Sackboy: A Big Adventure - Small Review

 Sackboy is one of the few launch titles to release alongside the PS5 (and PS4). In comparison to Spider-Man: Miles Morales, it's the game that didn't really ding anybody's radar. Until I heard some people praising this game, I hadn't really given it a thought.

With Sackboy's previous developer, Media Molecule, creating Dreams. The LittleBigPlanet IP was picked up by Sumo Digital, and with it they made LittleBigPlanet 3. I've played LBP3 on the PS4, but never really got around to finishing it, and that's my history with most of the LBP titles. Always started, never finished. 

Until this game came along.

Sumo Digital thought of a different way to approach to the franchise, and decided to give their own spin to the titular character. Instead of having more of a 2.5D side scrolling platformer, the world they built now is fully three dimensional. Customizations were limited to the outfits and emotions, and they left the user creation to Media Molecule and their Dreams. And Sackboy benefited more from the attention.

The game opens up with the evil Vex, voiced wonderfully by Richard E. Grant, capturing all the sackpeople in Craftworld. Barely managing to escape, Sackboy goes off on his adventure to stop the villain ripping through their world and to bring his people back to their village. Along the way, he is aided by Scarlet who tells him of a prophecy of the one Knitted Knight that will save all of Craftworld from the Uproar.

Throughout the game, you progress by collecting Dreamer Orbs, a number of which are available in each level; some you obtain by completing certain tasks, some are hidden, some not so much. You have to acquire a certain number of these to unlock certain areas, or travel to different worlds. 

You collect presents to unlock parts of outfits that you can form to create the set, or wear however to your liking. You can use your collectabells to purchase outfits from Zomzon.

Some levels, you acquire cubes that unlock the Knitted Knight Trials. These are a set of timed challenges to prove your worth as a knight. You gain medals depending on how fast you finish. You can also see how you fared against others in the global leaderboard. 

The music of this game is excellent. From the very first level's indie movie-like background to some levels revolving around a very popular song. The song choices in this game were unbelievably top notch, and it was pleasantly surprising to have one of my favorite bands have a level in this game. 

Some levels require you to have another player join. These levels are great fun when you can find another player to jump in beside you, not so much with someone over the internet. Playing with others online can be a real pain when they just want to get through the level without completing everything in it. And with Sackboy's appeal as a family game, most times you're probably matched with children who disregard your feelings and obsessive compulsive tendencies. At least, you can slap them around. 

This game did not disappoint. Hopefully, Sumo Digital continue this formula and create more with the franchise. With Ariana Grande getting this game some love, I have in no doubt they will. And I'm sure a collaboration between the two will happen in the sequel, and that'll make for some excellent gameplay, and music to go with it. 

Paid full price for this game and have no regrets. If you manage to get this on sale, it's a steal worthy of your time. When you do, help me get that platinum!