stuff with that particular item or just say what she remembers about it. By doing so Harvey will ultimately inspire Edna to remember and use the skills she needs in the present. When the travel to the past ends, the game returns to the asylum and Harvey becomes uncontrollable again.