Playstation’s New Hope
What do you think of when you hear the words “Playstation game”? The last few years from the tail-end of the PS3 to the current PS5 era has seen a huge influx of cinematic third-person, linear and open world games alike. Focused on story, Sony’s first party developers have enjoyed critical and commercial success, some even being adapted into TV series. Yet a Playstation is above all else an expensive toy – a word which adult players may find embarrassing but so what? Finally a title has hit the PS5 which truly inspires a giddy level of sheer, joyful fun and a sense of wonder. Astro Bot is here to save us all.
Rise of the Machines
Players of the excellent built-in Astro’s Playroom will understand the basics. Astro jumps, punches and dances his way around beautifully realised 3D worlds. Now the scale has dramatically increased, with over 50 themed worlds to explore. Broken up into separate galaxies, you’ll have to rescue other robots to unlock the final boss stages of each, every galaxy culminating in a massive battle. These bots can either be the generic standard model or can be cosplaying a character from a Playstation favourite. Uncharted, God of War, Ape Escape and many, many more series are represented here. The Astro series has become a true Playstation celebration yet surprisingly never feel cynical in its adoration. Perhaps it’s the irreverent, charming humour? Or is it because the bots are insanely cute?
Bot to the Future
These stages also feature unique abilities to unlock for that level. The initial balloon power allows Astro to inflate and deflate (the latter providing the wonderfully farty balloon noise we all love) to fly over obstacles. Later levels include a rocket-boost dog and springy boxing gloves with more surprises to come. Many utilise gyro controls with simple yet accurate efficiency. The levels are gorgeously rendered, blending familiar platformer level archetypes with the slick yet cute Astro Bot aesthetic. While the amount of erstwhile inanimate objects with eyes may bring back the strangeness of Rare’s platformers, the wonderfully interactive worlds here are a far cry from the N64’s limited play areas. The game is a seemingly endless ear-worm source, every level providing new favourite tune. Of note is the amazing Western theme that plays in the Crash Site, the hub for Astro, his Playstation star-ship and rescued pals. Here you can unlock a capsule machine full of Bot accessories, a changing area for costumes and many more features besides.
Only in Electric Dreams
To delve too much into these unique levels would be to remove the dizzying joy of discovering these toy boxes. Team Asobi have delivered a statement here. No longer are they a VR and tech demo team. Now they’re hitting the big leagues with a beautiful, imaginative and expansive platformer. Astro Bot may is a truly great platformer and a mascot to be reckoned with. It feels like the PS5’s potentially is finally being met, let’s just hope for more galaxy-brained wonders to follow.
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