Among the countless IPs that have in some way marked the history of PlayStation, there is also the epic of LittleBigPlanet, a brand that staked everything on an idea as simple as it was brilliant, that is to allow anyone who wanted to shape their game levels and then make them available to the public. Today this mechanics has consolidated into more or less famous productions (Mario Maker among all), but at the time a similar premise was able to represent an important breeze of fresh air in a landscape that suffered particularly from a general lack of courage. The LittleBigPlanet saga has thus evolved thanks to the skilled hands of Media Molecule, one chapter after another, at least until the software house did not want to focus on anything else, leaving in the meantime the burden of a third episode of its lucky brand to the guys of Sumo Digital. Having reached the moment of truth, however, LittleBigPlanet 3 unfortunately did not know how to make a miracle cry and indeed, many were burned by it, a hard blow that did not demoralize the development team, which after a quick roll up of its sleeves got into work on Sackboy: A Big Adventure, intriguing cross-gen spin-off of the saga that in addition to being released on PlayStation 4 has also enriched the line-up that characterized the launch of PlayStation 5. We at Resources4Gaming have had the opportunity to experience this latest version firsthand and now we are finally ready to give you our final response on it.
A world to save
Over the course of what appears to be a day like any other, the lives of our well-known rag dolls are turned upside down by the arrival of the villain. Vex, who in a few seconds manages to kidnap all of Sackboy's friends - the protagonist of this adventure - to put them to forced labor on the Ripper, a fearsome weapon potentially capable of destroying the whole world. Our improvised hero will find himself in spite of himself having to face a dangerous one rescue mission to free his friends and foil Vex's plans. As easily imaginable, narratively speaking Sackboy: A Big Adventure aims to offer an experience adapted to everyone and with light tones, without particularly noteworthy twists or moments capable of impressing themselves strongly in the hearts of the public. A few seconds in-game are enough to notice the strong playful and carefree shades that will follow us from the introduction to the end credits, with nice characters and situations capable of making us escape some pleasant smile.
The wink to younger in short, it is evident, but this certainly does not mean that the older ones will not find pleasure in following what is a story suitable for all ages, with appreciable interludes and a particularly colorful mood as a background. As mentioned at the beginning, the Sumo Digital creature is configured as spin-off of the LittleBigPlanet series and, as such, it takes important liberties to deviate heavily from the main chapters. Sackboy: A Big Adventure can indeed be cataloged as a classic platform 3D in which we will have to explore various levels while collecting the peculiar spheres necessary to advance in the adventure. The game therefore completely sets aside any playful element devoted to creation, the true backbone of the saga of belonging, focusing rather on an experience more in line with the many products of the reference genre. However, this certainly does not mean that the production has lost its charisma and indeed, as you continue in the adventure you can strongly feel the spirit that has always distinguished the IP, just think of the countless hidden costumes around the levels or purchasable via the in-game currency with which to customize our rag friend.
In total, they are present five worlds with specific biomes rich in levels for a total of about ten hours to complete the adventure, which can however increase considerably if you want to get each collectible, and all characterized by bright colors and successful backdrops that encourage exploration, including dense Amazonian forests and futuristic cities whose skyscrapers touch the clouds, without forgetting an excellent level design made up of secrets and hidden areas. As if this were not enough, the team has focused particularly on the variety of situations, with sufficiently varied but not particularly open levels where we will have to face a multitude of different situations designed to vary the offer as much as possible. Of course, there is talk of many playful solutions already seen in a thousand other titles and actually some really original ideas are missing that can make the game soar, but despite all the adventure continues fast with great pleasure, without a moment of monotony or repetitiveness. In this sense, there are also a whole series of skills that we will be unlocking from world to world, new possibilities that contribute to enrich even more the journey that we will live together with Sackboy. The work will not fail to offer levels hidden bonuses, timed challenges it's a cooperative mode for up to four players with which to face the entire campaign. Speaking of this last option, it is clear that the team has focused heavily on the coop - online or "from the sofa" - complete with additional stages that can only be tackled by playing with a few friends.
A beautiful rag doll
Considering what has been said up to this point, it is therefore sorry to see how Sackboy: A Big Adventure suffers from a couple of problems made to feel with some annoyance during our game. First of all, the attention paid to the creation of the various game worlds seems to have unfortunately failed in the boss-fights, which seemed to us not particularly inspired and at times redundant. Secondly, the general challenge tends very downwards, a choice certainly dictated by the desire to make the experience accessible to a younger audience but which at the same time makes the job all too easy for players with a few more years on their shoulders. A few more "felt" penalties in the event of game over or a level of challenge calibrated - even slightly - more towards the top would not be displeased at all.
From an exquisitely point of view technical, we can only applaud the work brought to light by Sumo Digital. On PlayStation 5 the general glance appears really pleasant, with detailed textures, fluid animations and a convincing overall realization of the materials used to create each world, all of which appear well diversified and rich in detail. The presence of a granite frame rate still ai 60FPS closes an excellent circle and deserves all the praise of the case. Note of merit also for what concerns the audio sector, characterized by a convincing dubbing in other languages and by a good soundtrack, which presents among other things several licensed songs which have been exploited within some particularly successful musical levels. Finally, we would like to open a very small parenthesis towards the Dualsense of PlayStation 5, characterized by a skilful use of the vibration functions and the integrated speaker but without particular functions as regards the triggers.
