LittleBigPlanet 3 is the newest entry in the “main line” of LittleBigPlanet games, and features the series’ leap onto the PS4. Does the game hold up though?
Following my time with LittleBigPlanet Vita, I probably shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. I couldn’t help it though – the trailers for LittleBigPlanet 3 looked extremely promising. Three new characters to play! I was pretty excited to jump into it when I finally got it with my PlayStation 4. And well…
LittleBigPlanet 3 promotes that you get these three new characters, each with their own abilities they can use. What you aren’t told… is that you’ll still be doing 95% of the levels with Sackboy. That for the main story, you have extremely limited access to these new guys. Thanks L:BP3!
Throughout all those levels I was on Sackboy, I felt extremely bored with the game. Yeah, they’d introduced new gadgets for Sackboy to use – ones that could be accessed at any time once you had unlocked them. These ranged from a hook hat to shoes that give you a double jump/boost. They really didn’t help Sackboy’s levels (basically most of the game) feel any more exciting. If anything, they served to just make some of the platforming even MORE frustrating.
Let’s take the boost boots for example. Once you get them near the end, you have to traverse through periods of no ground for a bit. There’s also no checkpoints for awhile, so if you fail near the end… have fun! This is a theme heavy in the game it seems. While I only game overed on two levels (with one of them being the last level), I came close on several others. Anyways, the boots – there will sometimes be a “refresh” point for them, and sometimes you will also need to traverse through multiple of these at once. Yeah… these can get a little annoying to say the least.
Once you DO finally get a level with a new character, the game suddenly becomes a LOT more interesting. You’ll suddenly be able to perform a variety of tricks depending on which character it is, which spiced up the gameplay a LOT more than Sackboy’s new “gadgets” did. Unfortunately… these are very few and far between as previously stated. I just wanted to go through all the new levels with the new characters! Well okay, some of the stuff with the bird could get a little frustrating but it was still better than playing Sackboy…
LittleBigPlanet 3 does see the return of a large array of collectibles. You’ll also have a new orb currency added in the “hub” worlds that will allow you to buy new outfits. These outfits made for some nice additions when it came to dressing up my guys and making them look cool (who can say no to a bird with shades). The levels themselves still have bubbles everywhere, and some of them also have sections that require 2 characters so be ready to grab a buddy if you can to get these.
Another big complaint I have about LittleBigPlanet 3 is that the main story felt VERY short. They tried to make it “feel” longer with adding things such as the adventure maps and hub worlds, but really there are only a handful of “worlds.” I
was a bit disappointed when I was nearing the end and realizing wait… this is almost over. Why isn’t there this whole big thing about more levels where I can actually USE these new characters? Oh, oh! But I can use them in the last 2 levels, along each getting their “own” level at the end of each world! No. There really should have been another world where you could actually go between them all and experience this attempt at mixed gameplay styles even more.
LittleBigPlanet 3 is unfortunately another failed attempt at recapturing the magic of the first two games I feel. The Sackboy levels just feel very dull at this point, and there aren’t enough levels for these big-huge-promoted new characters. While the game is still playable, I really don’t feel it’s worth the asking price of $60 right now. Maybe when it’s closer to $20 to justify the length. Yeah, I know, there’s create mode but at least the first two games had a longer main story too! And they actually felt more varied!
So unless you are an absolutely die hard LittleBigPlanet fan (and if you are, you’ve probably already picked this up), pass on LittleBigPlanet 3 until it’s on sale. Just do yourself that favor an get it while it’s on sale. It really is NOT worth the original asking price.
LittleBigPlanet 3 Review Score
3/5
