LittleBigPlanet 3 arrived in 2014 as the third main entry in Sony’s creation-driven platform series and the sixth game overall. Sumo Digital developed it, with XDev and series creator Media Molecule assisting in an undisclosed capacity. Sony Computer Entertainment published it on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. Sony announced the game at its E3 2014 media briefing on 9 June 2014.
Trailer, via IGDBcom.
Sackboy Falls Through a Wormhole
The game opens in a white void. Stephen Fry, narrating, teaches the controls on Sackboy. Midway through, Newton interrupts. Newton is a bumbling but well-meaning lightbulb person, voiced by Hugh Laurie, and he uses a device to tear open a wormhole.
The wormhole drops Sackboy on Bunkum, a strange planet. Newton greets him there and tells a story: his mother, Nana Pud, is about to unleash three Titans that Bunkum’s heroes sealed in a tea tin long ago. The pair fly off in Newton’s airship to Stitchem Manor, Nana Pud’s home. Newton stays behind to “boil some eggs” while Sackboy breaks in, climbs to the roof and beats every security measure Nana Pud has set.
Then the twist lands. Newton reveals he always meant to free the Titans, believing it would make Bunkum more creative. Nana Pud, he says, is his mother, and she warned him not to open the jar. He opens the lid anyway. The three Titans possess him, and the corrupted Newton throws Sackboy off the roof.
Nana Pud and Sackboy join forces once she learns Newton tricked him. Her answer is to wake Bunkum’s three legendary heroes. That hunt carries the campaign across the planet’s odd corners, starting with Manglewood Swamp, the ruins of a once-thriving film industry, where the Creator Curator Marlon Random helps Sackboy collect three Marbles to reawaken Oddsock.
Oddsock, Toggle and Swoop Change the Math
The three new characters are the best argument this game makes for itself. Each one plays differently from Sackboy, and each one is built to break a level open.
- Oddsock is a four-legged, dog-like hero who runs faster than Sackboy and can wall-jump.
- Swoop is a bird who flies freely and can pick up light objects and other characters, with one exception: Big Toggle.
- Toggle flips between a large, heavy form and a small, light one. Big Toggle weighs down platforms and pressure plates. Little Toggle walks quickly on water and squeezes through tight spaces.
Level creators can let players switch between more than one character. That is the quiet, important part. The new heroes are not just campaign toys.
The rest is familiar. LittleBigPlanet 3 is a puzzle-platformer with sandbox elements, and it leans hard on creation, as the series always has. Players build levels, characters and objects — power-ups, tools, decorations, stickers, vehicles, hub levels and Pods, the homebase used to move between levels. They share what they make. The core loop is jumping, swimming, swinging, grabbing, flipping switches, talking to non-player characters, beating enemies, finishing objectives and hunting collectibles like Collectabells, stickers, materials, objects and gadgets.
A Short Campaign, a Long Tail
Critics praised the visuals, the create mode and the new characters. They also found fault with technical issues and the campaign’s short length. The campaign is short. That is the chief complaint, and it is fair. Bunkum’s worlds are colorful and well made, but they end sooner than most players will want. The technical side has problems too, and they show up in a game that asks for precision jumping.
The cast is deeper than the series has ever gone. LittleBigPlanet 3 is fully voice-acted, in cutscenes and gameplay alike, where earlier games only used voice acting in cutscenes. Beyond Fry and Laurie, the roster includes Susan Brown as Nana Pud, Nolan North as Marlon Random, Lewis MacLeod as Oleg and Captain Pud, Tara Strong as Coach Rock and Vera Oblonsky, Peter Serafinowicz as Dr. Maxim, El Jeff and Papal Mache, Robbie Stevens as Larry Da Vinci, and Simon Greenall as Zom-Zom The Far-Out. Lorelei King, John Guerrasio, Martin T. Sherman, Glenn Wrage, Clare Corbett, Lucy Newman-Williams, Alix Wilton Regan and Judith Sweeney round it out.
The Running Order
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| 9 June 2014 | Sony announces LittleBigPlanet 3 at its E3 media briefing |
| 2014 | Sumo Digital ships the game on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 |
| Opening | Fry teaches the controls in a white void; Newton tears open a wormhole |
| Stitchem Manor | Sackboy infiltrates; Newton opens the tea tin and the Titans possess him |
| Manglewood Swamp | Marlon Random helps Sackboy collect three Marbles to wake Oddsock |
What the Create Mode Is Worth
The create mode is where LittleBigPlanet 3 earns its keep. The customization tools are powerful and intuitive, and players share what they build. New levels and games show up for players to enjoy. The new characters work inside that same creation system.
The technical issues are real, and they cost the game. The short campaign means there is less ground to stand on when the game misbehaves. That is not a small thing.
But the verdict holds at 7.8 of 10. The visuals are strong, the create mode carries the series’ central idea, and Oddsock, Toggle and Swoop are genuine additions rather than filler. LittleBigPlanet 3 is a flawed campaign wrapped around a creation suite that will outlive it. Play the story once. Then go build something.
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