PlayStation has always tried to create its own mascot. For decades it tried and failed with a number of characters such as Crash Bandicoot and Sackboy. But when the PS5 was released in 2020, there was a new contender for the title: Astro Bot. With Astro’s Playroom coming pre-installed into every PS5, the title became a hit for a number of reasons, but above it all it was just a really fun game to play! And thanks to the overwhelming positive reception for Playroom, PlayStation seems to be doubling down on the lovable Astro, who is back with his first full game that is nothing short of a pure delight to play.
Gameplay
Astro Bot keeps everything that made Playroom so great while expanding and improving on its weaker points. The control scheme is pretty much untouched with cross being your jump button and square being your attack button. You can hold both of these down for extra abilities like Astro’s hover boots or a spin move. However, new abilities have been added in the form of powerups. At certain points in specific levels you’ll be gifted with a powerup that you’ll have to use to beat the level. These powerups can vary from a charging bulldog that allows you to cover long distances, a VR headset that allows you to slow time, and my personal favorite — the crocodile boxing gloves that you can use to hit enemies from afar. Some powerups, such as the mouse and monkey, do feel incredibly underutilized and only appear in a handful of levels. It would have been nice for all of the powerups to get enough time to shine, but each one serves their levels well enough.
Enemies will be littered all over the levels and thankfully have seen a massive improvement over Playroom. In Playroom, you fought a limited number of enemies that can easily be taken down in just one hit. There were a few enemies that did involve you timing it right before you could pull their wires, but they were very easy to exploit. While the same can be applied to the enemies in Astro Bot, these are now more varied. There are returning enemies such as the spike and helicopter, but the game introduces new enemies such as the bells that unleash an area of effect or giants that swing a massive wrecking ball. Certain enemies such as the mini volcanoes or sumo wrestlers will only be able to be taken down with a specific powerup. Unlike Playroom, there is a lot more strategy and timing involved with the enemies, providing a much needed challenge where the previous entry fell short of.
World/Extra content
Platformers are known for their variety of levels with different set pieces and collectables scattered across for you to find. Astro Bot is no exception and provides us with some truly unique and beautiful looking levels. Across the game there are six galaxies to explore, each with their own set of levels ranging in difficulty and capping off with a boss fight, all while the funky soundtrack plays in the background. Altogether there are roughly 80 levels to play with each being different from the last. In one level you’re making your way up a cliff with the monkey suit and then have to fight a robot pirate, whereas in another you’re working your way through an icy winter wonderland to fight an evil Frosty the Snowman. Even the most challenging levels were fun too, and even though they involved a lot of luck and trial and error they were surprisingly addictive. While an argument could be made that some of these levels feel similar aesthetically, the content feels different enough to offer a new experience with each one.
But the main attraction of these levels has to be the sheer amount of collectables. The puzzle pieces from Playroom return with three of them scattered around in each of the main levels. Each new puzzle piece you collect goes towards the creation of a building at the hub. These buildings vary, from the Gatcha Lab where you can spend your collected coins on new items to the Changing Room and DualSpeeder Garage where you can change Astro and the DualSpeeder’s appearance. And then of course we have the abundance of PlayStation cameos. Much like Playroom before it, characters from various PlayStation games are scattered all over the levels, except this time you’ll have to collect them…all 150 of them if you’re feeling extra curios. Some of these are from recognized franchises like God of War and Uncharted, while some will definitely test your PlayStation knowledge.
However, a few franchises get the all star treatment with their own unique levels. After defeating the final boss in the galaxy you’ll get to play a level focused around a particular franchise complete with a unique powerup and an amazing remix of its soundtrack. There’s a nice blend of old and new too, with popular franchises like God of War and Horizon to more obscure series like Ape Escape and LocoRoco. These levels are nothing short of a delight that made me smile all the way through, the only downside is that I wish there was more of them. But it managed to pique my interest into playing the entire Uncharted series from begin to end again, and I thank Astro Bot for that.
Story
There isn’t really much to say about Astro Bot’s story besides that it’s simple and entertaining. Astro and his crew aboard the PS5 mothership are jumped by a freaky alien in space who rips apart the PS5, scattering its parts and the bots all over the galaxies. It’s up to Astro to reclaim all the ship parts, rescue all the bots, and put a stop to the alien menace once and for all. The story’s biggest positive is that it doesn’t try and be something it isn’t. It doesn’t have to be thought provoking or deep like other PlayStation titles and instead keeps everything relatively easy to understand. Astro himself retains his typical cute and charming personality and has a few kick ass moments sprinkled throughout. Overall, there isn’t much to really say about the story, it’s an entertaining and simple premise that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is nicely balanced with the gameplay.
Summary
Astro Bot is nothing short of a delight. It takes everything that made that small tech demo a hit and builds on its best parts while improving on the shortcomings. There are a few frustrating moments and it isn’t flawless, but there is more than enough to keep you invested from start to finish. PlayStation has finally got a killer mascot on its hands, one that I hope it doesn’t forget about anytime soon. If you’re looking for a fun and cute adventure filled with challenging levels, addictive collectibles, and a plethora of PlayStation references, Astro Bot is the game for you.
Astro Bot is out now exclusively on the PS5.
The Review
Superb
