Sackboy isn’t much of a talker, so it’s left to the wider cast to do the narrative heavy lifting. Dawn French is a perfect fit for kindly guide Scarlet, while Richard E Grant is clearly having a good time as the villainous Vex
Given his standing as a PlayStation pioneer, it’s only right and proper that the former Media Molecule mascot should be there on day one of PS5. But despite his experience, Sackboy’s shift from 2.5 to 3D platforming seems to have given him a dose of stage fright. His Big Adventure – and there really is a lot more of it than you might expect – begins with an unfathomably boring first stage, the most tentative of openings to a high-profile game in living memory. Many people are going to be put off, though this inexplicably slow starter does eventually improve. It’s certainly rich in ideas and visual invention, although as a platformer it falls short where it matters most.