A beautifully-written love letter to fans of 3D platformers and of the PlayStation legacy
While anticipation for Astro Bot flew under the radar following its announcement, its reception has soared. Team Asobi may be new to the scene (originally a subsidiary of the now-defunct Japan Studio), spinning off in 2021 to become a standalone team. But from the release of their three Astro Bot titles, you would think they've been at this forever. As the first official Astro Bot for the core console (Astro Bot Rescue Mission being a VR title, Astro’s Playroom; a free download for PS5 to show off the Dualsense controller), Team Asobi has created an indelible game that excites and delights. As someone who usually gets bored halfway through platforming games, I found Astro Bot struck the perfect balance. Let’s get into it.
The opening scene sees the adorable little Astro and crew traversing the cosmos, partying in their PlayStation 5-shaped spaceship when they are waylaid by a fiendish green alien in a UFO. The alien pries open the PlayStation 5 spaceship, steals the CPU, and spreads the rest of the components and fellow bots across multiple planets. The spaceship crash lands on a desert planet where the player is given control. This cutscene is succinct, sharp, and adorable. This can be said for the rest of the game as well. While there is a story, Astro Bot doesn't weigh you down with expository nonsense for longer than necessary. What little is there, cooky or not, makes sense within the context of the story they’re trying to tell.
Astro Bot is a treat for multiple senses. At first, Team Asobi treats your eyes and ears to the immaculate visuals and fantastic audio, then the haptic feedback hits and the sense of touch is activated. Anyone who played
Astro’s Playroom knows what I’m talking about, but for those who don’t, Team Asobi are masters of the Dualsense controller’s haptics, making the game not only visual and auditory but tactile as well. Raindrops, clanking metal, tiny footsteps on glass, snow crunching underfoot, jumping off of a diving board into a pool, and so many other sensations are meticulously crafted and implemented into the game to add a third dimension to gameplay. The game
feels satisfying. While the promise of the Dualsense has gone mostly underutilized throughout this generation,
Astro Bot is the perfect example of what can be done with the tech, and how it elevates an already engrossing experience.
But let's get back to the visuals. Beautiful, simple, crisp.
Astro Bot looks amazing on the PlayStation 5 from boot up and is maintained throughout. The game has a Pixar-like quality, and it is easily one of the best-looking games on the PS5. This extends to the visual effects as well. Water, snow, textures, and reflections all look fantastic. This is in no small part aided by the art direction and level design. From some of the more vibrant, cheery levels to the darker, more ominous ones,
Astro Bot shines in the visuals department. For instance, the Creamy Canyon level is based on confections. The pastel-colored level reminds me of Easter but with ice cream sprinkles that can be kicked around (and felt with the controller). Other levels are more vibrantly saturated but are nonetheless visually balanced.
The sound design is fantastic. The soundtrack and sound effects both make this game pop. The sound is implemented into the level design, assisting players in finding hidden bots throughout the level (you can usually hear them struggling somewhere nearby (and yes, it’s adorable)) and in helping with the timing of obstacles. The music is easy to vibe to and fits whatever level it's in. But my favorite songs were the mash-ups with the PlayStation classic levels, which I will allow you to discover for yourself. I wouldn't put the music on the level of a Mario game, but it stands on its own. Astro’s personal sound effects were adorable and didn't grate on my nerves like a certain Italian plumber I know. His sound effects are robotic, charming, cute, and quirky, just like Astro himself.
But what does Astro have to do? What is the player tasked with? Well, you have two tasks; rescue your fellow bots, and collect the missing pieces of the spaceship. You accomplish this via 3D platforming: jumping, hovering, punching, grabbing, and through the use of special items. The levels are straightforward and show you what you need to do. Most levels have seven bots to rescue and three puzzle pieces to find (some special levels have fewer). A few levels have some cleverly placed portals to secret levels in another galaxy, so be on the lookout. It’s easy to tell when you’ve missed a bot or puzzle piece because you’ll be notified on the UI which bot you’ve gathered, so you can always go back and recollect. If you’re having trouble, each level (after you’ve completed it at least once) allows you to pay two hundred coins to unlock a little bird that will follow you around and sniff out missing bots and puzzle pieces (though it isn't necessary in most cases).
Astro Bot’s gameplay is inspired by the greats of the genre, especially the 3D
Mario games, and it’s all the better for it.
One of my favorite aspects of
Astro Bot is the pacing. Each level is short, mostly around ten minutes, some are two minutes, but none much longer than ten (not counting the challenge levels). This makes the game easily digestible. With every AAA game being sixty to one hundred hours nowadays, it's difficult to feel like you’ve accomplished something after ten minutes of game time.
Astro Bot manages to do so repeatedly, all the while ensuring the game feels fresh. Every vista feels new, and every level creates new challenges and allows the player to feel like they're making progress in a short time. Not to mention, they don't overuse the supplemental items in the game. For instance, there is a robot bulldog that boosts Astro forward with a lot of force, damaging anything (almost anything) in your path. It’s used in a few levels here and there, but not to the point of exhaustion. And that’s the same with everything else. On some levels, Team Asobi uses a mechanic once and never again, which is refreshing. In addition, boss battles aren't repeated over and over. They use unique mechanics, despite being rather forgiving (Astro usually dies in one hit; versus bosses, he gets three). Each boss is one and done, and it’s a wonderful thing. I have to reiterate how much I loved the pacing:
Astro Bot’s mechanics never overstay their welcome.
I mentioned the challenge levels a bit earlier, and there are quite a few. Some do put you to the test (curse you, rubber ducky lava level!), but for the most part, the game as a whole is quite easy. Exceptionally enjoyable, but easy. Now, I know difficulty is relative, but this is my personal experience, and I feel like the game could benefit from just a bit more challenge outside of the challenge levels (of which I would have gladly accepted more). Not only this, but I feel like it could have been enjoyable to hide some of the bots a bit better (some are brilliantly hidden, but most are easy to spot). The aforementioned rubber ducky got a bit frustrating at times because of its inconsistency when aiming, but other than that, I can’t think of anything else negative to say about the game. It’s that good.
One of the most special things about
Astro Bot is that it’s a love letter to PlayStation fans, and to a larger extent, people who have played games that have existed on their platforms. Fans of
The Last of Us,
Ratchet and Clank,
Horizon, and
Parappa the Rappa will find Easter eggs here, but so too will fans of
Tomb Raider,
Resident Evil, and
Yakuza. PlayStation has been around for over thirty years (and goodness knows what kind of mischief they’ve been up to recently), and the platform has been home to so many first and third-party games.
Astro Bot shines a light on some of those IPs and does so in a humorous, heartwarming way. Also, this is probably the only place you'll see any attention given to the
Bloodborne IP from a Sony studio (sorry,
Bloodborne fans).
From the lovingly crafted levels to the intricate haptic feedback implementation,
Astro Bot is an impressive title that, despite its ease, goes on to compete with the heavyweights of the industry. If you like inventive 3D platformers, if you like your non-speaking protagonist to endear and charm you, or if you like to run around with a robot-chicken-rocket strapped to your back propelling you upward to new heights, this is the game for you. If you are a fan of gaming, especially PlayStation, then this is a love letter for you folks. If you have kids, I highly recommend it. If you like your video games to make you smile in childlike glee, go pick up
Astro Bot now.
The Math
Objective Assessment: 9.5/10.
Bonus: +.5 for perfect pacing. +.5 for art direction. +.5 for tactile feedback. +.5 for endless charm.
Penalties: -1.5 for overall lack of challenge. -.5 for a few brief experimental levels that, while good, weren't as good as the rest.
Nerd Coefficient: 9.5/10.
Posted by: Joe DelFranco - Fiction writer and lover of most things video games. On most days you can find him writing at his favorite spot in the little state of Rhode Island.
