PlayStation continues its mission to bring select exclusives to the PC, making Sackboy: A Big Adventure its latest release. This 2020 game played beautifully on the PlayStation 5, and brought back much of what we loved from Sackboy’s days in the Little Big Planet franchise.
The jump to PC means that fans of platforming games are sure to get a kick of out Sackboy’s adorable looks and the expertly crafted worlds. While the game is perfectly playable with a keyboard, the PC version does support standard controllers as well as the PlayStation 5 controller for the most immersive experience. Sackboy’s ability to run, float, and dive through enemies never slows down, and the overall game experience is as memorable as it was on console.
Of course, the major change in the PC version are the various graphical enhancements at your disposal, which are capable of making the game look better than ever. These visual improvements are best experienced with an Nvidia RTX GPU, since specific game drivers allow you to turn on the various RTX-enabled effects to really make the visuals shine. Even if you’ve got a mid-ranged GPU, turning on DLSS ensures that the game still looks visually appealing without taxing your system too much.
But if you’ve got the power to spare, cranking up the effects in the game’s settings will bring you Sackboy at his very best. There are a ton of visual tweaks you can apply that really make the game shine, and the game does include the option to show technical information while playing so that you can keep an eye on framerates and VRAM usage. The game also supports widescreen resolutions, so if you fancy seeing even more of Sackboy parading across your screen, the game will happily oblige.
Content-wise, the game is exactly the same as it was on console, with the only added benefit is you get tons of unlocked costumes – and a new PC costume – right from the start. The game supports local co-op of up to four players, so if you’ve got the right number of controllers, you have some great fun with friends. Failing this, you can also play online by joining other player games or hosting your own. Having another player in your game does help when trying to reach harder collectables or get through boss battles quicker, but the game is perfectly playable on your own as well. One unfortunate omission is crossplay, so if you have a friend who already owns the game on console, you won’t be able to play together.
From a technical standpoint, the game can run up to 120fps which results in some butter-smooth gameplay across the brightly colored levels. That smoothness however is occasionally interrupted by some very noticeable stuttering, especially during some cutscenes and level transitions. One particular recurring problem is the part of a level where you get shot out of a flowery cannon – this almost always results in a considerable framerate drop as you hurl through the air to get to the next part of the rendered level. Sometimes the stuttering happens for just a split second, and sometimes it’s very evident, so it’s definitely something that can affect how you experience the game. Even when played with an RTX 3070Ti GPU the stuttering occurred, so we hope that it’s something that the team can address in future game patches.
The game also supports ray tracing, which makes things look as beautiful as ever. However it will put an immense load on your PC, especially if you’ve cranked up the other settings so use this with caution. At 1440p with ray tracing and all effects turned on, we were able to get a miserable 32fps which was a struggle to play, so we definitely recommend tweaking your settings to balance visuals and performance.
Final Verdict
Sackboy: A Big Adventure on PC is a lot of fun to play, and if you missed playing it on console then you’re in for a treat. Fans who’ve already experienced this on console are going to find the price tag a little hard to justify, especially with the lack of crossplay support. If you’re after a platformer that’s heavy on the visuals and isn’t that challenging to finish, then Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a great choice for you.
Sackboy’s arrival on PC is a welcome one, but occasional performance issues make it less enjoyable.
