Sackboy: A Big Adventure – Review
In the midst of all the attention Sony gets for its grandiose action-adventure games (Horizon: Forbidden Continent, Uncharted) and depressing role-playing games about being a dad, it’s easy to forget that the company occasionally produces platformers (God of War, The Last of Us: Part I). Sackboy: A Big Adventure, originally released alongside the PlayStation 5, has quietly made its way to the PC with wide-screen monitor support, high frame rates, and Nvidia Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS). It was one of the best PS5 launch titles that didn’t get enough attention, and the PC version is still a lot of fun even now, almost two years later, despite costing $59.99.
Featuring intuitive controls, chaotic multiplayer, inventive level design, stunning visuals, and a ridiculously catchy soundtrack full of radio hits, Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a fantastic 3D platformer that has just about everything you could want from the genre. The game is reminiscent of Astro’s Playroom in many respects, and while it isn’t quite as nostalgic as that PS5 pack-in, it still manages to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience from beginning to end. When it comes to platformers on PC, Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a no-brainer for our Editors’ Choice award.
It has become abundantly clear over the years that Sony has no idea what to do with its teeny, burlap mascot. Aside from his role as the LittleBigPlanet series’ lovable mascot, Sackboy hasn’t been seen much since 2014. LittleBigPlanet was a creative sandbox, but developer Sumo Digital decided to focus solely on action in order to keep the character from stagnating.
Considering how fantastic the gameplay is, it’s a reasonable compromise. Sackboy is obviously derivative of Super Mario 3D World, but that doesn’t make it any less fun, especially if you’re a veteran of the platforming genre. In all levels, the camera remains fixed, giving you an isometric perspective on the world (with the occasional shift to an overhead or traditional side-scrolling view).
To prevent the evil Vex from enslaving the sack people and turning Craftworld into a nightmare, you must gather Dreamer Orbs, mythical balls of creative energy. A daunting task, but Sackboy keeps things straightforward by providing all the essentials for a platformer: After completing a level, you’ll be free to roam a straightforward overworld full of hidden treasures and the ability to jump, roll, punch, and grab.
Sackboy is easy to manoeuvre, though a sprint button would make his slow-moving character more exciting. His jump is similarly ineffective, despite featuring a Yoshi-like flutter. Not that the controls are bad, but Sackboy could advance through levels a bit quicker.
The gameplay and mechanics of Sackboy’s adventure are secondary to the game’s brilliant level design and art direction. Craftworld features a wide variety of materials, and each level skillfully blends mundane and fantastical elements to create environments that look and feel hand-made, evoking LittleBigPlanet’s DIY roots. In the same vein, you can dress up Sackboy in any outfit you like, even ones from other games like The Last of Us, Ratchet & Clank, and Uncharted. There are a tonne of Collectabells to find and a plethora of hidden areas and shortcuts throughout each level.
Each of the game’s five worlds has its own unique visual style and set of challenges and special features. Sackboy has a well-stocked spice cabinet, because variety is the spice of life. You’ll be bouncing along to “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie in one level. The jellyfish you use in the following step allow you to make a previously intangible pathway visible. Incredible amounts of originality are on display, which never failed to put a smile on my face. It’s been a while since I’ve played a game with such imaginative level design, and I can’t remember if it was Rayman Legends or It Takes Two. Find the Knitted Knight time trials buried around the map for a sternr test of your speed and reflexes.
The levels are incredibly inventive, but the boss battles aren’t nearly as good. They are not bad, but they are not as interesting or enjoyable as the levels that came before them.
Don’t worry; you won’t be expected to complete the levels independently. Drop-in/drop-out co-op for up to three players is available in Sackboy: A Big Adventure, both online and locally. Both the Epic Game Store and Steam sales of the game require an Epic login for online multiplayer. There is no cross-play between the PS5 and PS4 versions of the game.
Since the levels were made with cooperative play in mind, you can slap and grab your friends as much as you like while still completing the missions and competing for high scores. Some of the levels can only be played with a friend and cannot be completed solo.
Regrettably, I had a fairly quiet online experience. Despite hosting throughout most of my playthrough, I was only able to find four concurrent players only a handful of times. A bummer, but at least there’s local co-op, a feature that’s becoming rarer and rarer these days.
Though there are some tweaks here and there, Sackboy’s PC and PS5 releases are essentially the same. The PC configuration allows for 120 fps at maximum frame rate (with the right gaming monitor), as well as widescreen support. Nvidia DLSS can be activated on a system with a GeForce RTX graphics processing unit.
DLSS drops the game’s resolution and uses cutting-edge temporal algorithms to boost frame rates and upscale the image. In what way? A nearly identical image to the native resolution, which is a useful technique for those without the latest graphics cards. Sackboy lacks support for AMD Fidelity FX Super Resolution 2 (FSR2), which is a glaring omission since the tech was available for Uncharted: The Legacy Collection.
Many of Sackboy’s mascot outfits, added over the years since the original launch, are available at the start of the game. Players can obtain a skin that is only available on the PC by linking their PlayStation Network account. You can take advantage of haptic feedback and real-time trigger effects with a DualSense controller. You can play Sackboy with a keyboard and mouse on a personal computer.
To get Sackboy: A Big Adventure up and running on your computer, Sony recommends a PC housing at least an AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or Intel Core i7-4770K CPU, AMD Radeon RX580 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU, 12GB of RAM, 60GB of SSD space, and the Windows 10 operating system. A 16-core processor like the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X or an 8-core processor like the Intel i9-9900k, a 16-gigabyte graphics processing unit like the AMD RX 6800 XT or a 10-gigabyte one like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 are required to play the game at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second.
Sackboy was playable at 60 frames per second on my testing platform, which features an Intel Core i7-10700K CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 GPU, and 16GB of DDR4 RAM (at 1440p resolution, and settings on Very High). Whether it was the scratched wood of a desk drawer, the string strung between platforms, the yarn that makes up the grass, or the frayed stitching on Sackboy himself, everything in the game world felt like it was made of real material. These flourishes, as minor as they may be, just add to the lived-in nature of Craftworld.
By lowering the settings to Medium, I was able to achieve 120 frames per second. I appreciated the additional frames, but the decreased clarity was more bothersome than I had anticipated. However, it’s worth noting that there was some noticeable stutter at the start of levels. Afterward, the game continues as usual.
All Steam features, including gamepads, Steam Cloud, and Steam Deck, are fully functional with Sackboy.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure may not be the LittleBigPlanet follow-up fans are clamouring for, but don’t let that stop you from playing one of the best platformers in recent years. The game’s innovative spirit makes it a must-have for fans of platformers of all ages. It’s another PlayStation smash that’s been ported to PC, and we’re giving it our Editors’ Choice award in the hopes that it will get the attention it deserves.
