PS5 pack-in Astro’s Playroom was a taster dish, teasing gamers with a brief however candy expertise; Astro Bot, then, is the total three-course meal. Developer Workforce Asobi has been delivering sensible 3D platformers since PSVR’s Astro Bot Rescue Mission, so it ought to come as little shock that this newest entry within the younger sequence is among the many finest video games PS5 has to supply.
Constructing on the already sturdy basis of its predecessor, Astro Bot weaves within the core premise of Rescue Mission; quite than monitoring down PlayStation-related artefacts, your primary job is discovering the little robotic’s crewmates, all scattered all through every degree. It is an ideal recipe for a 3D platformer, encouraging you to discover each nook and cranny in quest of these lovely little droids.
The mothership — a PS5, lastly filling a job it is all the time seemed designed to play — crash lands on a desert world on the centre of a number of close by galaxies. These techniques home the sport’s levels, the place you will spend most of your time, however you will additionally frequently return to the hub world, which evolves and expands as you progress. It falls into a fantastic rhythm of exploring every galaxy and its levels, then returning to the hub to drop off your robotic buddies and uncover new issues to see and do.
Whereas there’s a lot to love in regards to the hub, which we’ll get into later, the principle attraction is the sport’s vary of ranges, that are as diversified, playful, and enjoyable as you’d hope. Every galaxy comprises 4 or 5 primary levels, a boss, and a particular final degree themed round particular PlayStation franchises. On high of which can be quite a few shorter challenges — more durable platforming or fight trials to check your abilities — and a number of secret levels to find. It is a beneficiant package deal, and what’s most spectacular is the sheer selection it presents.
Many themes are distinctive to a single stage; Sky Backyard’s flamingo paradise is rarely revisited, neither is Building Derby’s constructing website. You may additionally discover a large singing tree, a vibrant on line casino, and the within of a large hourglass — all one-and-done concepts. It is not simply the extent’s themes which can be diversified; many have their very own gameplay concepts as nicely. One later stage entails swapping from day to nighttime, altering the geometry of the extent, whereas an underwater planet adopts a extra open design — and equips Astro with a power-up distinctive to that stage. Whereas there are some recurring themes and mechanics, the general selection meant we had been always excited to see what was coming subsequent.
Talking of power-ups, our robo-hero makes use of quite a few new toys all through the sport. Some seem greater than others — the frog gloves, which allow you to hit enemies from afar and swing from poles, come again a couple of instances, whereas some one-off mechanics are our favourites. One permits Astro to shrink in dimension, whereas one other turns him right into a sponge, ready to take in after which eject water. All these power-ups mixed with the numerous degree design make for a sport that by no means runs wanting concepts, and it is sensible.
The ability-ups flesh out Astro’s transfer set which, by itself, is pretty simplistic. Nonetheless, whereas his vary of strikes is not significantly deep, they’re executed excellently. Leaping, hovering, punching, and spinning all feels spot on because of tight, responsive controls. The true take a look at of any 3D platformer is whether or not it feels enjoyable to easily transfer round, and Astro passes handily. It feels nice to hop round every stage, and Astro is commonly augmented with new talents, so we by no means felt like he wants extra strikes.
These PlayStation-themed ranges we talked about are among the highlights, too. After defeating every boss — each a enjoyable battle, by the way in which — you will meet an iconic Sony character, equivalent to Kratos, they usually’ll open a brand new stage based mostly on not solely their worlds, however their mechanics. Persevering with with the God of Conflict instance, Astro will use the Leviathan Axe to assault enemies, and similar to Santa Monica’s motion video games, it may be thrown and recalled, freezing enemies and serving to progress by way of the stage. We can’t spoil the others, however PlayStation followers will likely be delighted with these Astro Bot renditions of some favorite franchises.
These are removed from the one references to different video games you will see. Of the 300 bots you’ll want to rescue, over half of them are dressed as characters from among the most iconic video games to grace PlayStation during the last 30 years. Whereas plenty of them are based mostly on first-party properties, like The Final of Us, Shadow of the Colossus, and Ape Escape, there are a lot of extra based mostly on third-party titles — a few of that are amazingly obscure. There are one or two stunning absentees, however on the entire it is a outstanding choice that had us grinning with each character we recognised. It is all delivered with a lot affection that it is exhausting to not adore it.
Going again to the hub, the place all of your collected bots congregate, it slowly opens as much as reveal new areas to discover and extra options to take pleasure in. Puzzle Items are one other collectible to collect, they usually unlock new rooms, with one in all them being the returning Gatcha Lab. The prizes you get right here, earned by spending the cash you have collected, most of the time, are attributed to one of many bots you have discovered, like a selected weapon or object that provides them a enjoyable interplay within the hub. Different prizes embrace cosmetics for Astro himself and his Twin Speeder, letting you customise his look with some iconic outfits. It’s also possible to unlock the Safari Park, a particular zone to hang around in, nevertheless it additionally provides you entry to a easy Picture Mode, then usable all through the sport.
The entire sport is wrapped up with nice presentation, too. The picture high quality is excellent, displaying off the colourful and detailed worlds splendidly. Whereas it would not have the graphical heft of different first-party titles, it is extremely visually pleasing thanks to scrub, constant artwork path. On high of that’s silky easy 60 frames-per-second efficiency, with not one hitch noticed in all our time taking part in. Oh, and particular point out should be made for the soundtrack, which is simply wonderful all through.
We have to give a shout-out to the DualSense assist right here, as a result of as you would possibly count on, it is best at school. Workforce Asobi asserted dominance on this space with Playroom, however the vary of results delivered right here by way of haptic suggestions and the adaptive triggers outshines it. These circumstances do drain the battery, however the implementation is simply too good to actually fear about that. There are even gameplay mechanics that utilise the haptics in methods we have not seen earlier than, like feeling explicit partitions for a tough texture to disclose a secret. It actually exhibits what the DualSense can do like no different sport earlier than it.
Conclusion
Astro Bot is a surprising 3D platformer, and simply among the many finest video games in PS5’s library. It totally delivers on the promise of Astro’s Playroom, constructing on the rock stable core of tight controls and ingenious gameplay and turning every little thing as much as 11. With tons to see and do, nearly countless recent concepts, modern use of the DualSense’s options, and actually charming presentation, it is a assured and cohesive expertise that gamers of all ages will love. To high all of it off, it is an ideal sport to rejoice PlayStation’s thirtieth anniversary, reflecting on the myriad sequence that made the platform what it’s at present.
