Since it’s release in 2008, LittleBigPlanet has been one of the most popular games, suitable for all ages and is one of Sony’s most popular exclusives since its release for the PlayStation 3. With its transition into the PlayStation 4 as well as seeing time on the PlayStation Portable, many were wondering when Mobile devices and PlayStation Vita owners could get a slice of the LittleBigPlanet fun? Wait no more as we can finally see SackBoy on our Movile devices and PS Vita now!

From the developers at XDEV, Run Sackboy! Run! is a free-to-play game, available for mobile phones and the PlayStation Vita. Originally created to promote the LittleBigPlanet franchise, the game doesn’t possess quite the same originality as similar games in its sub-genre. It’s been designed as a boldfaced promotion, but does this free-to-play have more to offer than just a little promotion for the franchise?

As a free-to-play PlayStation Vita, and mobile phone time waster, this is the good kind of free-to-play to waste your time on. You assume the role of the LittleBigPlanet protagonist, Sackboy, who you control by tapping the touch screen.

While there is no story to the game, players are being chased by a Negativitron. While you are running throughout the game players can collect prize bubbles, which are scattered around all three environments found in the game (Gardens, Avalonia, and the Canyons), and is represented as the in-game currency; allowing you to purchase costumes, power-up improvements, along with other goodies to help get the most out of your experience.

The style has been seen before as you tap to jump as Sackboy’s running does not require you to control his pace. There are multiple pathways vertically, and each offers different obstacles depending on the route you choose. You have the ability to perform a basic jump, or high jump by tapping longer on screen, which will come in handy for most of the gameplay. There are enemies, electric regions, and goo that slows you down for the Negativitron which is chasing you of course. While most endless runners have a predetermined feature list, or are just a series of copy and pasted replicas; Run Sackboy! Run! stands out by infusing this genre with its popular game series that focuses mainly on building and platforming!

While a simple concept with no complex story, the game’s designed in a way that ensures a constant trickle of unlocks, which you can acquire from hours of gameplay, along with other methods. The majority of people who downloaded the game will likely stop playing once you have accomplished your personal achievements by the time that you reach that point, but those of you that buy into the title’s reward loop may be tempted by a Double Prize Bubbles boost, for example.

When you’re not running, though, things can feel a little high pressure. Your score is heavily dependent on a score multiplier system that sees permanent increases as you complete missions such as collect 4 stickers in one run. It’s clever, but the missions themselves get much too difficult in a short period of time, unless you’re a completionist.

When you fail to complete these tasks after a handful of attempts, the game will gently remind that you can buy your way out of a mission with soft currency kinda like how Candy Crush manipulates you to buy your way to advance the game. But since you’ll need that same soft currency to purchase upgrades and costumes, and it’s earned at a slower-than-preferred rate, you’ll be left wanting to keep grinding.

Each costume that you acquire increases your high score, allowing you to improve upon your personal best more easily as you go back while attempting to beat your best score. The stickers located in each stage can be nabbed to unlock in-game prizes in the LittleBigPlanet games, and even Lucky Chests which can be purchased to get tokens and special prizes.

There’s nothing really wrong with the game; one big problem I did have was how much costumes and other unlockables were in the game. While you can earn them with in-game currency it required a lot of grinding for multiple hours, or you could buy through micro-transactions. If anyone reading this has ever played a LittleBigPlanet game, Sackboy still controls like the goofy anthropomorphic child toy from the series; simplicity which allows for one button to control gameplay. Power-ups inject a bit of additional gameplay variety, from using a jet pack to soar around the game for a short period of time, to getting a bubble shield. If you don’t enjoy the defaults you can always upgrade these with a spot of in-game currency or cash.

But you can ignore the missions and just find fun in the gameplay, Run Sackboy! Run! offers a tremendously good time for gamers in search of a new endless runner to add to their collection. Not to mention if you’re a PS3 or PS4 owner, here’s a bonus: collect the right stickers in Run Sackboy! Run! and you can unlock some exclusive content for the console game.

Graphically the game looks good on mobile devices, and while I feel the graphics could have looked a little better on the Vita, it still holds up fairly well for a free-to-play. The framerates for both versions are not as good as they should be for a 2015 mobile game, stuttering with regularity when there’s a lot going on in any particular scene. But given the simplicity of the platforming, it’s rather the reaction skills that play an important factor. The game also allows players to share their high scores with their friends on Facebook, along with showing you how many upgrades, and levels you have until you reach maximum.

Overall, Run Sackboy! Run! is not a terrible game by any means. There are several cons against this game, the framerate drops, the Vita graphics could look a little more crisp, the extremely expensive unlockables located in the in-game store. Yes these are all huge let downs, but do not let those things discourage you from downloading the game. It is free to download, and is an addictive game, that you can open up when you’re waiting for the bus to go to work, or you’re killing time in between classes. It also provides an innovative way to promote a popular Sony exclusive franchise.

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