''NOSTALGIA 101''
Developed: Team Asobi
Published: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Genre: Platformer/Collectathon
Release Date: Sept 6th, 2024
Platforms: PS5
Review copy provided by Playstation
Astro Bot is the latest entry into the Astro Bot platformer series and it is developed by Team Asobi and published by SIE. With Sony desperately needing to find something in their gaming catalogue that isn't a typical over the shoulder cinematic third person experience, they turn to Team Asobi to give them the diversity in genre that they desperately need. However, is little Astro Bot capable of carrying the load that heavy? or is this byte size hero best left to tech demos and VR games like his original game and tech demo Playroom? Only one way to find out, so lets go!
''ONWARDS TO ADVENTURE!''
GAMEPLAY:
We've come a long way for our little robot boy since his days of VR. With a character once seen as a novel idea to sell the idea of a VR gimmick, then turned into an even grander scaled tech demo to showcase all the features of the PS5, as well as give love to Playstations long history in the business - fans have fallen in love with the little guy and grown to love his series for its creativity, its fun, its design and overall just solid platformer. It's becomes Playstation's ''feel good'' franchise, and for good reason. Not only has it filled the gap that characters like Ratchet and Clank or a Jak an Daxter used to fill, but it also gives something the Playstation brand DESPERATELY needs - diversity. Too long have Sony gotten the rep of being the strong hold of all things cinematic, too many games feeling copy and pasted formulas at times with over the shoulder experiences and just swapping out whether its a shooter or melee combat. Its taken on the same role as Heavy Rain with ''Press X to Jason'', only in Sony's case its ''Press X to cutscene''' because that's what a lot of titles nowadays have turned to, even in their more platformer based titles like good on Knack, a game that should squarely focus on platforming, but instead has you jump over a ledge and immediately hit a 5 minute cutscenes. Whyyyyyy?. Knack buddy, you were supposed to defeat the Q.T.E. not join them!. Jokes aside, the bottom line is something needed to come along to break that formula completely, and now here it is, Astro Bot in 2024, a platformer that takes what was loved in its VR outing and Playroom and expands it to even greater heights, adding and weaving in three decades worth of Playstations history in one big odyssey across the world of Playstation in a whimsical adventure to save all the Bots around the galaxy, as well as collect parts for your broken down ship - which is a giant PS5. If only it were this easy to take apart or put PS5 back together, I mean have you tried taking the place off the dang thing to switch out the old white version for a Spider-Man version? its no easy task, believe me, I literally felt like I was able to Captain America the crap out of it and rip it in two just like he ripped up a log. Oh ya, I'm that strong. Well when it comes to crashing in games that is. But we don't need to talk about that fact right now, for my own embarrassment sake.
Astro Bot this go around sets its sights higher than ever before. In the Playroom tech demo that launched with the PS5, you were confined to one small hub area that was homage to Playstation consoles of old, all of which housed levels for you to sink your teeth out that all showcased features of the Dual-Sense controller - as well as offer ways to gain collectibles that showcased Playstation's history like a trophy room. Basically it was every hardcore Playstation fans dream if we all weren't so poor to afford a house the size enough to fit everything in. I MIGHT be able to, but I'm out here buying collectors editions for Night Trap and spending like $40 on popcorn heads that look like a Xenomorph in Alien... so... yeah priorities aren't exactly in the right frame of mind. But I REGRET NOTHING, as evident enough because I own the Marvel versus Capcom Easter Eggs. What? Oh, I mean the Infinity Stones. Yes... Infinity Stones... that's exactly what they are....sure Marvel. Personal spending habits aside, you are prepared for a whimsical odyssey of joy that showcases and celebrates Playstation heroes such as Ratchet and Clank, Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, BOY!!, Ape Escape and Parappa The Rappa. Uh oh, my boy is back and looks better than ever. I'll just act like I'm this universes variant of Parappa and just wear his costume, that way I can pretend I can actually rap like him, but... I'm not a rapper. ''Hello Playstation. You made a trailer. I saw that. Had lots of platforming..... I liked that. Full price on day one.... I COP THAT'' Ohhhhhhhhh. Spitting that hot fire! hold up hold up, I'm not a rapper. But since were here.... you know it has been 4 years after all, thinking back to THAT DAY. So... ENCORE BABY. If you're worried about this version of Astro Bot being just a rehash of what you played and experienced in Astro's Playroom, then throw that thought out of the window right now like you're Uncle Phil throwing people out of his house because while on its surface it may seem that way, but as you dive into this somewhat familiar tale, you realize the scale is on a grander level than ever before as you navigate through six varied galaxies, each with their own biomes to see and discover, new and familiar power ups, stamps to find, bots to rescue that are both easy to find or hidden in obscure places, forcing you to look around your beautiful environments. It just expands so much on the original two entries content that you wonder what the heck took them so long to actually put this thought process into action. It also acts like a good pallet cleanser to get the taste of your mouth from Concord. Rest In Peace Concord, I didn't think you were amazing, but you definitely weren't as bad as the Borderlands movie or whatever the heck they're doing with the upcoming Minecraft movie. I mean What in the blue hell is THAT?. ''I. AM. STEVE.'', no, you ARENT Steve. I personally know STEVE and that jerk constantly destroys my backdrops in my videos, this is just Jack Black in a blue sweater in a $20 budget cosplay. DANGIT STEVE.
''ILL NEVER STOP MY GAMBLING ADDICTION''
Long have I ranted in my reviews, social media or to people that didn't care what I was taking about that I truly believed if Sony cared enough and dipped into the ''OLD'' Playstation, like Jim Ross screaming and proclaiming ''THE OLDDDDD STONE COLD!'', that they could create an IP that not only rivaled Mario, but perhaps be able to stand side by side with him, just as our boy in blue, Sonic The Hedgehog has. It took awhile, but it seems like that time has finally arrived and that they have given the keys to the kingdom to the cute little tech demo bot now turned company mascot. A lot of what this title does takes inspiration from Mario's platforming roots of Mario Galaxy, Mario 64, Odyssey and even Playstation's own platforming titles, but it's not just a copy and paste job or knock off like PS Move was to the Wii Remotes. Sony isn't doing THAT again. Mocking waggle controls until it was successful then just did themselves. The super dark days of Playstation, I do not miss them. Imitation is the best form of flattery, but don't get it twisted, Team ASOBI flexes their creative muscles and their extremely well crafted levels are meticulously designed down to every single small detail, that leaves you both captivated and in awe of the varied gameplay that manages to stay vibrant and diverse throughout your potential 12-15 hour plus journey, depending on how much content you want to complete, and trust me, there is a TON of content in this game. So much that it puts majority of the platformers and collectathons of the last decade to complete shame. GO AWAY STEVE!. Through the six galaxies you encounter, which are all laid out similar to your standard modern platformer with worlds you select and then 5-6 levels within that world, all ending with a boss fight, you will play your way through bustling construction sites, amazing cloudscapes with giant big brother robot, who you actually have to save at one point from the Akatsuki because they're trying to steal his tailed beast from within because he's a jinchuriki. Ok no, that might not be actual case here, but you do still have to save him from his shackles. It makes me wonder though, who the heck was big enough to conquer big bro? Godzilla?. Being able to just walk around the worlds of the game, it reminds me so much of the ''come to life'' atmosphere that we saw in Super Mario Wonder recently where the entire experience feels like one big theme park ride or a trip to an amusement park, and that's how you feel in Astro Bot here when you walk through a level and see a singing tree or raise spirits in a desert - It feels like this world is lived in and gives you the feeling you first felt as a kid going through a Disneyland ride for the first time, you feel at home and like a kid again due to the designs and art.
Each level you playthrough feels like a large playground, similar to the sizes of the levels you would find in Super Mario Odyssey, but each level requiring you to take a different approach then you're usual hover and using your little laser feet to get around as you hop and bop your way around. Some levels require you to run without stopping as you tread over thinly placed ice that falls with the step of your wait as you dodge enemy obstacles and robots, others are designed to use your environment to create new paths to hop across or traverse with and then other larger areas, much like the main hub area that also has like 5 areas in it to discover, make you hunt more thoroughly for extra bot friends to rescue, so that you may use then Pikmin style to call on their aid in solving puzzles and lifting boulders to discover even MORE secrets hidden behind them. All levels throughout the six galaxies are brimming with new discoveries, secrets, hidden passages to extra areas like portals that send you to a mini game that allows you to collect a rare bot that ties into some of the main Playstation brand characters of yester-year. Luckily all your collecting is easy to follow thanks to the on screen indicator of what stamps you collected or what bots you have found in the area you're playing. Should you rescue a bot and see that you have saved the bot on the second slot first, then you'll think ''wait what the heck, where the hell was that little guy in the first area?'' and then feel the need to go BACK to figure out why you are as blind as Mister Magoo or myself in the first place. This happened to me A TON and a lot of time I had to stand around and give a good look to my environment to see just where they were and sometimes it was a lot easier said than done. Sometimes they'd be on the back of spinning objects hanging on for dear life, hidden inside trees, swimming in a lake, hidden in secret passageways I ran by, lower ledges I didn't think to look down at, etc etc. It made hunting these little guys down so much fun, and trust me, I did a A LOT of hunting because with 300 friends to collect in this game, on my very first playthrough, I managed to collect over 250 of them. I'm better at collecting than Ash Ketchum ever was, you dang fraud, your tournament win was RIGGED. Just collecting them for fun though isnt the only reason to do so, why? well because its a collectathon... and what comes with a collectathon? the need to get an X amount of items to move onto the next area, and Astro Bot is no different. Certain worlds and stages require a specific amount of bot boys in order to unlock, so while yes it is fun on its own hunting down some silly bots, its still a mandatory thing to do. However because of the levels being such a treat go playthrough with its head bopping music and intricate and specialized level design, you never feel like its a chore to do and look FORWARD to doing this task. Unlike in titles like New Super Luckys Tale, which in its own right is actually a game I enjoyed, but ended up feeling like a chore to collect the required items for advancement due to how unimaginative some of the levels were. Thankfully Astro Bot does not suffer this fate and instead excels beyond it.
For all its creativity and imagination it has, I do think there will be several things that might tend to get on some gamers bad side or annoyed side, should they be looking for a game that challenges your platforming skill to its very core. Why? well because this title is VERY VERY lenient on its difficulty level. Majority of the six worlds you really don't die too much, even with one hit kills because our little guy is just a weak little innocent boy. While it does rely on your own individual skill level sure, but with check points placed in really good spots, no game over screens for outright dying, you won't really struggle TOO much to make it past a challenging area in the game. Well... that is until you unlock the EXTRA stages that you find via falling meteors and flower like stars in space. When you're zooming your dual sense space ship across the map, every now and then you'll either see sparking areas inside the star flowers, which you can fly into and twirl around in, which unlocks new levels, as well as pull an Armageddon and get your Bruce Willis on and slam into falling Meteors, which unlocks 4 or 5 NEW stages to play, all more difficult to complete and all rewarding you with a rare Playstation bot. These levels absolutely at times kicked my ass. Similar to the beating I'm going to have to give STEVE should be show his ugly block face around here again. Because I'm so damn hard headed and stubborn and hate having a game ''beat me'', instead of just advancing the story and completing the remainder of the world and THEN coming back to it as ''extra'' content later on, I said oh heck no, and pulled a DiCaprio ''I'M NOT EFFING LEAVING!'', and REFUSED to leave the stage until I fully conquered it. It was my Rocky Balboa moment. Eye Of Tiger. I was readying to eat lightning and CRAP Thunder. Like Apollo Creed says, THERE IS NO TOMORROW - and queue the montage!. Using basic abilities like jumping and hovering, spin attacks, while offering a really smooth time is definitely not enough to help you through all of this journey, which is why, like any great platformer out there, you have innovative power ups that can the star of their own game in their own right, should they be chosen to be, ala Cappy from Mario Odyssey. Here this time, you'll find some very familiar returning powers from Astro's Playroom, but also power ups that give you STRONG vibes of little big world from the Super Mario Bros series where you can shrink little Astro down to size, honey I shrunk the kid style and traverse through narrow passageways, jump inside a cage and expand to break it up like Ant-Man should've done to Thano's butt in End Game, Frog boxing gloves that allows you to punch the crap put of your enemies, as well as use them for platforming by jumping, grabbing ledges, swinging or grabbing main bosses to adhere to their fighting mechanic. While not all power ups are winners like the return of the rolling ball which is easier to control, sure, but just not that fun.. same goes for the climbing mechanics where you must tilt controller left and right to climb, it feels outdated. But hey, we got a CHICKEN ROCKET. CHICKEN GO BOOM. BUHCOCK!
''KICK, PUNCH, ITS ALL IN THE MIND!''
OVERALL:
At the end of the day, Astro Bot supplies a heart and soul tribute to the rich history of the Playstation brand, from software and hardware and nods to iconic character throughout the last 30 on odd years. Being able to collect coins and use them for an actual fun purchase in a Gacha machine and see your main hub world fill up with even more collectibles and friends like Crash Bandicoot, Lara Croft, Ellie and Joel, Nathan Drake, it all just feels like a grand sprinkle of of nostalgia that heightens the sense of adventure the game takes you on. Not to mention, Astro Bot this go around houses some of the best boss fights I have ever encountered in a platforming game till this day with each boss fight feeling like a monumental moment in a grand marriage of cinematic and gameplay where each action improves upon or relates to a boss mechanic - where you're punching out teeth of a gigantic ape, while you scream at him ''KING KONG, AINT GOT CRAP ON ME'', fighting a giant bird lone Condor and getting PETA knocking on your door as you bash in his wings as you fight to stay on his body as you both soar through the air. Its just simply fantastic. Its hard for me to come up with some natural dislikes for this game, other than the motion control stuff doesn't feel that realized, climbing is still cumbersome and rollie ball still feeling rather meh overall. However, with 300 friends to collect in 5 explorable hub areas as you find parts to fix your ship, 6 main worlds all having their own unique levels and challenges with extra stages to unlock, gacha system that allows you to fill your entire hub up with a theme park of bot friend attractions, hundreds of Stamps to collect and when you collect enough, reveals an awesome poster showing some playstation history. There's not much more that I can say about this time without sounding like I'm rambling on other than Astro Bot and what Team ASOBI has accomplished here is by far the most imaginative AAA platformer that Playstaton has ever released and even though I might get some slack for this, I now consider it my favorite platformer of this generation, de-throning my previous favorite of Super Mario Odyssey and that's something I never thought would happen, especially from Sony and modern AAA landscape. If you're a fan of playing something different or just want to play a masterclass of platforming, then you owe it to yourself to pick up this gem of a game and to let Sony and Playstation know, that they have finally found their Mario like mascot and its time to embrace that reality. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear, GameNChick says BUY NOW
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