Not overhyped, not over exaggerated, just a bug free, well made bit of fun. NK88 are used to seeing the PS5 struggle with unreal engine 5 games, so a platform game that renders low quality cartoon textures at a fast rate but only occasional dips below 60 was a surprise. I am playing now with my daughter and I find something that team Asobi are geniuses.

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But it’s the temporary abilities that come with each level that make things truly exciting. The Twin Frog gloves are a particular favourite, with their sticky tongues flinging out to provide a grapple swing option. They’re also spring-loaded, meaning any incoming projectiles can be sent back from whence they came, exploding in an enemy’s face. I also very much enjoyed the mouse mechanic, which reduces you down to a super small size, effectively turning on a “Toy Story” mode that lets you clamber up oversized shelves and leaves in search of secrets. The Time Stopper combines a pair of VR goggles players can strap onto their hero and a literal watch on the back. When players stop time, they can halt attacks like buzz saws hurtling toward them.

Many of these things are platformer standards, but that’s kind of the point, because the game always chucks something in to warp it and make it fresh. Creativity can be two things you sort of understand combined in a way you didn’t expect. That was followed up with the PSVR-exclusive game Astro Bot Rescue Mission. And then everyone who buys a PS5 gets a free digital copy of Astro’s Playroom, a short game that lasts between three and five hours, depending on how many of the collectibles you want to get. The gimmicks introduced in the game are reminiscent of Super Mario Odyssey’s level design, where stages have a central gimmick that you have to work around.

Do You Want Astro Bot On Other Platforms?

Yet I bet Astro Bot does significantly better than many titles that have spent years in development and cost double the price to make. I think this is clearly the frontrunner for game of the year now and it doesn’t look like there’s anything upcoming that has a chance of dethroning it. PS5 desperately needed this, now they need to reveal the big games 1st party is working on alongside the Pro and 2024 can be saved. It just reeks of ignorant and disconnect with PS history & fanbase.

There are one or two surprising absentees, but on the whole it’s a remarkable selection that had us grinning with every character we recognised. It’s all delivered with so much affection that it’s hard not to love it. And of course, with a new set of challenge levels comes a whole bunch of new VIP Bots. We know that Ghost of Yotei’s Atsu is joining the crew, but the rest are being kept as a surprise for now. Considering how requested they’ve been for some time now, and after Astro Bot’s director kind of hinted that they might still be added, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some Final Fantasy characters finally get in on the fun. The sheer number of boss fights throughout Astro Bot is exciting, but each boss battle’s energetic song is what really brings their encounters to life.

For those hoping to get as much playtime as possible out of the package, Astro Bot packs in plenty to do. There are secret levels to find, puzzle pieces in each level, a gacha machine filled with outfits, and a home base that evolves into a full-on playground over time. The most alluring feature, though, is its PlayStation-themed collectibles. Every level has a set of hidden bots that Astro needs to rescue.

The game puts a lot of this “spice,” but understands that too much will kill the dish. That said, Astro Bot has a lot more than just references, as some levels are solely focused on recreating and paying tribute to past PlayStation games. The final puzzle piece is just after you use the flower lever on the inside of the hourglass, which you reach after boosting up past the arrows stuck in the wall. Jump across the platforms until you reach a checkpoint and a glass floor covered in gold.

Astro Bot is very much its inheritor, even down to the hardware connection — the first Ape Escape was intended as a showpiece for the original DualShock analog controller. After defeating the first galaxy’s end boss in Astro Bot, a level is unlocked that fully and faithfully recreates Ape Escape’s anarchic chase gameplay within Astro Bot’s world. It’s a wonderful touch; for one level, a near-forgotten series is brought back to glorious life in a modern context, and Team Asobi honors the memory of the ceaselessly inventive studio it used to call home. These are far from the only references to other games you’ll see. Of the 300 bots you need to rescue, over half of them are dressed as characters from some of the most iconic games to grace PlayStation over the last 30 years. While a lot of them are based on first-party properties, like The Last of Us, Shadow of the Colossus, and Ape Escape, there are many more based on third-party titles — some of which are amazingly obscure.