Little Big Planet was one of my most beloved series growing up. It was the first game I ever played on my PS3, and I continued to play it all the way up until Little Big Planet 3. To see that Sackboy hadn’t been forgotten about upon the reveal of the PS5 was something the awoke joy in my heart, even if it wasn’t in the form of a Little Big Planet 4. Nonetheless, this game was inevitably going to be compared to Little Big Planet in a lot of ways, so how was it?
Story –
The story is actually somewhat similar to a Little Big Planet story. Some craft-based villain is destroying everything and Sackboy has to team up with a bunch of distinctly designed allies to stop them. In this game, it is Vex. He has enslaved the people of Craftworld and Sackboy must defeat him in order to reverse his actions.
Little Big Planet games never had the most complex story, however, they always had memorable characters with memorable designs. Do the characters in Sackboy: A Big Adventure hold the same memorability? Not really. However, they are still charming nonetheless.
Voice Acting –
The voice acting in Sackboy: ABA is not great. It is especially odd that Sackboy now has a clear voice. It has moments of being good but most characters just sound like the same voice actor doing a different twist on a voice. I much rather the Banjo-Kazooie-type repetition of noises that were in the Little Big Planet games.
Game-Play –
Game-play in this game is also adapted to suit a 3D platforming genre. Sackboy is more agile and has a range of new moves such as rolling, punching and head-slamming to name a few to compensate for the new 3D terrains and enemies he has to take on.
There is a decent amount to do in Sackboy: ABA. There is a decent amount of levels, and in those levels there is a Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time approach, with orbs to collect, and a checklist to complete to 100% the level such as getting all the prize bubbles, completing the level without dying, or getting a certain number of points. This a good idea as it leads to the levels being returned to later on down the line.
As well as this, there is the Knitted Knight Trials, which offer time-trial based challenges, Zom-Zom’s Collectabells which can be spent on costumes, something which was a staple in the Little Big Planet series however doesn’t hold as much weight in this game due to the lack of being able to place your own individuality on the costumes. There is a decent amount to do, more than I expected anyways.
Multi-Player Levels –
Little Big Planet built its reputation of its online play and creativity. Playing unique levels with others online was a major part of why that game got as big as it did. There is no level creator in this game, but there is online play. However, there are a few multi-player only levels in the game, this can prevent getting certain trophies for people like me who don’t really have any need to buy PS+ and don’t really know anybody else with a PS5 DualSense to do them with me. This just ends up locking off certain trophies and levels to people who play games solely single-player.
Music –
This game’s strongest point for me has to be the soundtrack, which I have expressed my admiration for on my Twitter. The levels that follow the beat to the music in this game are obviously the best experiences it has to offer. Hearing licensed music was a surprise, with levels playing songs from the likes of David Bowie, Foster the People and more. This concept of designing some levels around the flow of real-life music is something that feeds into the DualSense also, creating vibrations and motions within the controller that match the feeling to the player. This was something I felt particularly in the level ‘Flossed in Space Travel‘ with the song ‘Houdini’ by Foster the People playing to the level. I am also 99% sure I heard the Futurama theme playing in one of the levels, you can judge that for yourself though.
It is quite obvious why this game’s soundtrack has been nominated for BAFTA’s.
The DualSense –
The DualSense really is something special. It instantly improves almost any game. The haptic feedback in the controller and adaptive triggers help create such an immersive experience in Sackboy: ABA. The triggers adapting to what you hold and feel help recreate the feelings of certain materials and the vibrations, especially on the music levels, help create such a sense of flow and immersion. The speaker of the controller also has its part to play if it you have its volume up.
The DualSense, despite having its battery quickly drained when playing games that utilise its features like Sackboy: ABA, is honestly one of the most genius inventions in gaming. It is hard to really get to grips with how much it brings to the table until you try it yourself and all I can do is pray that it remains a mandatory staple in all Playstation 5 releases.
Being Compared to Little Big Planet –
Although not to the fault of the game, I did find myself always comparing to Little Big Planet. Honestly, if you ignore the lack of a level creator, the game does feel like what a modern Little Big Planet story could feel like. Had this game a level creator and been made under the Little Big Planet umbrella, I think it could have been a brilliant revival of the series. However, it isn’t, and holds up by itself regardless, although I still always have that bitter taste in my mouth of what ‘could have been’ y’know
Conclusion –
Sackboy: A Big Adventure is one of the best experiences on the PS5 at the moment and offers genuine quality and fun. It utilises the DualSense the best of any game so far on the console and never gets boring whatsoever. Although it might not be the most perfect or AAA title, it has a charm, and clear passion put into it and does a good job paying homage to Little Big Planet fans in a time where the series seems to be dead in the ground.
Final Rating – 7.5/10
Nathan Brennan 