This review is based on the native PS5 version.
The LittleBigPlanet games never really clicked for me. They all felt like 2.5D platformers meant to showcase a creation tool, which has been pretty common with the devs at Media Molecule except for Tearaway. With Sumo Digital taking the helm of this project, I wasn't too excited to play it... but I ended up enjoying this a lot!
In a way, Sackboy: A Big Adventure takes the same level structure of LittleBigPlanet, but uses its own proprietary 3D-based engine to create some incredible setpieces. This is quite a great thing, since the LittleBigPlanet games were always held back by the use of its showcase creation engine. There's nothing to showcase here but dynamic and mind-boggling level design that gets even better as you progress. My only gripe is that some level objectives feel a bit dried out, as most tend to repeat within each world of the game.
The story of Sackboy: A Big Adventure, although shares similar themes with other Media Molecule franchises, is actually quite fun! Vex is a cheesy villain for sure, but he's still haunting and designed fantastically. The other cast of characters here are also charming, especially the traveler guide Scarlet who aids Sackboy on his adventure.
This is also the 2nd PS5 title that I've played that looks absolutely beautiful with its 4K/HDR work! Backed up by all of this is the game's soundtrack, which is the most surprising to me with it's abundant use of actual licensed tracks in some levels. And to top it all off, it is yet another PlayStation Studios title that utilizes the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers in some really immersive ways.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure isn't just some "Super Mario 3D World clone". It's a change of formula that retains the Media Molecule magic that's been showcased these past few generations, and I'd love to see more from Sumo Digital. (Tearaway 2 anyone?) Very impressed with this one!
The LittleBigPlanet games never really clicked for me. They all felt like 2.5D platformers meant to showcase a creation tool, which has been pretty common with the devs at Media Molecule except for Tearaway. With Sumo Digital taking the helm of this project, I wasn't too excited to play it... but I ended up enjoying this a lot!
In a way, Sackboy: A Big Adventure takes the same level structure of LittleBigPlanet, but uses its own proprietary 3D-based engine to create some incredible setpieces. This is quite a great thing, since the LittleBigPlanet games were always held back by the use of its showcase creation engine. There's nothing to showcase here but dynamic and mind-boggling level design that gets even better as you progress. My only gripe is that some level objectives feel a bit dried out, as most tend to repeat within each world of the game.
The story of Sackboy: A Big Adventure, although shares similar themes with other Media Molecule franchises, is actually quite fun! Vex is a cheesy villain for sure, but he's still haunting and designed fantastically. The other cast of characters here are also charming, especially the traveler guide Scarlet who aids Sackboy on his adventure.
This is also the 2nd PS5 title that I've played that looks absolutely beautiful with its 4K/HDR work! Backed up by all of this is the game's soundtrack, which is the most surprising to me with it's abundant use of actual licensed tracks in some levels. And to top it all off, it is yet another PlayStation Studios title that utilizes the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers in some really immersive ways.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure isn't just some "Super Mario 3D World clone". It's a change of formula that retains the Media Molecule magic that's been showcased these past few generations, and I'd love to see more from Sumo Digital. (Tearaway 2 anyone?) Very impressed with this one!