Review - Astro Bot
Move over Mario
Astro Bot
PlayStation Studios, Team Asobi
Nicolas Doucet
September 6, 2024
PS5
When it comes to mascot character platformers, Nintendo is king. There was a brief moment in the first era of PlayStation when Sony tried to compete against the Big N’s mascots and did pretty well, but for the most part, Nintendo has been the king of the mascot platformer. Sony has flirted with competing against them with games like LittleBigPlanet, but they’ve never reached the level of quality and magic that their rival has delivered to millions. So, when Sony decided to take their character Astro, who has only been in tech demos, I was interested to see what we could get after playing Astro’s Playroom. Sony seems to be all in on pushing Astro as their mascot, so the little guy’s first proper game had to deliver. Well, as an admitted Nintendo fanboy, I can say that Sony has, without a doubt, delivered a magical experience that even Nintendo should be proud of.
Plot, Characters, and Setting
So the game starts as Astro and his spaceship, which is pretty much a PlayStation 5, is crashed by a giant green alien on a UFO, who steals the system’s CPU. After the crash landing, Astro uses a satellite and a Dualsense to explore various worlds and look for different bots. A majority of the bots resemble decades worth of gaming characters that have been on PlayStation. Astro must collect the PS5’s parts and reassemble it to fight the alien, named the Bully Space Nebullax, and get back the CPU. It’s a simple premise, but enough for the player to have a reason to care.
The game’s central hub is a desert-like planet surrounded by small areas with different biodomes, which are unlocked as you progress. Here, you can manage different options like costumes, the Dualsense ship colors, and the many bots you’ll collect through your time. When you're not on the planet, you’ll blast into levels that reminded me a lot of Super Mario Galaxy. These levels are part of the galaxies you visit to find your ship parts.
As far as the bots go, you’ll love the nostalgia and moments when you find them - if you know who or what they are. One minor gripe I have is that the game doesn’t tell you who each bot is, so there’s a lot of bots I found myself perplexed on who they were and what game they came from.
The final act is one of the best moments of the year, with a final level celebrating PlayStation, a pretty awesome boss fight, and even an ending that has a lot of heart to it.
Gameplay and Fun Factor
If I could use a game as the definition of frenetic fun, it would be Astro Bot. Every moment-to-moment segment at a level produces chaos in the best way possible. Every chance its has, something new pops out at you, and it’s up to you to react quickly as you search for bots, puzzle pieces, warps that lead to secret levels, and the finishing line at the end. You’ll play through different levels with a lot of variety as you go through grassy levels, snowy places, surviving a volcano, going through a haunted house, traversing the sky, punching through pixelated blocks, and so much more. You’ll also play special levels themed after iconic PlayStation franchises when you finish one of the galaxies.
You won’t just be jumping and grabbing enemies because there are multiple powerups to use. You can get boxing gloves that let you punch far, a dog that lets you dash, become a sponge to soak up water and become giant to crush enemies or release the water to grow a tree, a monkey that grabs unto ledges, and one of my personal favorites - a clock that stops time and you have to time it right to use enemy attacks to platform to a new section. The powerups are used so well that they don’t feel tacked on or gimmicky. Many of these, you could tell, were homages to Mario’s own powerups, but there were some that were unique. It even uses the haptic capabilities of the Dualsense, such as blowing on the controller mic to get fans or flower pedals going.
For the most part, the game is relatively easy, but outside of major boss battles, you can’t survive multiple hits. They also added some really challenging levels you can play optionally to get more bots. Now, personally, while I finished some of these, I actually found them a little annoying. Yes, I know I’m opening myself up to jokes saying “skill issue” and all of that, but I felt these levels took away from the main levels' pure fun. And before you get too much on me, I feel the same way about Mario games and their final secret levels, which are just a really hard level thrown at you. However, these are optional, so I focused on the main levels after getting some under my belt.
The boss battles here are some of the most well designed boss fights of the year. The best boss fights make you feel cool and this game nails it close to one hundred percent of the time. While the final galaxy boss battles are epic in scope, some of the smaller ones were my favorites. There’s a level designed around Horizon and that leads to a pretty awesome boss battle against a huge robot themed to the Thunderjaw.
The fun factor is off the charts with this one. As you dodge enemies, use powerups, and bob your head to the colorful music, you can feel the world as this best uses the Dualsense’s haptic features. You can feel and hear the clank of a steel floor, the harsh sand, the slight rumble when using your lasers, and more. It feels like the most incredible toy you’ve ever played with. It’s constant frantic fun with all the technical aspects you want on PS5. Fun feels like an understatement to use.
Graphics, Presentation, and Soundtrack
The world of Astro Bot is as if a child’s playpen, with colored balls and slides, was dumped into your TV screen. It’s a cartoony art style, but one that works. The look of the enemies, the bosses, and the bots complements the world. It’s genuinely one of the better-looking games of the year, accomplishing 4K 60fps as well. It’s colorful, vibrant, robotic, and, in its own way, gorgeous.
As you play, you’ll find yourself bobbing to the music. This is Nintendo-level type of video game music that fits every situation in the game. The soundtrack has an exciting feel that fits the game’s personality. The music is cheery and uplifting in tempo, adding the frenetic fun play style. It’s audio design and soundtrack is one of the more memorable of the year.
Grade - S
Must Play Masterpiece
Astro Bot is the perfect game to help celebrate 30 years of PlayStation, but at its heart its more than that. While nostalgia and celebration is the selling point, the real heart of the game is the chaotic fun and just a really well done platforming adventure. If you wanted a Super Mario Galaxy 3, this is the closest you’re going to get, and I mean that in the most praiseworthy way. When the world seems to not only be dealing with hatred, but practically embracing it, Astro Bot is the medicine to fill you with childhood fun and new memories for younger gamers. It’s a game that has incredible gameplay, gorgeous graphics, great music, and a lot of heart and passion. This is what a video game should be.
Pros
+ Constant levels of fun and new ideas
+ Great use of music and aesthetics
+ Celebrates PlayStation and fits the story
+ Awesome boss fights and designs
+ Extremely replayable
+ Nintendo-level quality of a platformer
+ Final act among my favorites and an ending with surprising heart
Cons
- Doesn’t tell you enough about the bots you’re rescuing