Sackboy: A Big Adventure (2020)

This is basically what I always wanted from the LBP games. I never finished any of them, but I loved the customization/costumes and the level designs. I just am generally not a huge fan of platformers or otherwise can't spend hours at a time with them, and LBP was frustrating with its "layers" and some of its squishier mechanics. A game with all of the charms of the originals but in a 3D platforming style is perf for me (but still in small doses).

I picked it up with my PS library subscription over the weekend since I was looking for things to play on my new PS5. I remember when it came out, I was excited to check it out eventually, but kind of forgot about it.

I never played the Little Big Planet games (building levels in games kind of stresses me out!), but after playing Astro's Playroom once I got my PlayStation 5, I was curious to see if Sackboy: A Big Adventure would be a good continuation of what that platformer did so well.

Sackboy is a game that is made to be breezed through if you want, but if you want more of a challenge, this also offers a fairly difficult path as well. I tried to collect everything I could throughout this game, which often meant I was playing through these levels multiple times, trying to perfect my path through. This is a game with a cute demeanor, but it can be quite punishing when trying to see everything this game has to offer.

I also really love the musical levels that Sackboy throws in, and wish there had been more of those. These rare levels reminded me of Rayman Legends and that game's excellent use of music. This isn't quite hitting that level, but it is at least scratching that same itch.

Sackboy also works well as an endearing and overall fun character to play as. His move set is simple, and even in the later levels, I still felt like I was frequently messing up with the controls when trying to make difficult leaps and attacks, but for the most part, this is a fun character to control.

While I do think Sackboy is a solid introduction to this character into the more straightforward platforming world, there's certainly room for improvement here. I really do hope this is the start of a whole Sackboy series, because I could absolutely see one of the next games taking what this game does so well and really taking off with it, making this into one of the better platforming franchises out there. I think this is on its way with some tweaks here and there, but I do find Sackboy to be a solid platformer that is on its way to something special.

"It's better than I expected" is my main takeaway for this one, as someone who has never been able to get into the Little Big Adventure series. This one transfers the simple platforming gameplay into 3D, not so different from what Kirby and the Forgotten Land did. You customize your Beanie Baby creature to look as silly as you want, and have at it in your typical 3D platformer worlds that reminded me a lot of Lego games in terms of layout and viewpoint. The standout levels are the music-based ones (reminding me much of Rayman Legends), which has you go through a stage bouncing along to the rhythm of popular songs.

I think this is a game best played with a friend in co-op. It does a much better job on that front compared to the aforementioned Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and IMO the gameplay on its own probably wouldn't have kept my interest if I were playing by myself. I believe you can play with people online though, at least for the stages that require two Beanie Babies to help each other with simple puzzle-platforming challenges.

Who is he? This "boy" who crawled from the Earth's deepest crevasse, looking like the Funko Pop version of himself? Which witch stitched this creature together of equal parts twine, burlap, and malice? Who is this being who speaks no words, but screams with all the childlike enthusiasm of an orphanage set aflame?

The game is fun, I suppose. If you want to play a Nintendo game, but don't have a Nintendo console, you can't do much better.

However; your enjoyment of the game will be directly influenced by how much you can stomach it's protagonist and the maximalist-diarrhea-craft-world he inhabits.

Disclaimer - I have not completed the final world and last boss. I had to put the game down while on vacation, but I have not picked it back up yet. That being said, I have played enough to rate the game with certainty.

I have always been enamored with LittleBigPlanet's design, music choices, and world in general. But for a platformer (whether 2D or 3D) the controls have always been too mushy. I don't know a better word for it, but it feels like your inputs are controlling puppet strings that move the sackboy, rather than sackboy itself. Credit to this game because the mushiness is not as strong, especially when running along the ground. It still exists with other movement features like jumping, fluttering, rolling, attacking, etc. Unfortunately, character feel is a huge factor in how much I enjoy a game, especially a platformer.

The items and gimmicks in the game are all interesting, and the story unfolds in a way which brings them all together in a distorted way as you progress through the final world. The level design and flow of the game are well done. The original music is on par with past entries. The game also uses pop songs from various eras, which I assume were on Sony's label, and has levels that are designed around the beat and theme of the music or artist. These levels really stand out, and I expect you will recognize most, if not all, of the songs used. The visuals in the game are also lovely and diverse. Each world differs greatly in setting from the others, and the colors utilized pop. The visual style is still the crafted world approach of other LBP games, but there seems to be a bit more fantasy/sci-fi influence than I remember. The main villain is both whimsical and eerie, I feel this is one of the best designed antagonists visually that I have encountered. I will have to wait and see if any more depth comes to the character after completing the story, but as of now it is your typical children's story affair. Voice acting is generally humorous and well done, most accents are British which I assume is a result of the studio's location. One other stand out for me were the Knitted Knight Trials. You unlock these by finding a hidden collectable in levels marked with a cube, and they are speedrun based levels that incorporate the main hazard of the level or world in which you found the collectable. These were quite addicting for me.

For those of you who have played games in this series I assume you will know what I am trying to describe when I talk about mushy controls. If so and A) You don't mind them - Play this game! Those were literally the only downside I can think of in my review. I just hate when a character feels off so much that it brought this game down an entire star. B) It does bother you - I would avoid the game. Just play Mario 3D world on the wii u or switch if you have it. If not, I am sure someone on this site can recommend a game that is similar on sony consoles. Do note that this game's mushiness is not as bad, so I find myself prone to binge sessions. If I play for 5-10 minutes it is just long enough for me to get mad at the controls. If I power through to around 30 minutes, I can get used to it, and the game's wonderful level design and extra collectables hidden throughout cause me to play 2-3 hours at a time.

If you have never played games in the LBP series I would recommend playing the game. If you like this genre, I can recommend it at its current price. If not, then wait for a sale or for used copy prices to come down a bit. You may not be bothered by the way the sackboy controls, and the game is not a rip-off for the amount of content included. If nothing else, you now have a game that has local multiplayer for 4 people.

3.5 Stars

Update: Finished the final world and boss, had no desire to continue through "post game content". I could see myself returning for this after an extended break or with friends.

I was getting a little bit burned out with my current selections of games (The Witness, Monster Energy Supercross 4, Ys IX: Monstrum Nox) and needed something to really chill to. Finally, I grabbed this game and I've been loving it so far. I really needed a nice, stress-free platformer like this, and I played LittleBigPlanet on the Vita years ago and loved it.

I can't wait to play this co-op online as well, because when I played the Vita version it was already so old that no one was playing it!