Astro Bot (2024)

Platinum Trophy - 100% Completion

Now THAT is how games should be made!!!

As some studios continue to push the limits of mature content, Sony decided to push the limits of content created for All Audiences, and has set the bar for other production studios to reach for.

This is a game I can, and will, play again. This is a game that I can recommend to Anyone. This is a game that I want my kids play.

Thank you Sony, for making such an awesome game. Thank you for building on the "Demo" and creating a truly remarkable piece of art that exemplifies the Sony brand.

What an incredible delight to play this. Everything about this is upbeat, fun, and fantastic to see on screen. I find myself playing a few levels every morning before work. Even the hard levels have a rhythm to them that give them a short speed-run quality.

It also has one of the best quality of life features for a platformer. You can replay a level and once you have acquired whatever missing items you want, you can simply exit and still get credit.

Finished the main story recently; I've collected about 210 of the 300 bots. What a wild ride. I'll do the Christmas level and probably call it a day for now.

I don't understand people expecting a game to last 80+ hours. For me, the length of Astro Bot is perfect. Heck; even the bonus stuff feels like extra's I don't need.

But then again, I'm someone with many interests, a big backlog, tons of manga and books to read, etc.

Aaaanyway, this game is the GOTY and I now understand the hype. It truly is the best Mario game I've ever played :)

TL;DR - A game that Sony needs to start making more of. It is a game that makes me feel like a kid all over again and evokes the same emotions as LittleBigPlanet once did for me. It is a charming, vibrant, creative, and polished platformer that astounds with its clever use of the DualSense controller. It also serves as a celebration of all things PlayStation which was an incredible treat for me.

3D PLATFORMER - Astro Bot embarks on a mission to rescue his 300 crew members and repair their ship in order to confront the big bad Nebulax.

PROS:

++ Polished platforming. Although it doesn't really do anything new, the core platforming is incredibly polished! Moving Astro Bot is a joy, and using all his different powerups felt great! And though the "combat" is simple (punching or lasering from above), it still felt satisfying to fight the different enemies!

++ Best use of DualSense. This game has been the best at utilizing the PS5's Dual Sense. It is constantly being used, and it really added to my overall experience. It made the simple act of running, punching, and jumping feel great! Astro's footsteps sound different depending on where he's walking, and different elements produce different sounds, such as the rain, sandstorm, etc. The game also utilizes the controller's motion, adaptive triggers, and haptic feedback well. I wish that more games utilized the controller's features to this extent, because it adds so much to my gaming experience.

++ Charming and vibrant world. Each planet had a theme so it always felt fresh from level to level! Each level oozes with so much charm, and it truly made me happy to just romp around in the worlds that they created. I also need to mention that the game has a wonderful soundtrack that matches the theme and atmosphere of each level.

++ Worthwhile collectibles. Not only are the collectibles fun to hunt for, but they're actually worthwhile. Collecting puzzle pieces unlocks the Gatcha Factory, the Safari, and the ability to customize your speeder and Astro Bot's outfit. Collecting bots populates the hub area and makes it come to life, and it's also great to see all my favorite PlayStation characters in bot form. This has been one of the few games that I've actually obtained 100% for, because it didn't feel cumbersome or tiring to collect everything!

++ Perfect length. Doesn't overstay its welcome, and leaves you wanting more (8 hours to beat, 3-4 more hours to 100%). Perfect length for a platformer in my opinion.

++ Great boss battles. There are five main boss battles and all of them were great and utilized each of the game's powerups. Although they were a bit easy, I still had lots of fun fighting each of them!

++ Homage to all things PlayStation. Though some find issue with Astro Bot's homage to all things PlayStation, I found great joy in all the PlayStation references. Yes, you can call it a "graveyard" of IPs, but in them I personally saw great memories. As I saw my favorite PlayStation characters in bot form, I was reminded of all the fond memories I made with those games and characters. Even that final boss fight where you see each of the PS consoles made me so nostalgic and I got goosebumps during it. It just really reminded me of why I fell in love with gaming in the first place.

++ Made me feel like a kid! Most of all, I think Astro Bot is this generation's LittleBigPlanet. A game that spreads joy, smiles, and happiness to anyone who plays it. A game that makes me feel like a little boy all over again. It's not hyperbole for me to say that my cheeks hurt from smiling after I finished this game. I really, really, really hope that there will be more Astro Bot games in the future, because we need more games that spread joy and smiles!

CONS:

-- More themed-levels. This is not really a true complaint, but something I wish to see in the sequel! There were themed levels at the end of each world (Loco Roco, Uncharted, God of War, Ape Escape) and I wish there were more of these in the game! Not only was it a great homage to those franchises, but it was a nice change of pace. Hope to see much of that in the sequel!

-- Lack of challenge. Again, just a minor gripe but I found that the overall game was a little bit too easy. The lack of challenge didn't really detract from the experience too much, but it was still noticeable. I quite enjoyed the challenge levels, so I hope that the sequel will be a little bit more difficult!

Astro Bot is the third game in this franchise (?) where you control a little robot platforming and light puzzling your way to find your other robot friends. These other robots can be generic robots like your playable character, or dressed up/equipped like various characters throughout Sony's history. From obscure games or commercials back in the PS1 days, to recent releases for the ps5, it was fun to discover all these characters like a playable museum of PlayStation's history. Gameplay itself is split up into levels within worlds that all revolve around a boss fight at the end. After completing these boss fights then, you get to play a bonus level where your character dons the look and equipment of a character from a big game series in Sony's history and play through a level with new-ish mechanics directly inspired by that character. I won't spoil the surprise here of what games/characters you play as these were a really fun break/distraction from the rest of the levels. For the most part the difficulty here is pretty low unless you strive for 100% completion. There are a few shorter levels that will test your patience and platforming but thankfully there's a very quick respawn to make another attempt. There's also a little hub area where you can interact with the bots you've rescued from the levels, and some other small activities for the completionists out there.

I finished the platinum trophy in about 21.5 hours, so it's a bit of a shorter game. In the landscape of games where developers are all trying to keep your attention for 60+ hours though, this was a welcome change. You will enjoy every minute of this celebration of PlayStation History!

I'm more of a Nintendo guy than a Sony guy, so I wasn't as enraptured by the nostalgia as I could've been...but I will still pretty taken with it all. The flavor text and little costumes were adorable throughout. This is one charming platformer.

The soundtrack is great, the levels were a breeze to play through, secrets were fun to uncover and I just enjoyed wandering around the home base looking at little easter eggs from previous games.

I don't think it quite reached Mario levels, but this has to be the closest another company has come to capturing that specific magic.

Astro Bot may be my favorite 3D platformer since Super Mario Galaxy. Levels overflow with surprise and variety in stunning 4K set to a toe-tapping soundtrack. Astro's a joy to control, and the capabilities of the DualSense are used (but not over-used) in fun and inventive ways throughout. It's just so lovingly crafted and impressively polished from tutorial to Platinum trophy.

Polish aside, Astro Bot sets itself apart by being unabashedly referential. In the same way that Super Smash Bros. built an homage to video game history on Nintendo foundations, Astro Bot's PlayStation-themed levels and spacecraft swiftly expand to welcome dozens of third-party franchises. The variety of cameos with plenty of deeper cuts keeps the tone celebratory and reverent instead of cynical or self-congratulatory. It really made me smile.

A lot of what you have read and heard about Astro Bot is true. It’s charming, fun, highly polished, nostalgic and worth playing. But it is also getting overrated, putting it on the same level as the best 3D Mario games is a bit much and there are some other questions and valid criticisms popping up through the noise. I can’t blame people for being hyped too much though. They felt like they were starving and finally got something to eat and I have been guilty of this too.

I was looking forward to this game and so were my two young kids. This is the first title all three of us were excited about together so of course I had to pick it up day one. I grabbed it from a local store and showed my kids right away but we couldn’t open it and start playing until the next day. So the following day we sat down together, ripped that plastic off and popped in the disc. While it was installing we all poured over every millimetre of the case and pulled out the insert. This almost brought a tear to my grumpy, tired, old, physical media loving, Dad eyes. The insert folds out into poster that kids could put on their wall, just like the Mario 64 poster I had on my wall many years ago. The other side of the insert is a beautiful, colourful, easy to understand manual presented like a comic. Someone (or a group of people) somewhere cared enough to make sure this was included, thank you. Because of this my oldest was able to jump straight into the game without paying attention to the on screen instructions. My copy of this game can now go sit on my shelf, existing as a constant reminder of the time and memories shared with my children. It can be pulled out at anytime to be enjoyed again. My children may even be able to show their kids one day. The same way I was able take my Super Mario 64 cart out and share it with them recently. Another reminder of how irreplaceable physical media is. Also a Physical copy of Astro Bot in my country was $89 (I just saw it at $79 somewhere else) while the PlayStation store is asking $109.95.

As soon as I picked up the controller and started I knew this was high quality. Everything in this game feels so good. Walking, bonking stuff and watching it scatter, jumping, diving into water, using the abilities – its impressive how even the most mundane stuff is so excellent. The combination of the visuals, animations, sounds and the dual sense controller work in perfect harmony to create something you can’t get anywhere else. It is special and you need to experience it yourself to understand. The level of detail and polish is some of the best, maybe it is this specific aspect that causes the Nintendo comparisons. Or I guess it was some of the borrowed things. Or maybe it is the charm because this is pretty lovable, with plenty of cute moments and Astro will win you over. I let myself get caught up in it and was often smiling at many of the bots and references, while giving my kids a little gaming history lesson. The platforming and collecting is laid back and enjoyable with some cool moments and surprises too. There are still some challenges to give you a little test and not every collectable is so easy to spot as well. It’s just a mostly delightful time that I was grateful to share with my family.

Now here come the negatives. The first thing I have to mention is price. Astro bot at launch was more expensive than any Nintendo game, including games like Mario Odyssey and Zelda: BotW. But it was less than Sony ‘premium’ priced titles like God of War Ragnarok or Spiderman 2. Its price point is the same as Elden Ring or Resident Evil 4(2023) and the upcoming Kingdom Come 2 or Dragon Age. Combine this with the fact that it is an under 15 hour Platinum, a decent bit shorter than this if you just want to get to the end, and has almost no replay value. It is also something that is largely expanded from a demo that’s full of the PlayStation brand. I think it’s valid to question the price. This is going to differ from person to person but for me I would have appreciated a price point $10 or even $20 less in my currency.

Astro Bot is missing some things that seem really obvious to me. Why are there just bots and references? It could have been an interactive museum full of information about past games that educated younger gamers and even older players like me that didn’t know every single thing here. What about co op? This would be a perfect fit for an easy to pick up and play game that appeals to all ages. Why aren’t there any levels that have a scoring system or timer? Give people a reason to replay, get competitive and add some needed challenge. Over 95% of this game is a breeze; things could have been more interesting for those that wanted it. There are some challenges but then these do expose that this is a more laid back platformer that isn’t the fastest, tightest experience with a varied move set. It is a very prescribed game too. Its fine though this game isn’t trying to be that but I just wanted more. But then again I found myself getting tired by the half way mark. I had to stop playing this as regularly and in shorter bursts because I could feel the monotony creeping in. There ends up being a lot of reusing going on, there are too many generic bots as filler, enemies are a bit generic, stages can be too and I started to feel like I was just going through the motions. The longer you play the more this game’s wonderful first impression wears away, to be fair though I probably saw more of this game than most because I was watching my kids play too and I didn’t need to get that Platinum Trophy but did anyway. Still, this would have been better as a shorter, lower priced experience.

Then there are the valid issues many others have already raised. Is Astro Bot a celebration or a cemetery? Right now I think it is both but as more time passes and if things continue in the same direction then this is definitely going to become more of a sad reminder than a fun nostalgia trip. The other question is, will Sony (and the industry) learn from this? I doubt it, but it would be nice if Sony got the message that they need more than just the occasional big, third person, cinematic, action, adventure thing and the live service stuff. We need variety and games of varying size and price point that don’t all take five years plus to make. In addition to this is the fair criticism that this is a Sony version of Funko Pop collecting. How do the original creators and fans feel about these works being reduced to this? It is a game that has the PlayStation brand, references and being an advertisement in place of its own strong personality and style. This shouldn’t really be considered the best thing Sony has done for the PS5. Things shouldn’t be this dire and this game reminds everyone of that. The final question I have is - where was a little bit of this love and attention for Sackboy: A Big Adventure?

When it comes to Astro Bot both the detractors and the lovers are right at the same time. Astro Bot brings joy and it is bringing people together to share that joy and that’s special. But Astro Bot is not without problems and it reminds us of the current sad state of things. I enjoyed it, I’m glad I bought it and I am giving it a good score. It brought smiles to my kid’s faces and for that alone I’ll always be in Astro bot’s corner. But would I have bought it if I didn’t have kids? – Probably, but not day one. Can I recommend this to every PS5 owner? – Yeah, but not emphatically. Is it enough reason to go buy a PS5 if you haven’t yet? – Nope. Do I want to see this win Game of the Year anywhere? – No. To end more positively though, I do hope this game introduces many to videogames they have never tried before.

8.4/10

Astro Bot’s latest adventure is a polished platformer with an enjoyably chill exploratory feel and a fun sense of spectacle. Its level design is fun and fluid whether you're following the main path or trying to grab everything, and it's all paced out really well to keep the game interesting. I have some issues mostly around its overwhelming focus on the PlayStation® brand, but even as someone who doesn't get into pure platformers super often, this is undoubtedly a really good one.

Visually, the game’s stages look really pleasant and distinct from one another. The level design and visuals work together well to naturally draw you toward places of interest and make you understand your goals and want to explore off the beaten path. A lot of care is also put into animation, adding nice reactivity to all these little bots, enemies, and other things that you can interact with. As a result, each section of each level feels fun and rewarding to hang around and play with.

It feels nice to play as well, with the DualSense controller adding significantly to the game feel through its haptic feedback, and only stumbling on a bit of motion-controlled stuff. Astro Bot's main moves are relatively straightforward, which is good since each stage gives one of several power-ups that change how you move or engage with the world. They're particularly great when they're most transformative (won't spoil how), but even the less impactful ones are well-integrated into the level designs.

The game’s celebration of PlayStation's brand, hardware, and extensive game library allows for some unexpected cool moments. But while I didn't mind it as much in the free launch game, overrall at this point it felt like it was cheapening the experience. This is a great platformer that should get to focus on building its own world and identity, rather than having you reassembling a Sony PlayStation®5 console, flying around on a DualSense controller, and watching Kratos and Aloy do the "flossing" dance. That said, I'm not actually a big fan of Astro Bot itself as a character or aesthetic, which feels pretty bland on its own, particularly in contrast to the rich library of characters it's hanging out with.

I don't think this game alone is worth picking up a PS5 for, but those who already have one should definitely look into it. Despite the few complaints I have about it, it was consistently fun and had a bunch of memorable surprises. Definitely makes me look forward to a future platformer from this studio that breaks away from the concept and aesthetic of this series while still delivering on all the stuff that this excels at.