Astro Bot - Review

One Bot of an adventure!

Console: PlayStation 5

Coming for free with every PS5, Astro's Playroom took PlayStation fans by storm. It's a well made and entertaining little platforming brimming with fun and love for PlayStation. My only issue with the game was that it was only a beefed up tech demo for the PS5. That it wasn't a full-fledged release with all the bells and whistles that come with it. Well, they fixed that! 

Sony looked at all the positive buzz Astro Playroom received and gave Team Asobi the go-ahead for a full release. It's this that makes this game special. It was a small series that got the opportunity to be big because of good player reception. 

That it is a much needed bit of variety in Sony's lineup also doesn't hurt matters. With ballooning budgets, long development cycles and Sony's clearly ill-fated decision to try and get a piece of the live service market it didn't seem like the company was all that interested in a title such as this. 

And yet, here we are and the results speak for themselves. A plethora of game award nominations and wins including the big one: Game of the Year. I don't have much to add to the conversation in that regard but that's not the number one reason I write these reviews. I do it because I like writing about games. 

So, without further ado, let's talk about all the fun I had with Astro Bo,t and I think you'll have with it too. 

Astro and his fellow bots are flying through space in their PS5 spaceship when they are suddenly attacked by an alien. He breaks apart the ship and steals the console´s CPU, sending Astro and the mothership plummeting into the planet below. Waking up, Astro quickly learns that all his friends and the ship´s parts are scattered all across the stars. 

Being the brave, fearless Bot that he is, Astro wastes no time and sets out to save his friends. 

Looking at my notes, what jumps out is that I don´t have many. This is one of those games where I just completely and utterly forgot about writing anything down. A good sign when it comes to how enjoyable this game is that also means I´m mostly shooting from the hips here. 

Luckily for me when it comes to the story, extensive notes aren´t required. Tried and true to the genre, there´s not much to it. It´s just set up and windowdressing. Something to explain what we´re doing, why we´re doing it and another way to inject some personality into the game. Depending on what you expect from a Sony 1st party that might disappoint you, but it's all fine by me. This game oozes with charm that makes the barebones narrative engaging, even to a ´story guy´ such as myself.

From the Bots themselves to the enemies. From the animals to even some trees: every creature here is as expressive as they can be. Large, LED eyes that show the mood of everyone very well and with energetic animations that makes the Bots very lively little fellows. Waving at the camera, doing silly dances etc. Put all of that in front of some colourful and lively backgrounds with attention to detail and underscored with what I can only describe as a happy-go-lucky soundtrack and you get all of that charm.

This brings me to all that PlayStation love this game has baked into its DNA. Just like with Astro's Playroom, part of the appeal is all the PlayStation celebration. The game was filled with Bots dressed up as video game characters and stuffed with collectable consoles and peripherals. 

This title doubles down on the former. Of the 300+ Bots to be rescued, more than half are VIP Bots, or as I like to call them Cameo Bots, from a plethora of titles in PlayStation's history. From first-party, like my beloved Horizon, to 3rd party characters like Lara Croft to even some Indie representation with Kena. 

Featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry series.

I adore these Cameo Bots. You just never know what you'll get. From the characters themselves to the exact design to what they chose to reference. I've played more than a few 3D platformers but I generally don't stick around the collect everything. Astro Bot is the exception to this and it's all because of these Cameo Bots. 

These V.I.P. Bots are not perfect though. I think Team Asobi missed the mark on one front: the history lesson part. As part of an interview, director Doucet mentioned that he hoped these Bots would function as a generational bridge. Kids ask their parents what a certain Bot is inspired by. That's all good and fun but there's no way to learn in-game. 

Each Bot has a vague name and referential description but no where does it say who the Bot is or where they are from. Yes, you can look all of this up on the Internet, like everything these days, but I really think they should've kept this all 'in-house'. That makes it easier and quicker for, say, a 20-old something amateur game reviewer to find out what that fourth 'Cameo Level' is based on (it's LocoRoco FYI). 

I also don't appreciate the way you unlock their unique animations for the Hub world. You use all the coins you collect to take a spin at the Cacha machine for these. I rather have it you can just buy what you wanted out right from some sort of cosy in-game Bot run store instead of relying on RNG.  

Astro Bot remains a 3D platformer and the little Bot can do everything it did before. Run, jump, punch and use its laser feet to hoover a bit and hurt enemies. I do think they tweaked some things here and there. Astro moves faster and the controls feel smoother as well. I daresay I feel more in control of Astro than Mario in most games. 

Clear changes are made to the powerups. In Astro's Playroom, these were mech suits Astro jumped in  for brief challenges built entirely around the Dual Sense controller' spiffy tech. Using the gyro controls to climb a wall as monkey for example. 

Here, they have been reworked from those one-trick ponies into actual powerups. Some are back but most are completely new. From frog boxing gloves with springs so you can hit faraway enemies to a rocket dog. The first is my favourite. It's not only very helpful in combat but leads to some great platforming challenges as well with its Zelda-like Hookshot function. 

Time to move on to the levels themselves. Astro Bot goes the Super Mario Galaxy route with each world being its own star system with each level being its own planet including the hubworld. We have ice planets, fire planets etc. In that sense, the levels are a bit less creative than what came before but they are a lot more elaborate. A plethora of secrets and little D-tours that a more explorative player like me can dig his teeth into. 

When you're on the move, everything flows together beautifully. There are no leaps of faith here, only precisely timed obstacles and platforms which getting through is a matter of (achievable) skill, not luck. Even with those hard-as-nails challenge levels I never got frustrated like I got with a certain other beloved 3D platformers (cough-Super Mario 64-cough).

I'm also impressed by the way, at times, the game teaches you how to play. In one boss level, I noticed that the same tricks you needed to do in the little pre-battle are the same tricks necessary to beat the boss. Neat. 

Right: level types. We have quite a few here actually. You have your standard length of 7 Bot levels alongside their smaller 5 Bot counterparts. There are boss fights, small combat-focused levels and challenge levels. Those are about testing your skills and they do that very well. 

They are though, yes, but aside from one level, I think they are more than beatable to players from all skill levels. It might take you a while but it's certainly doable. If you excuse the gloating, there were even two levels I beat right on the first try!

The last level type we got to talk about is the 5 VIP levels. These are recreations of the series it pays homage to, all with a nod and a wink. For example, Machine Learning has Astro play around with a bow and arrow in a level with post-apocalyptic vistas and white enemy decos. Add remixed music from Horizon Zero Dawn to the mix, a bunch of Horizon-themed BOTS and lots of easter eggs and you have one well-made, celebratory level. 

A snapshot of the Horizon level. Can you count the references?

I thoroughly enjoyed these levels because of this design philosophy. Because of the authenticity to their respective franchises and the small twist on the gameplay they bring along. I looked forward to these levels a lot and they are rightfully so each galaxy's 'big finisher'. 

I do think Team Asobi could've done a better job of mixing and matching the big series gamers know today with those of generations past. Get some recognizable ones in there that set the tone and introduce the idea but have more older, obscure, series represented to introduce them to a new audience. Bot of War is based on the Norse Era of God of War so I don't think you can say that the PS2 has any representation in this area at all. 

If this game gets paid DLC, making a Sly Cooper would be a perfect fit for another VIP level. It's from the PS2 era, a series that has faded from glory and its stealth-platforming gameplay is something we don't yet have in Astro Bot. Crossing my fingers for this one!

Conclusion

Astro Bot is one hard-to-put-down game. It's a delightful blend of charming visuals, creative level design, and fluid platforming that embodies the PlayStation spirit now synonymous with the robot that could. The game takes everything that made Astro's Playroom beloved and expands it into a full-fledged, big-budget adventure. With Cameo Bots and VIP levels that celebrate gaming history, this title is even more of a love letter to PlayStation than its predecessor.

What began as a simple tech demo for PS VR has blossomed into a joyful, polished, and memorable platformer. A victory for Team Asobi, smaller-scope titles, and passionate fans. This is one game worth your time.