When it comes to the challenge levels, however, you may find yourself struggling. While there’s a plethora of things you could do, the number one tip is to keep moving. Try to press on and not stop, as you’ll become an easy target for projectile enemies or obstacles like fire or thin ice.
Platform
Astro Bot packs a ton of variety into its level design, both visually and mechanically. Astro Bot’s various worlds have a lot of colorful characters you’ll meet along the way. Team Asobi cements itself as an essential PlayStation studio with an imaginative platformer for the ages. A very inventive platformer in its own right, Astro Bot is particularly special for anyone with a place in their heart for PlayStation. Astro Bot from Team Asobi is a brilliant 3D platformer, one of the best PS5 exclusives, and an absolute joy to play from start to finish.
Oh, and special mention must be made for the soundtrack, which is just excellent throughout. Going back to the hub, where all your collected bots congregate, it slowly opens up to reveal new areas to explore and more features to enjoy. Puzzle Pieces are another collectible to gather, and they unlock new rooms, with one of them being the returning Gatcha Lab.
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The first is the role that video games play in many people’s lives. If 2020’s Astro’s Playroom was like a museum – albeit one with fun playable exhibits – Astro Bot is like a theme park, throwing a new thrill at you around every corner and after every double-jumped gap. It doesn’t always deliver the bonkers creativity that drives the likes of Super Mario Galaxy and Odyssey, but that’s hardly damning criticism when swings of that size are rarely taken outside of Nintendo’s walls. What developer Team Asobi has designed here, though, does successfully evoke the spirit of those great platformers by birthing novel stages full of visual flourish that never cross the line into becoming mere novelties. For 30 years, Sony has given us a vast library of top-quality PlayStation games, but there has never been a mascot platformer among them to rival the heights that Nintendo’s Mario regularly reaches. Packed with dozens of colourful levels and experimental abilities, Astro’s latest outing thrusts him onto centre stage, joined by a supporting cast of PlayStation’s past heroes to provide hours of pure joy.
While some of these are repeated, these same gimmicks are mixed with more interesting overall level designs to keep things fresh. Everything looks aesthetically pleasing and fits right in the game’s world, not to mention the amazing Astro bot designs that reference numerous older IPs. Each of these designs is distinct and instantly recognizable from the characters they represent, which is amazing knowing that they’re only limited to a robotic mascot. In addition to this, the animations of the game are also works of art.
Marketing And Release
There are a few different reasons for this, the first of which is that Astro Bot’s core gameplay is as solid as titanium. If you’ve played any other Mario-esque platformer, you know what to expect here, but Team Asobo has really created a game that feels astoundingly satisfying to play, even in the most minute ways. You have absolute control of Astro’s jumps and punches, with smart features like lasers that come out of his feet opening up even more options for gameplay. Astro Bot received universal acclaim from both critics and players.
And while there’s nothing to quite rival the GPU earworm of four years ago (despite the best efforts of a giant singing tree), the music is a consistent delight throughout. Customers praise the game’s quality, describing it as a champion of platforming games and one customer noting it’s the best arcade-meets-open world-chapter experience. G28 into supersized adventures with ASTRO and this limited-edition controller!
There have been some to come close to creating similar and memorable experiences, but few have stood the test of time or really felt like genuine competitors. When it comes to some of Nintendo’s best, both Super Mario Odyssey and the Mario Galaxy series are two that are considered the best the genre has ever seen. Not bad for a company whose CFO just publicly stated that the platform holder doesn’t have enough original IP.
On top of all this, Astro Bot is basically a tribute to PlayStation’s history and, in fact, in some ways, the medium as a whole. Sometimes there’s just basic, fun references to classic characters, in-world jokes using PlayStation hardware including zip lines made from PS1 controller cords and the like. However, at other points, you take on the powers of key guest characters from PlayStation’s past.
Longtime gamers will find rescuing the bots in Astro Bot to be an absolute treat. It’s exciting to see who will pop up next, especially since there are a few very unexpected cameo bots that I won’t spoil here. Some of the cameo bots even have a direct impact on Astro Bot’s gameplay. Each galaxy concludes with a special level themed after a PlayStation game, with Astro taking on the abilities of the hero from that game. For example, there is a God of War level in Astro Bot where Astro gets his hands on the Leviathan Axe.
As for the audiovisual aspect, this is where Team Asobi has truly outdone itself, delivering a somewhat candy-colored but beautiful graphic design, with each planet offering a unique visual style. Familiar pop culture motifs frequently appear in the game, but they never feel repetitive, always introducing something new and fresh. The music, while occasionally repetitive, can also pleasantly surprise at times. One level even features a singing tree, and its song is something I’ll be humming for a long time.