Earlier this week, developer Sumo Digital announced that LittleBigPlanet 3's servers will never come back online. Fans are understandably angry about this because the unexpected closure of the game means user-created levels that have??n't been downloaded are now lost forever.

Only levels stored on a PS3 or PS4 somewhere in the world have survived by some happy mistake, but more co??uld have been done with just a little warning or assistance.

Unexpected LittleBigPlanet 3 server shutdown cuts fans out completely

LittleBigPlanet 3's servers were taken offline in January 2024 due to "ongoing technical issues," though the specific issue was never confirmed. Sumo Digital cites these issues as the reason the game??'s servers are now permanently offlin??e.

With no prior warning or notice period before the servers were shut down, fans and preservationists were unable to download all the user-created levels? so they could be enjoyed and studied in the future. Naturally, fans are furious about the year??s of lost content.

LittleBigPlanet 3 had the most advanced creation tools in the franchise and allowed players to build full game levels, anima?tions, and experiences for anyone to download. ??It was also the last game in the series that was still live with this sharing function.

In response to this news, players on Reddit have pointed out that there are private servers?? that allow you to access the game's online element. However, the number of levels preserved is nothing compared to those that are now presumably lost forever.

Interestingly, as broadcast by LBP Union on Twitter, while the game's servers are down, the server specifically responsible for storing user-generate?d content, the Resource Server, is still up and operational. This means that the levels saved on it are still there, but it's not known what will happe??n to them or the server.

Keeping a game's servers live has an inherent cost for a game developer, and that cost gets harder to justify when the player base gets smaller each year. However, providing an endpoint for a game's online functionality, as has been the case with m?any recent server closures, has allowed fans ?to relive the experiences they love one more time before they're gone.

The permanent shutdown of LittleBigPlanet 3's servers without notice feels almost as harsh as Ubisoft revoking licenses for The Crew following its server shutdown. It's the end of an era for these titles that felt incredibly innovative upon release but always had this destinat??ion in t??heir future. In both cases, though, there's certainly something to be said about purchasing a product that's now had much of its appeal actively removed without any offer of compensation.

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Not the hero we wanted, but the one we deserved?

For a couple of months now, Microsoft has been outdoing Sony on the front of free games for subscribers. While the February lineup for Xbox Live Gold is decent, Sony actually?? managed to pull out the stops and provide a better month for its users. Color me surprised, but I'm probably going to play most of these titles.

Almost all of the games included are available on PS4 via Cross-Buy, but the heavy hitters this month are LittleBigPlanet 3 and Not a Hero. Along with those titles comes STARWHAL on PS3 and PS4, Anna - Extended Edition on PS3, Ninja Senki DX on Vita and PS4, and TorqueL on Vita and PS4.

To be fair, none of these games beat Monkey Island 2, but I've actually been dying to play STARWHAL ever since I saw the game on a Let's Play channel. I also did play Ninja Senki DX last year and thought it was neat. It is fairly ??short, but offers a decent enough challenge for old-school gamers.

PS Plus: Free Games for February 2017 [PlayStation Blog]

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Cute enough to look at once, never buy

Remember LittleBigPlanet? Sony had a hit on its hands, and then it didn't, between a lackluster Vita game, a weak kart racer, and a third entry abandoned by the original creator for newer, more interesting ideas (Tearaway!).

Not a bad run, though. And I assume it still makes some money. DLC packs like this Phantom Pain tie in help, too.?? And those Ocelot co??stumes are great.

You can buy the outfits separately or buy the entire Metal Gear Solid V costume pack, which nets you the box costume for Toggle. There's a bit more LittleBigPlanet 3 news over on the PlayStation Blog if you're interested.

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Also, Octodad, Velocity, and Thomas

Sony is still coasting along, supporting LittleBigPlanet 3 with plenty of costumes and level-packs. The last content drop was based around Adventure Time, but the next one will give some indie games some love -- s??pecifically, tit?les that call Sony platforms home.

On May 15, Octodad and Velocity 2X (Lt. Kai Tana) will arrive. May 19 sees the release of Thomas Was Alone, and May 26 will get a Don't Starve costume pack. All of this looks great, but I'm definitely going all-in for Don't Starve.

LittleBigPlanet 3: Sackboy Loves Indies! [PlayStation Blog]

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The fun will never end with Sackboy and Friends

Hey adventure lovers, are you looking for more content to shove into your copy of LittleBigPlanet 3? Fancy dressing Sackboy up as Finn,?? Jake, Fionna or the Ice King? Well, Sony is probably able to help you out there.

There's an Adventure Time costume pack and level kit on its way to LittleBigPlanet and it looks to capture much of?? the charm of the show.

??Adventure time, come on and grab your friends. Let's go to very distant planets!

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Cute

LittleBigPlanet is a pretty special franchise to me, and I'm glad Sony has allowed it to stay around for so long. Compliments of LittleBigPlanet 3's new engine, you can get a quick look at some other Sony franchises like Twisted Metal, Shadow of the Colossus, and God of War in? the form of a 20th anniversary celebration.

There's a lot of good stuff in there, and I'm hoping that more than a few of the franchises seen here aren't done -- like PaRappa.

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You can hear the cry of the LittleBigPlanet

I love Final Fantasy VII as much as the next guy, unless the next guy is Jamie Colliver. More than two years ago we featured his work in LittleBigPlanet 2 as he had remade Final Fantasy VII up through the Temple of the Ancients. Now, after more than two years, the project is complete just in time for LittleBigPlanet 3.&nbs??p;It follows Sackboy C??loud from that first bombing mission in Midgar all the way through to the repelling of Meteor.

The project encompasses 31 levels, each lasting quite a while with all of the boss battles, dialogue, music, and locations represented in the three-plane 2D platformer. A playlist full of YouTube walkthroughs is up, and over 1500 photos of the proje??ct can be downloaded. The experience does seem to suffer a little from the limitations of the e??ngine, but the sheer volume of content on display is pretty incredible.

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Sackboy rides again

Back in 2008, LittleBigPlanet was a staple in the Carter household for a good year. It was tough to put down as we earned a full 100% completion rate, and creating levels for each other was a joy. Floaty physics hate be damned, not every level was a Super Mario Bros. clone.

When the sequel hit though, it didn't have a whole lot that was new about it to entice us further, and it fell by the wayside. Similarly, LittleBigPlanet 3 doesn't shake things up from the core formula, but the sheer commitment to keeping the level-building platform i??ntact after all these years is something special.

LittleBigPlanet 3 (PS3, PS4 [reviewed])
Developer: Sumo Digital
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Released:  November 18, 2014
MSRP: $59.99

This time in Sackland, Sackboy is put up against an evil Hugh Laurie (a light bulb person named Newton), and is tasked with saving the world of Bunkum as he teams up with his new friends, Toggle, Swoop, and Oddsock. That's the story in a nutshell, for better or worse, as you're not going to get much more than that. In my mind it edges out on the side of better, as it resembles one giant Wallace & Gromit episode, complete with wacky antics and a fairly talented voice cast. Visually on the PS4 the game looks very smooth, but it definitely feels like the PS3 was the le?ad platform here, give or take a few lighting effects.

The narrative is secondary to the actual story experience, which is basically a teaching tool for all of the new character mechanics and the gadgetry and platforming you'll inevitably use while playing online. It's the aforementioned new characters that bring welcome changes into the world of LittleBigPlanet, even if they aren't exactly groundbreaking.

Toggle has the power to change his shape with the press of a button, allowing him to morph from a lumbering hulk to a teeny sack that can run on water and go through tight spaces. Oddsock is a frog-dog thing that can hop at a greater height than other characters, as well as hop off walls. And Swoop...man my boy Swoop, he can fly. He's sort of broken that way, but the Swoop-specific levels are designed around his abilities. It's also reall??y fun to carry people (except Big Toggle) as Swoop.

The problem is finding things to actually do with the whole gang. While the story allows for each of them to briefly shine in their own way, you're only going to get a taste of the new characters every so often, and it isn't until the game's conclusion that all of them are available at once. Also, playing online can present problems with th?e new characters as many levels have locks on them that force you to only play as Sackboy. If you have the patience you can already find levels online that accommodate, but Sumo Digital should have added more in the base package. As it stands it is adequate, but I expected a bit more.

Since you'r?e going to be seeing a lot of Sackboy, gadgets are back, including a vacuum that has a dual blow and suck function, as well as a jetpack and other power-ups. You'll have to flip between one gadget at a time as you go, but earning a new upgrade truly feels like you're getting somewhere, even if the need to play as the other characters will no doubt eclipse your love of gadgetry. Yes, the physics are still "floaty," but the new characters (when you can play as them) will help alleviate any concerns you have, especially if you spring for Swoop or Oddsock.

If you're feeling less action-oriented and more puzzle-savvy, you can also spring for the "Popit Puzzle" mode, which stars Larry Davinci from LittleBigPlanet 2. In short this is an extra mini-campaign that lets you don a hard hat and move platforms around to get through smaller stages, just like Sackboy's Prehistoric Moves minus the PlayStation Move device. It's a nice diversion but it didn't catch my attention like the other characters or even the aforementioned Prehistoric Moves.

The import process to bring in your content from LittleBigPlanet 1 and 2 is painless, and only takes roughly 45 seconds to bring in hundreds of outfits and objects. But the real key here is the commitment to building one giant world dating all the way back to 2008. Upon booting up LittleBigPlanet 3 and going to the creation planet, I found my old levels that I created six years ago still intact. My Mega Man 2 Crash Man stage, my Oceans 11 heist remake, they were all there and ready to play. All of my hearted (favorited) levels are also still ??there, which is incre??dible.

Creating levels is still a fairly niche activity as the entire process could be described over mult??iple guidebooks, but Sumo Digital does a decent job of acclimating new players to the basics. New layers, buttons, AI, and top-down camera options are the highlight of this year's edition, but if you've already played the best and brightest stages from the first two games over the course of the past six years, you're going to have to wait for the good stuff.

There are??n't a whole lot of "new" stages out in the wild as the gam??e has just launched, so as always, you're at the mercy of the community to help keep you playing past the initial launch week. Nothing is guaranteed, and I only found a handful of stages so far that I'd recommend to people. Unlike the previous iterations to some extent, the story mode isn't strong enough to assuage that wait.

With all of the innovations LittleBigPlanet 3 brings with Toggle, Oddsock, and Swoop, it's a shame they aren't allowed to show off their stuff on a regular basis, because they are the best thing to happen to the series in years. It would be nice to see them return in a big way in a potential sequel, but for now hardcore LBP fans should have enough creation op?tions to last them until that point.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Now I'm remembering all those horrible Mario recreations in the first game

We're just two weeks away from LittleBigPlanet 3's November 18 release, but it doesn't feel that way. I think it's become its own thing, pro?pped u?p by a community that has created millions of levels, all of which are grandfathered in, playable in the new game. 

Those folks have bee??n playing the beta for two weeks, too, and this video is a highlight of some of their creations. 

There's a Symphony of the Night level in there. Also??, Oddsock in an alligator outfit looks like a Totodile. 

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That Miller costume is fabulous

I'm still freaking out over this weekend's big Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes news -- that you can capture and raise a wolf pup and it'll grow up to one day wear an eye patch. The best.

This LittleBigPlanet news isn't on that level, obviously, but it's cute/cool too: there's going to be a Ground Zeroes costume pack for LittleBigPlanet 3 including Skull Face and Miller outfits.

No word on when this stuff is su??pposed to hit, but the game itself? isn't releasing until November 18.

LittleBig??Planet 3: MGS and The Order: 1886 Costumes En Route! [PlayStation Blog]

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Go check!

Over the past few days or so numerous PSN users have been reporting that they have been granted access to a special private beta for LittleBigPlanet 3. The invites seem to be rolling out for "creative" people who have previously played a LittleBigPlanet game.

Information is going to be kept close to the chest, as part of the stipulation of the beta is a non-disclo?sure agreement that prohibits talking about it outside of a private community forum. Go check the email associated with your PSN account if you haven't already!

"You're invited to join the LittleBigPlanet 3 ?Private Bet??a Test" [NeoGAF]

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Lots of pre-order options

Sumo Digital has announced a November 18, 2014 release date for LittleBigPlanet 3 on both PlayStation 3 and PS4. Levels created in the prior games will be compatible (??and look better on PS4) and there are new characters to play as beyond the series' iconic Sackboy.

With such an extensive line of costumes available for LittleBigPlanet over the years, there's naturally going to be several pre-order options for LBP 3. My favorite is Amazon's PlayStation Favorites Costume Pack with Patapon, Journey, and Tearaway costumes. Simply adorable. The PlayStation Blog has a rundown of what's available where.

Months later, I still fin?d that new quadruped cha??racter OddSock unsettling.

Litt??leBigPlanet 3: Pre-orders Announced! (Plushies, DLC, and PS3 – ??Oh My!) [PlayStation Blog]

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More on the new characters

I'm team Oddsock forever. It's just a super cute dog sack. I love it. I could take or leave the rest. Particularly a bird that makes platforming irrelevant. I guess LittleBigPlanet has always been creativity and co-op first, plat??forming second.?? 

Anyways, there is a lot of Sonic Boom sort of talk of distinctive silhouettes in this behind the scenes look at the creation?? of new playable characters, which needed to be disti??nct, but not so distinct that players couldn't trick them out in all sorts of patterns and clothes. 

There was a Sackworm at one point, too. "Early on we had loads of different ideas. I was looking at some of the concepts the other day actually. The Sackworm didn’t last too long before he found himse?lf on the cutting r??oom floor!"

RIP in pieces, Sackworm. 

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