Alright, well it isn’t the inclusion of user-generated content that LittleBigPlanet has become the standard-bearer for in the modern gaming industry, but it’s something; a metaphorical bone tossed at players that have found exploring the spin-off of Sackboy: A Big Adventure to be a relatively lonely place.

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The zany and kooky characters aside, of course.

Today, Sumo Digital pushed out a post on the PlayStation blog stating that online multiplayer has officially been released to allow the exploration of Sackboy: A Big Adventure with up to three friends, but that isn’t all.

They have also brought in ten exclusive ‘Teamwork Levels’ that are only playable with friends in the multiplayer game mode, and all of the former joys of multiplayer are being rolled in.

You can, once again, slap the silly out of teammates and send them sprawling to the floor, grab onto their feet after you missed your jump so you don’t die alone (a horrifying prospect, truth be told), and now you can even roll into your supposed ‘teammates’ to stumble them.

If griefing your friends doesn’t sound like much fun, there are friendlier interactions as well: chest-bumping, high-fives, and even a bit of a hug after you both get past that arduous stage; these actions can be equipped via the wardrobe for easy access using the D-pad.

You may want to spare some of the more egregious forms of griefing, however; everyone receives awards when the team playing a level clear it and manage to hit the leaderboards: cooperation to time multipliers with bubbles and enemies in rapid succession is the key to ensuring that you nab some prizes only available to high-scoring teams.

All progress gained, whether hosting or via joining someone else’s session, is saved for local play, and cross-play between PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5 is available from the get-go.

This being said, the lack of UGC isn’t necessarily amended by finally including online play; locking play to couch-cooperative (as the recently released Battletoads did) has taken games from ‘must-play’ status to ‘if the mood hits’, and it’s frankly difficult to state that the title would not have flourished as it has thus far without the brand recognition of LittleBigPlanet known for, and feel free to take a wild guess, UGC.

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This may have something to do with the most recent figures proposing that while the PlayStation 5 is continuing to fly off the shelves in preparation for the holiday season, games are trailing far behind at a 1:3 factor.