Sackboy: A Big Adventure review for PC

I had a brief moment of panic when I started playing Sackboy: A Big Adventure on the Steam Deck: as the PlayStation logo flashed across the screen, the game basically shuddered to a halt, and I could practically see each individual frame as it went by. As much as I?ve always loved LittleBigPlanet and as forgiving as I can be of poor performance, not even I?d be able to overlook something like that.

Then the game starts up, and everything is completely fine from that point on.

And thank goodness it is, because Sackboy: A Big Adventure is on Steam is every bit as delightful as it was when Jim reviewed it as a PS5 launch title.

The interesting thing about Sackboy is how much it feels like an extension of the other LittleBigPlanet games, even though it ditches the series? usual 2D perspective in favour of being 3D. While this change can sometimes be pretty momentous ? think of how differently a 2D Mario game plays from a 3D Mario game, or of how different 2D vs 3D Sonic games are ? in this case, it doesn?t feel like you?re playing a completely different type of game. For better or worse, it?s basically how you?d imagine LittleBigPlanet would play if it had an extra dimension to play with.

Seeing as I loved LittleBigPlanet, as far as I?m concerned that?s only a good thing. It?s amazing to see the handcrafted look of Sackboy?s world fleshed out a tiny bit more ? and at the same time, it?s also a relief to see that developers Sumo Digital achieve this without sacrificing any of the love that characterized the world created by Media Molecule. There are also plenty of bubbles and stickers to collect here, which is great if you?re the kind of person who enjoys seeking those out (and, in this context, I am).

At the same time, there are also some nice improvements. For starters, the jumps don?t feel as floaty as I remember them feeling in LBP. While it?s not like Sackboy is a precision platformer that requires exact jumps every time, it?s still a welcome change that you have a better idea of exactly where you?ll go when you jump somewhere.

Additionally, the music is also a big highlight here. I can?t say that the scores or soundtracks of any LBP games ever stood out to me, whereas Sackboy does a fantastic job of mixing together well-known songs like ?Uptown Funk? with original music, and all of it fits in perfectly with the game?s vibe.

Just about the only complaint I could think of for the game is that its online multiplayer isn?t well-populated given that it?s not exactly setting the charts alight ? but a) it?s fun in single-player, and b) that?s the sort of thing that could be fixed if Sackboy had the popularity it deserves. Do your part to help with that by checking it out, and get a pretty wonderful 3D platformer in the bargain.

PlayStation provided us with a Sackboy: A Big Adventure PC code for review purposes.