Best 3D platformer - Sackboy: A Big Adventure arrives on PC

Translate

Sackboy - another PlayStation-exclusive hit for the PC. You can now also experience the adventures of the likeable hero from sackcloth on Steam or Epic. The game has been on the PlayStation market for almost 2 years. Who is Sackboy, anyway? Some may never have heard the name. Well, Sackboy is the knitted hero from the Little Big Planet games. Unlike the Little Big Planet games, however, where players could create their own games and share them with the community, Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a pure 3D platformer with a focus on action and with a fun multiplayer mode, but with no level editor.

A platform game lives and dies with its controls. The design goal of it was therefore a control system that is really simple and accessible, but also has a certain depth. Therefore, Sackboy's repertoire of movements has been greatly expanded compared to the previous games. He can jump, of course, he can run, and grabbing and pulling things is a really important part of the game. But then a bunch of other moves have been added. For example, a rolling movement for dodging, a graphically totally cute hover mode, the possibility of a smash jump.... Sackboy now also has movement options that can be found in other 3D games. In addition, there is his fist punch, which can now be triggered simply by pressing the X button, and with which smaller opponents can already be eliminated with one hit. In combination with these movement possibilities, quite complex sequences are now possible, which are simply necessary for a challenging and exciting platformer. A loss of life resets you at the last (of the numerous) save points within a level, but if you lose all lives, it's back to the world map.

What is the story actually about? Well, the story is not a masterpiece, but leans very much on the usual hero story of computer games. Especially in platformers, I've seen it more than once... Bad guy shows up, kidnaps all my friends, only I can still save my friends (and the whole world). It wasn't just in the fantastic Sonic Generations that it was like that. But why invent something new when the old stories work well? In this case, it's the insidious Vex who suddenly flies in and sucks up all the villagers with his hoover, only Sackboy can escape quickly with a small rocket. Vex is now forcing our friends to build a very strange and evil device that will turn the whole world into a parched, barren eyesore full of nightmares. Of course, we have to stop that!

Our adventure to stop the nasty Vex takes us through completely different worlds. From snowy mountains, a tropical jungle, an underwater world or even a detour into outer space, everything is there. The view is isometric - we see our hero from behind or from the side, whereby, interestingly, the angle of view is fixed. In contrast to most comparable 3D platformers, we cannot move the view with the right stick - instead, we always see Sackboy from a little further away from a predefined viewing angle. It is therefore no longer so easy for inexperienced players to lose track. However, our hero can be seen a little smaller on the screen due to the slightly more distant camera, which makes precision jumps more difficult to perform. In general, however, you get used to this way of displaying the game very quickly and control Sackboy like a pro through the increasingly complex sections of the game. In addition, it is practically impossible to get sick because of the 3D graphics. Each section is filled to the brim with collectibles and hidden challenges outside the direct path to the end of the level. Even on the overview maps there are many hidden areas to find.

The game does not include a level editor. However, you can still exercise your creativity in creating new things - by customising your character to your liking. In the shop of Zom Zom we can exchange the collectibles (bells) we collect during the game for new outfits (and hats, emotes or faces). You can also change the colour of your hero and save your creations of outfit, hat, face, emotes and colour. The selection of items already unlocked for Sackboy from the beginning is large. Very extensive. Some additional skins can also be discovered and unlocked directly in the game itself. Finally, you can download two additional free DLCs on Steam with which you can transform Sackboy into Nathan Drake or Chloe Frazer from Uncharted.

A special feature is the online multiplayer mode. You can take on Sackboy's adventures with up to four players. This is basically a cooperative multiplayer mode, but you can also annoy each other. Picking up the other player and throwing them around may be useful in many situations, but can also be quite tedious if it happens for no apparent reason.

The graphics of Sackboy don't look that exciting at first glance. Maybe that's because I didn't find the predecessor Little Big Planet particularly good-looking either - but that was my personal taste. At second glance, however, I have to say that Sackboy: A Big Adventure is also an absolutely top game in terms of graphics. The levels are extremely varied, there are countless animations, enemy types and always new surprises to find. The graphics are colourful, high-resolution and technically the developer has made full use of the capabilities of modern PCs (or graphics cards). You can play the game in a razor-sharp 4K (3840 × 2160) resolution on your new TV, you can play it on your ultrawide gaming monitor with 3440x1440 (21:9), you play with 60 FPS if you have the appropriate hardware, newer Nvidia graphics cards offer Super Sampling (DLSS) and a correspondingly high screen refresh rate far beyond 60 Hz is also no problem. Gamepad works of course fine, you can even use the special features of the official wireless PlayStation 5 controller... if you connect it to your PC via cable.

Sackboy is good, really good. One of the best 3D platformers currently available on the PC. I haven't seen such detailed graphics and such varied sections full of collectibles in a long time. Not only technically does the game cut a fine figure, the playability is also high. It's just fun to run through the levels and eliminate cute enemies while discovering new secrets all the time. Finally, the fun multiplayer mode is the final ingredient that makes the game my new favourite 3D platform game on the PC.

Mentioned games

Comments