When I first purchased my PS5, the game that grabbed me the hardest and justified why I’d just bought the new console was Astro’s Playroom. Now sure, that may have been because it was a pack in title that everyone got with the console, but that point aside, Astro’s Playroom wasn’t just a small gimmick demo, it’s still one of the best and most fun experiences anyone with a PS5 can have. And I don’t think many would argue against that. But after playing, I along with many others wanted more, we wanted to see what Astro could deliver in a full length experience. So I was over the moon when Astro Bot got announced earlier this year, because that’s exactly what Team Asobi have delivered to us. Astro Bot is a well designed, fun and rewarding platformer that also celebrates all things PlayStation and is a perfect case of why people should own a PS5.
If you’ve played through Astro’s Playroom you’ll know what to expect here, from a gameplay perspective at least. This game offers a similar experience but with everything turned up to 11 and expanded to now fit the scope of a full length title. It’s really a case of ‘more of a good thing’. I would be selling it short though if I were to say it’s just more of what you’ve already played, because that’s certainly not the case. Astro Bot’s biggest changes come in the form of some new, really well designed stages that combine Astro’s standard array of abilities with stage specific unlocks, powers and enhancements that create levels that are really fun to play and have you utilise Astro’s abilities in really clever ways to be able to see everything the level has to offer, bringing with it levels are are much larger in scope and complexity to what we got in Playroom.
When it comes to the plot. The intro of the game establishes a new alien villain that attacks Astro’s ship, breaking it and spreading all of the bots contained within across the galaxy. This leaves you with both a quest to fix up and rebuild parts of your ship and also recollecting the 300 scattered bots, with approximately half of them consisting of iconic character’s from PlayStation’s past, including both 1st and 3rd party titles. This story is one aspect of the game that I wish was pushed a bit further, as it’s incredibly thin and ‘story’ probably isn’t even the best term for what it is. It’s literally just the catalyst set up for how the bots got scattered and why you need to adventure through the game’s 80 levels.
Some of the best being the awesome boss battles. They each offer a foe to take down in a well designed stage and a challenge that’s typically overcome by focussing on one of the new abilities now added to Astro’s arsenal. The thing I enjoyed the most though actually comes after you defeat the boss. This unlocks an extra stage themed around an iconic PlayStation franchise and puts Astro in that world, often with a cosmetic changeup or weapon that is from the series. These stages were a real highlight for me and it’s clear that so much effort went into replicating the environments and themes of the game they were referencing but doing so with a charming Astro Bot twist.
Similar to Playroom, Astro Bot also features a main hub world that continues to expand and become more detailed the more you bring back rescued bots, and has also brought back the gacha machine that lets you once again spend your collected coins to satisfyingly smash open glass balls containing items and collectable references to the franchises related to the bots you’ve been saving. But best of all, these items then pop up in the hub world so that those aforementioned characters can then use and interact with the gacha items you’ve unlocked. It’s a really rewarding gameplay loop and provided another trip down memory lane that had me smiling once again.
Perhaps the biggest highlight of Astro Bot is just how well it plays. Games these days rarely nail having the controls feel like a natural extension of your thoughts but Astro Bot absolutely does. Astro’s movement is speedy yet precise, the rocket boosters are satisfying to use and work as predicted and the combat animations flow seamlessly into the movement allowing you to perform the actions you want to at any given time. The game also utilises every feature of the DualSense controller to provide a truly innovative and immersive experience, much the same way Team Asobi did with Playroom. The haptics, adaptive triggers, motion controls, microphone and the controllers speaker are all utilised and in ways that compliment the gameplay of the levels to provide a sensory experience that few games can match. Astro continues to be the best showcase of the PS5, what the DualSense is really capable of and how much immersion it can add to a gameplay experience.
For fans of PlayStation, there is a lot here that will make you nostalgically happy. Most of it comes in the form of the collectibles and the rescued Bots, but there are quite a few callbacks to things I won’t spoil here. You’ll come across so many cool surprises and niche characters popping up along the way. This provides a nice nostalgic look back for players that might remember the days playing them, and will probably raise enough curiosity with younger players to perhaps kick off the process of investigating these characters and the titles they’re from and get them going back to play some absolute classics.
Speaking of younger players, Astro Bot, just like Playroom is very approachable for younger players too. If you have a child that could handle playing Playroom, they’ll likely be able to get through the core levels in Astro Bot that are needed to complete the game’s main path. But that doesn’t mean the game overall is easy, there are definitely some moments that will really test your skills, especially if you’re trying to beat all of the challenge levels you can unlock. Which is a requirement if you’re going to chase after that Platinum Trophy.
Final Thoughts
Astro Bot delivers on what players have wanted more of since playing Playroom years ago when the PS5 launched. It’s a well designed platformer with a fun mascot character and makes amazing use of the PS5 and DualSense to create a really immersive experience that also looks incredible. Astro Bot is a fantastic game in its own right, but it also acts as a celebration of PlayStation’s legacy and a look back at the iconic characters and franchises it’s spawned over the past 30 years. It had me grinning almost constantly and I can’t wait to see more of this little guy in the future.
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10
- + Looks amazing and feels incredible to play
- + A true celebration of PlayStation’s legacy
- + Expands way further the things that were already great with Playroom
- + Engaging for players of all ages
- - The plot of the ‘story’ could have been pushed further
