Sackboy

Sackboy A Big Adventure

Cosy up and snuggle down, for tonight you journey through the Imagisphere and discover the uniquely crafted world of Sackboy.

You find yourself standing on a small island plateau high above the surface of a planet. The grass beneath your feet is made of ribbed cotton cloth and the sky is filled with swirling paper clouds. Everywhere there are bright velvet flowers with brass paper fasteners for centres. Looking around, you find your path lies between the ramshackle buildings on the far side of a deep chasm. This is a warm planet, and the architecture is of an Islamic design: elaborately sculpted iron grills cover the open windows and symmetrical arches decorate the richly coloured walls. Tall towers are topped with golden finials and diamond shaped mirrors form a ribbon like frieze just below the eaves of the roofs. They catch the light perfectly and sparkle in the sun.   

A wooden bridge allows you to cross the chasm. As you move forward, a row of glass like spheres called Orbs hover above the ground. These will increase your chances of survival and so you collect them all as you head for a light blue tent containing seed pods. The large pods look like Ali Baba jars and are arranged in a circle with the biggest one in the centre. As you jump on them, they spring open, releasing more precious Orbs. When you jump on the one in the centre, you are rewarded with a golden bell.  You don’t know what this is for, but it looks valuable, so you store it safely away.

Glancing upwards, you realise there is more to explore above your head. Climbing onto a roof, you find a whole new world, filled with more of the Ali Baba seed pods. Jumping on them releases more Orbs which you collect straightaway. As you explore this roof top world further, you find the only way to cross the gaps between the buildings is to use the washing lines strung between them. You quickly run across each line, balancing carefully like a tightrope walker, collecting all the Orbs that appear as you cross.

Jumping down from the roof, you come across a large cardboard cut-out of a goat. It is happily chewing the cud and doesn’t appear to notice you. As you cautiously approach, you are surprised to see the ground beneath the goat rotate like a flipped coin. The goat disappears and is replaced by a huge, sleepy, pink flower. Its eyes are closed and it’s yawning. You watch in wonder as its eyes open and its long, leafy arms unfurl. It beckons you towards the opening at its top. With no hesitation, you leap in and the petals close over you. The flower squeezes its eyes tight and begins to vibrate as its energy increases. The petals open and you soar into the air like a cannonball, narrowly missing two surprised looking cut-out birds on a washing line. You feel the breeze in your woolly body as you soar past tall buildings to land safely on a green courtyard surrounded by arched doorways.

Now you face a new challenge. Two guards dressed in red and white uniforms with leaves for hats are preventing you from passing through any of the archways. One of them runs towards you, aggressively. You throw a punch causing it to somersault in the air, before disappearing in a puff of smoke. The second guard tries to stop you but meets the same fate. You select the nearest archway and pass through. Inside the darkroom there is nothing to see except a square panel on the floor. You jump on it imagining it will drop you to a lower level. To your surprise it rockets you upwards and through the ceiling, which is made of cotton wool. Now you are at roof level again.

There are several brightly coloured acorns scattered around and, at first, you try to jump on them, but they do nothing. While you are thinking about what you should try next, you notice three cardboard cut-out birds. They are tweeting loudly and perched on the side of a giant terracotta plant pot. You jump into the pot only to find it full of earth. You jump up and down repeatedly, hoping that it will release more Orbs, but the earth resists your efforts and muffles the sound of your feet. Jumping down you land near one of the acorns. You have an idea. Picking up the acorn, you throw it into the pot. Immediately, it comes alive and buries itself in the warm earth. Moments later it has sprouted into a magnificent flower. You are about to jump on it when it suddenly erupts shooting five more bells into the air. You quickly collect them all and remember what they are: Collectabells. These will allow you to change your appearance and customise your outfit. But you’ll have to wait.

There are lots of guards in this area, but you deal with them easily and continue to explore, collecting Orbs, planting acorns and receiving  Collectabells until you come across another of the cannon flowers. It opens its petals, smiles sweetly, and invites you to jump in. You are fired across the rooftops to land safely on… a giant Orb. This beautiful, blue glowing, glass ball is a Dreamer Orb, and it contains vast amounts of pure wonder and creativity. Just holding it makes you feel warm inside. It is what you have been searching for because it can be used against Vex and his negative energy. Vex is the jester who is trying to turn the world you’re in upside down, but it will take more than one Dreamer Orb to stop him. So, you save it and continue to explore.

You arrive at a plateau similar to the one that began this adventure. The grass beneath you is the same ribbed cotton cloth and there are flowers dotted about. However, this time there is no bridge to allow you safe passage across the chasm that separates this section of the level from the next one. As the path reaches the edge of the plateau, it turns into a thick, black slime which oozes menacingly and cascades into the void below. The same sticky, foul smelling slime is on the opposite side of the chasm. Even if you tried to jump, you are likely to land in it. Suddenly, you remember the Dreamer Orb. This dark slime is just the sort of barrier that Vex would create to stop you in your tracks. You take the Orb and throw it at the slime. There is a flash of blue iridescent light and the slime disappears to be replaced with a well-crafted wooden bridge. As you step onto it, a carpet magically appears and unfolds, leading straight to a beautiful purple tent. The roof is adorned with the same gold finials that top the towers in the town and at the crown there is a gold letter Z, shining in the sun. 

You enter the tent and are greeted by a character who reminds you of a magician. He is wearing a purple cloak trimmed with gold, and a magnificent turban, covered in stars and fastened with a huge safety pin. In the centre of the turban is the biggest jewel you have ever seen. Sticking out from beneath the bottom of his Harem pants are a pair of exotic carpet slippers, with sharply pointed, upturned toes. This is Zom Zom and he introduces himself to you, his magnificent red rope beard swinging from side to side. In his French accent he explains that here you can spend your Collectabells on a new outfit. He shows you several: Red Riding Hood, a Yak, a Mountaineer, a Punk Rocker and a Festival Demon. Your adventurous spirit leads you to choose the Mountaineer and you pay Zom Zom. He claps his hands with glee and says you look marvellous.  You thank him and leave the tent, delighted with your new outfit. 

In front of you, the path winds its way between the familiar tall towers with gold finials and the houses adorned with elegant Islamic arches. You smile as you recall the excitement you felt when the flowers blasted you into the sky and the affection you felt for the cut-out birds. 

The sun is high in the sky and the heat is building. You are too hot in your Mountaineer outfit and so you remove it carefully and fold it into a bundle. It makes an excellent pillow.&nbs...