Sackboy: A Big Adventure — Sumo Digital's 1-4 player local-co-op platformer from LittleBigPlanet's afterlife
PS5 / PS4 / Steam platformer from Sumo Digital ($59.99, no IAP, ESRB E / PEGI 7). BAFTA Family Game 2021 + Children's Award 2022. Contrarian critique: "lacks challenge" + "generic craft theme." Kid-suitability win: 4-controller couch co-op.
Sumo Digital's post-LittleBigPlanet 3D platformer, with the user-generated creation tools stripped out and a Mario-style linear campaign in their place. Critics landed in the 75-85 band — IGN 8/10, Game Informer 8/10, Push Square 8/10, GameSpot 7/10, Game Revolution 7/10 ("generic craft theme"). $59.99 once, no DLC tax, no IAP economy. ESRB E / PEGI 7; Common Sense Media at 8+ on platforming complexity, not violence. The headline kid-suitability pattern is 4-controller local co-op with drop-in / drop-out — back-to-back BAFTA Family Game (2021) and Children's Award for Game (2022). LearningWorks for Kids puts the floor at 4+ on working memory and flexibility, but the playable shelf is 5-7 in a co-op session with a parent.
How we got to 74
The Play Score is a weighted average: Fun ×0.25, Learning ×0.3, Safety ×0.25, Value ×0.2. Anything below 60 on Safety caps the total at 70.
What parents wrote vs. what their kids did
Quotes are sourced from public App Store, Google Play, and Reddit reviews captured during research. Reviewer handles shown verbatim where the platform makes them public; we never invent quotes or named children.
Across PS Store and Steam parent commentary describes the 1–4 player local co-op 3D platformer that survived the LittleBigPlanet brand pivot. Parents flag the local couch co-op (still rare on PS5) and the costume-collecting loop as the family-play hooks.
"My wife and I just fully beat this game...This 3d platforming game supports up to 4 players local co-op."
Radical Dylan (Steam, 33.7 hrs, Recommended)· steam_review"If youre not the host you get to pick your poison of whether or not youre gonna sporadically lag."
rio☆ (Steam, 24.8 hrs, Not Recommended)· steam_review"Would only suggest this in co-op though as the game is clearly built around it."
Whore Lover (Steam, 12.8 hrs, Recommended)· steam_reviewParent reviews describe sibling pairs (often 5 paired with 7+) playing through levels together — the rare 3D platformer where the easier sibling stays involved through assist-style mechanics rather than being carried.
None of the cited reviews describe a specific child reaction.
What's good, what's not
- ✓BAFTA Family Game (2021) and BAFTA Children's Award for Game (2022) — back-to-back family-game recognition from the British Academy is the third-party signal parents under-detect
- ✓ESRB E with Mild Cartoon Violence; the only Mild Lyrics flag is one song with the word "damn." No IAP economy, no ads. Online co-op needs PS Plus (industry standard for PlayStation)
- ✓1-4 player local co-op with drop-in / drop-out controllers; a 4-year-old can join and leave a level mid-stream — Couch Co-Op Favorites: "the campaign is designed for coop and your friends can join/leave at any time"
- ✓Studio is Sumo Digital (Sheffield, UK) — the same studio that made LittleBigPlanet 3 in 2014. The papercraft-and-felt aesthetic lineage is intact even without Media Molecule
- ✓Critic consensus lands in the 75-85 band: PS4 Metascore 83, PS5 79, PC 81; OpenCritic Top Critic Average 80, 84% Recommended; Steam Very Positive 82% across 1,639 reviews
- ✓EE Games Smart (UKIE-aligned PEGI 7 guide) for the parent-leads-kid pattern: "older players can help youngsters progress, but they will still feel like they are participating meaningfully"
- ✓Pixar-style story per EE Games Smart — "fun game to play with the family not only because of the four-player mode but also because of the Pixar-like story it tells"
- ✓LearningWorks for Kids (Brain Grade 9.23, recommended age 4+) names the developmental practice — working memory for button combinations, flexibility for the 3D platforming pivot from prior 2.5D LBP titles
- —Common Sense Media's Paul Semel is on the record at 8+ rather than 4+, with the line — "accessible platformer is fun but lacks challenge" — that names the central trade-off honestly. The game's 8+ rating reflects reading-level pacing, not violence
- —Adult solo difficulty is documented as low: TheGamer (3.5/5): "decent platforming game stuffed with charm, if a little lacking in imagination." Game Revolution (7/10): "the generic craft theme and lack of memorable characters prevent it from being outstanding"
- —Steam reviewers split on solo vs co-op: Whore Lover — "would only suggest this in co-op though as the game is clearly built around it." Kuku — "I wouldn't play it solo, but for 2 people it was a nice ride."
- —Steam online co-op has reported lag for non-host players — rio☆ (24.8 hrs, Not Recommended): "if youre not the host you get to pick your poison of whether or not youre gonna sporadically lag"
- —Bland-early-levels critique sits across multiple critics — TheSixthAxis (Stefan L, 7/10): "early worlds in particular feel bland and uninteresting" and "with four player co-op in mind it's just a bit dull for a long stretch at the beginning"
- —EE Games Smart flags Vex, the antagonist — "a giant jester-like doll with huge glowing eyes that could scare young children." Boss-fight imagery is the floor on age suitability, not the violence
- —Full $59.99 list price held since 2020 with no consistent sale; 4-player local mode requires four DualSense / DualShock controllers, which is the actual cost for a true family-of-four couch session
What your kid is actually practising
3D camera-relative platforming — the pivot from earlier 2.5D LittleBigPlanet titles. LearningWorks for Kids: "the player needs to be willing to try something new and explore this new world and try new combinations."
DualSense / DualShock platforming asks for jump-timing and contextual punch / drop combinations. LearningWorks for Kids names the practice — "the player needs to use their working memory to remember the button combinations while they are moving around the level."
Linear platforming with optional collectibles per level. Game Informer: "cleverly designed levels offer moderately tough challenges, but generous checkpoints and a genial atmosphere make it easy to keep coming back" — the puzzle layer is light by design.
The headline mechanic. 1-4 local co-op with drop-in / drop-out controllers; the carry-and-throw move is the parent-leads-kid pattern. Couch Co-Op Favorites: "the campaign is designed for coop and your friends can join/leave at any time." EE: "older players can help youngsters progress, but they will still feel like they are participating meaningfully."
Levels run 5-10 minutes with constant checkpointing and rhythm-cued segments tied to the soundtrack. Push Square: "this is a brilliant platformer with tons of imaginative ideas and a strong sense of style" — the attention pull is musical, not pressure-based.
A healthy way to play it
About 30 minutes per session
Where to buy — and where it's actually cheapest
| Store | Platform | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
⚙ Steam PC / Mac | PC / Mac | $59.99 | Buy → |
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