Summary
Sumo Digitalwas among the more surprising and understated recent acquisitions of Chinese conglomerate Tencent as they continue expanding their influence in the multi-billion dollar video game market. This plucky British developer was born out of retro game studio Gremlin Interactive,perhaps best known for developing theAcuta Sportsseries and the PS1 classicHogs of War,giving them a combined total of more than40 years of experience in game development.
That means that, despite its humble offerings, Sumo Digital has attracted some major licenses, particularly in its niche of sports game pedigree. There have been some high-profile misfires,such as the unfortunateCrackdown 3,but the developer has still turned their hand to some excellent games from AAA to Indie titles. These arethe best Sumo Digital games.
7Snake Pass
A Unique Physics-Based Platformer
Snake Passdoesn’t quite live up to the promise it sets with its innovative and tricky-to-master control scheme. Players take control of a snake named Noodle and must navigate a series of obstacles using strict movement mechanics befitting the slithering reptile. Players are forced to think like a snake, zig-zagging for speed and providing enough access points for their elongated frame to avoid pulling them down to frequent deaths.
It can be a frustrating system at first, but it is a very satisfyingly challenging and unique platformer once mastered. Technical limitations, including an occasionally-rogue camera and infrequent checkpoints, unfortunately add to that frustration, leading to a lackluster response at launch, but puzzle-platformer fans will still have great fun wrapping their heads around this one.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacreis alate arrival to the asymmetric multiplayerhorror genre that was arguably popularized by the legally fraughtFriday the 13th: The Gameand mastered byDead By Daylight. Sumo Digital’s entry takes that format and lovingly applies it to Tobe Hooper’s popular horror classic in much the same way Illfonic did with Jason Voorhees.
The game adds the novel twist of having three members of the Sawyer family pitted against four survivors. It helps balance the game, making the killers less overpowered and requiring them to work together to complete objectives. Sadly, likeso many others in the genre, the game has suffered from connectivity issues and a repetitive loop that has decreased the regular player base.
Team Sonic Racingwas the second entry in theSonic Racingseries from Sumo Digital, andit wasan excellent addition to the karting genrethat improved on their previous attempt. The main focus, as the title might suggest, is on a team-based racing system where players compete alongside two allies.
The gameplay was adapted with players receiving a myriad of benefits for aiding their teammates and keeping their team together on the track. The fastest way is often together, eliminating the habit of speeding off into the distance to grab glory.Team Sonic Racingrequires a more measured and thoughtful approach and features some of the best tracks in the genre.
Virtua Tennis: World Touris the most critically acclaimed title in Sumo Digital’s catalog,brilliantly adapting the popular tennis seriesfor the PSP.For many, it was considered an essential purchase for the handheld console and an impressive technological feat for its high-paced gameplay.
Realistically though, it’s hard to recommend the game today, considering, like most sports titles, it quickly became dated and the only hardware it is playable on is all but defunct. It was a fantastic release in 2005, but not one that has stood the test of time.
A PS5 launch title,Sackboy: A Big Adventurewas Sony’s attempt to move one of their mostbeloved mascots into the next console generation. The game is a solid platforming experience and cleverly transplants the core mechanics of theLittle Big Planetseries into a 3D adventure.
However, the game didn’t quite find the same audience as the initial trilogy, perhaps suffering due to the limited availability of the console at launch. The game also lost some of the core fanbase by not carrying over the deep creative tools and community-built levels that were a significant feature in establishing theLittle Big Planetseries against a glut of mascot platformers at the time.
In many ways,Sackboy: A Big Adventurewas an improvement on the original trilogy, with slick, modern physics supporting more precise platforming. Still, as mentioned, many fans preferred and would still play the originalLBPtrilogy even though support for those games has ended, again hurting those community builds.
LittleBigPlanet 3marked the end of that series and, whilst not as well received as its predecessors, it still offers a fantastic offline campaign, especially with friends. The game oozes with the series' signature charm ofcraft-like levels that evolveas the player advances, with a satisfying weight and sound to objects, and secrets hidden around every corner.
Outrunis a definitive arcade racer that has sadly fallen by the wayside in recent years.Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coastsuccessfully modernized the classic series and maintained its hallmark of quality alongside the dominant successors of the time, such as theBurnoutandNeed For Speedseries.
Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coasthas only grown in critical acclaim since its release, with many fans of the genre still lauding it as one ofthe best arcade racers ever. As such, it’s only fair that it ranks as Sumo Digital’s best game as well.
