A familiar creation.
Little Big Planet has always been a series that seems to be a last bastion for Sony, at least in the sense of platforming games. Let’s be frank, the fact that games in this genre even exist still today is an achievement, as the industry has mostly moved away from them. So it’s great to see Sony still pushing their cute little Sack Boy mascot on the PS4. Little Big Planet 3 is here and developed by an entirely different team than the prior two titles, so the big question is, does the series retain its flavor and charm? Let’s find out as we once again control the little sack boy who could.
For those players familiar with the franchise, it’s going to feel like home. Developer Sumo Digital has retained the look, feel, and style of the series whole heartedly. If no one mentioned it, players would mostly likely not even know there was a developer change, which is a good thing. To all the new players joining the fray, LBP3 is a platforming game at heart with a unique visual charm.
Bird is the word.
MSRP $59.99
Time to Beat: 5 hours Story/ Endless User content
Multiplayer 1-4
Price I would pay $59.99
While story has never been a huge point of the franchise, this is the most ambitious one yet, as Sack Boy has to save the day by stopping an evil force from destroying the land of Bunkum. Nothing ground breaking here, but more involved then prior entries in the series. Here the player will control Sack Boy, who is fully customizable once again as the he jumps, hops, climbs and more during the main campaign to reach the end and defeat the three evil Titans that have been unleashed.
The levels are multi layered, allowing the player to jump forward and backwards in the environments, and they can control another three new characters, which adds more variety to some of the levels. Sack Boy gets various tools as well, so that he can blow objects in the environment, or warp to other platforms around the stage. While there is nothing new or groundbreaking, the variation and the pace at which things evolve and change is very fast, and players will always find themselves doing something new.
While the campaign is fun and one of the more varied, online user created content is the other huge main appeal of the series, and this one doesn’t disappoint. Not only can players of the previous games import unlocked items, but they can also play some of the prior games user generated content. That’s not all though, as the new content creation is more robust then before, allowing players to truly dig an even deeper hole into creating various levels and game play ideas for other players to share and discover. If the player can envision it, the tools to create it are here.
Yup, it still looks like LittleBigPlanet.
LBP 3 has a lot to offer newcomers and returning fans, it unfortunately does so with more problems than past games. Sadly, there are multiple random glitches that can occur, from getting dropped out of a level to something not activating, forcing the player to restart the stage. It’s a shame, because what players have is an excellent entry in the series, but probably the most unpolished one. Another point to note, for players that only go for the story mode, the campaign is extremely short at around 4- 5 hours for most, leaving folks wanting more. Luckily for those who love user created content, you have endless possibilities.
Little Big Planet is a franchise that always makes me smile ear to ear. It’s charming, fun, lighthearted and has a plethora of content to play and create. It’s a shame that the experience of LBP 3 couldn’t be a little more polished or the story mode just a little longer, because these are the only two blemishes on an otherwise excellent addition to the series. If you can look past these, you have hours and hours of content and fun at your fingertips, alone or with a friend.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
