In more than one way, Sackboy's Big Adventure is one of the PS5 showpieces. Aside from taking the adorable mascot and placing him in a new subgenre, the PS5 launch title (also available on PS4) is taking advantage of some of the new system's marquee features. From DualSense functionality (that makes use of the controller's haptics) to utilizing the PS5 UI and Activity system, Sackboy has a lot of weight on his tiny, fuzzy shoulders when it comes to advertising what Sony's next-gen console can do.

He's under a lot of pressure inside the in-game world too. Sackboy's Big Adventure begins when the villainous Vex descends on the peaceful village of Craftworld and kidnaps all of Sackboy's fellow sack-folk. Vex plans to use their Sack-labor to build a machine called the Topsy Turner, which will recreate Craftworld in his own image. So off Sackboy goes, armed with nothing more than pluck, yarn, and a few new moves.

GameSpot spoke with creative director Ned Waterhouse about bringing Sackboy into this new platforming subgenre, balancing challenge and accessibility, and how the team is making sure everyone can play together.