Astro Bot is finally here for the franchise's full-fledged PlayStation 5 (PS5) debut.
Coming off the back of the critically acclaimed PlayStation VR exclusive Astro Bot Rescue Mission and the PS5 tech demo Astro's Playroom, Team Asobi's latest platforming effort is set up as the true coming-out party for PlayStation's pint-sized robot mascot.
The formula is very much the same as those other games, as players control Astro in dozens of levels, hopping and bopping across various colorful locales.
However, Astro Bot elevates itself from its two predecessors, proving once and for all that PlayStation's relatively new platforming series deserves to be mentioned among the greats of the genre.
Joyous Jaunting Across the Galaxy
The premise of Astro Bot is a simple one. Astro and his PS5 spaceship full of bots are cornered in the cosmos by the dastardly alien, Space Bully Nebulax, The UFO-bound villain destroys their ship and sends Astro and his fellow bots scattered across the universe going up against what seem to be insurmountable odds.
From there, Astro must gallivant across the stars, recovering his community of wayward bots as well as the pieces of his derelict PlayStation-shaped abode, while taking out Nebulax and his minions in the process.
While fairly uncomplicated, this narrative table-setting serves as an effective foundation for the adventure to come, as Astro visits various unique and exciting planets across several solar systems.
Each one of these colorful worlds is crafted with meticulous detail and creativity. Despite Astro's moveset remaining the same across these planet-based levels - with a jump, punch, and short hover - every one of them feels completely different, sporting the sort of inventive panache that has typically been reserved for the adventures of a certain iconic video game plumber.
From one level to the next, gamers may go from flipping the very terrain they are walking upon with the changing of the time of day to hopping across a platforming gauntlet set to the beat of a drum. Those are only just two examples in what feels like an endless barrel of level design ingenuity.
This near-genius level of design also makes its way over to the game's many bosses and mini-bosses. The scale of some of these battles is truly mind-boggling, with each one sporting a different exciting mechanic that keeps the player guessing right up until the credits roll.
All of this would be for nothing though if Astro Bot's controls were a mess. Thankfully though, our hero is a joy to control. He runs, jumps, and hovers with absolute grace, and honestly, it is hard not to crack a smile watching this adorable protagonist run belly-first into whatever platforming challenges may lay ahead.
A Technical Marvel
While 3D platformers are not necessarily considered the most technically demanding genre, Astro Bot takes those sorts of preconceived notions and jettisons them into the vastness of space.
This game is gorgeous to look at. Everything glistens with the technology-based gleam that has come to be expected of the Astro world. Environments, while emulating the look of tropical beachfronts, molten volcanoes, and bustling jungles, still have this shimmer of being held together by plates of steel and other metallic materials.
Astro himself sports the kind of big-budget graphical sheen expected of a first-party PlayStation character. Looking closely at this adorable bag of bolts, one can pick out individual working parts with each swing of the arm or graceful stride of the leg.
Just like Astro's Playroom before it, Astro Bot uses every ounce of the PlayStation 5 and its Dualsense controller. Team Asobi continues to show they have a grasp on the PS5 hardware more than just about anyone working on the console.
Every single move by Astro, enemy attack, or environmental nuance can be heard and felt in the controller itself.
Some of the lesser-used Dualsense features can sound gimmicky from the outside, but feeling the minute details like the distinct ping of raindrops hitting the top of Astro's head will make you wish every game used the PS5 controller this spectacularly.
More Than Just a Platformer
Yes, Astro Bot stands on its own as an undoubtedly solid platforming adventure, but what elevates it above that is the Super Smash Bros.-style set dressing that can be found all over.
Astro Bot is a love letter to not just the history of PlayStation but gaming as a whole.
Scattered across its intergalactic world are literally hundreds of hidden bots for Astro to find. A good chunk of these are PlayStation/gaming-themed, making them more than just a simple collectible to discover.
This turns the traditional hidden gaming trinket into a PlayStation-centric scavenger hunt, swapping out a puzzle piece or hidden artifact seen in other games for bots themed after the likes of Kratos from God of War, Ratchet from Ratchet and Clank, or Jin Sakai from Ghost of Tsushima to name just a few.
Gamers - especially those with a connection to any number of Sony IP or PlayStation-associated games - will find themselves combing over levels ravenously in hopes of finding that next PlayStation easter egg.
The player can then take the bots collected back to a hub world of sorts known as the Crash Site. There they are given the chance to spend their hard-earned in-game currency on collectible set pieces for each of these gaming icons.
By the end of the game, this creates a diorama of sorts, allowing the player to go on a trek through gaming history by greeting every one of the costumed bots they have found across their adventure and interacting with all of them.
Collecting these bots is just scratching the surface of Astro's commitment to honoring what came before it. There are even more surprises to be found, but players will have to discover those for themselves.
The Arrival of An Instant Classic
In conclusion, Astro Bot from Team Asobi is, in a word, astounding. If Astro Bot Rescue Mission and Astro’s Playroom were the appetizers to this experience, then Astro Bot is the full five-course meal, with unlimited sides and sundae bar included.
In a world (and industry) dominated by the negative, Astro brings forth a heaping plate of positivity for gamers to gnaw on.
It is so jam-packed with clever easter eggs and giggle-inducing surprises that it will leave players with tears in their eyes and a gleaming child-like smile across their faces.
This game takes the level of quality seen in Sony's other first-party titles like The Last of Us or God of War and grafts it onto the platforming genre. It goes toe-to-toe with some of the greats of gaming and proves it deserves to be in the same conversation.
Simply put, Astro Bot is not just one of the best platformers I have ever played, it is a celebration of what makes both PlayStation and gaming at large great.
Astro Bot comes to PlayStation 5 on Friday, September 6.
