Astro Bot review: Must-own game nods to PlayStation legacy on many levels

New title is extension of free mini-game installed on PlayStation 5

Astro has become an unofficial mascot of PlayStation, which celebrates 30 years in December. Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment

One of the most anticipated PlayStation games of the year was released last week to almost universal praise. Astro Bot features Astro, which first appeared in 2020 when Astro's Playroom arrived as a freebie with the purchase of a PlayStation 5.

The mini-game allowed players to get acquainted with the console's new features but unwittingly led to the creation of an unofficial mascot for it. Its full-length follow-up four years later is a platformer that takes Astro, a miniature robot, across 80 levels with the quest to locate and retrieve bots, some of which are modelled after a selection of the PlayStation’s most beloved characters.

Nodding to the console's universe and legacy throughout, levels across the quest are modelled to remind players of other popular PlayStation games as they get stuck in; take, for example, the level which purposely mirrors the beloved Crash Bandicoot series. It was developed by Team Asobi, a group of about 60 people, and features music by Scottish composer Kenneth C M Young.

Here, The National test plays Astro Bot and outlines what you need to know before you buy.

Platforming is forever

Gaming genres change, evolve and improve all the time. There are styles of games that didn’t exist 10 years ago that are now more popular than ever. But platforming games persist. As graphics have improved, they have evolved accordingly, but the basic concept is the same – get from A to B while collecting coins and beating enemies in the process.

In Astro Bot, platform gaming isn’t just improved, but celebrated with callbacks to all the platformer games that came before it. It incorporates different mechanics, weapons and goals from PlayStation’s rich library of games. Fans can expect to see elements from games like Spyro the Dragon, Ape Escape, Jak and Daxter, Crash Bandicoot and Ratchet & Clank.

A common pitfall of platform games is that levels can feel repetitive. Luckily, Astro Bot does enough to keep the experience fresh as it introduces new weapons and mechanics as the difficulty builds. The difference in each level’s environments and enemies also keeps things interesting.

One level gives Astro the ability to shrink down to the size of a mouse, allowing him to sneak into tight spots. Another is designed in the style of the Uncharted games, with puzzles to solve and a toy gun to shoot at enemies.

Haptic feedback

One of the PlayStation 5’s most interesting additions was the haptic feedback technology on its controllers. What does it do exactly? Well, it makes the gaming experience much more dynamic through the use of vibrations, rumbles and buttons that react differently depending on the situation.

The feature makes actions like shooting guns and driving cars much more intuitive. Each shot feels like it has recoil. Each acceleration of a vehicle feels weighty. Sony wanted new players to immediately know what the technology could do, and that's exactly the role Astro’s Playroom performed.

The game, which came automatically installed in the PlayStation 5, was a fun bumper experience that showcased how the controller had been enhanced with the new haptic feedback technology. And despite being a short game, there have seldom been any other games on the console that fully utilised the technology as well as it did.

It's impressive, then, how a game designed to operate solely as an instruction manual can amaze players so much it called for a fully-fledged game, and Astro Bot doesn't disappoint on this front. It takes the experience in Astro’s Playroom and upgrades it wholesale, with multiple new mechanics and abilities that make it fresh.

Verdict

PlayStation celebrates its 30th anniversary this December. Since then, gamers have enjoyed the experience of playing on five consoles and countless games, creating memories along the way. In those years, Sony has grown to dominate the industry, crafting games for every member of the family to enjoy.

Astro Bot’s release is timely because it’s a love letter to PlayStation, its best-known games and the players who enjoyed them over the years. There are many Easter eggs, homages and tributes that salute the players who notice them.

And if that’s not good enough, the gaming experience is bags of fun. Its cute protagonist makes it easy enough to follow along and be invested in the game's adventures, but the gameplay itself is a complete experience for people of all ages, especially PlayStation fans.

Growing up playing a PlayStation has been a cornerstone of my life. To see the company celebrate 30 years of incredible console gaming is something of a sobering (and age-reminding) feeling. What Astro Bot does incredibly well is walk players through those three decades of gaming history in the most enjoyable way possible.

Astro Bot is a superlative game, the closest thing the PlayStation has come to perfection, and what a way to celebrate its legacy to date.