I have had tons of experience with AstroBot as I not only got down on Astro’s Playroom, but I have a PSVR and played Astro Rescue Mission. Given that, there was no way in heck I wasn’t gonna play the full-fledged game from Sony, especially when they made it clear that Team Asobi was going all out for this game and it would be an homage to the PlayStation. I knew this game would be a banger and guess what? It absolutely lived up to every expectation I had and it even exceeded them in major ways.
Since there’s no mystery to what this review is going to say, I’ll jump right in and explain why AstroBot is my front-runner for Game of the Year. The first and most important thing is that the gameplay loop is absolutely fantastic. If you enjoyed Mario Galaxy, then you’re going to love what they do with AstroBot. Each level is unique and nothing overstays its welcome. The levels feature loving nods to past PlayStation games and over 235 PS Games are given a loving homage as part of what makes this game wonderful.
Some levels are designed to look and feel like the game they’re celebrating. There is an Uncharted level where your Astro dons a Nathan Drake costume and is given a gun that you can use to dispose of enemies. You are also tasked with finding and collecting three hidden golden eggs as a nod to the treasure-hunting aspect of Uncharted. It’s truly a sight to behold and it shows how much time and effort the developers put into this title. Nothing overstays its welcome and much of it leaves you wanting more.
In addition to the general platforming levels players know and love, AstroBot includes several challenge levels in each world. These levels feature similar gameplay loops but the difficulty level jumps up significantly. As you complete more of these challenges, you find that they also get harder and harder there, too. So, aside from the fact that they’re generally tougher than the regular levels, they also scale up as you progress. This is in there for the people who complain about platformers being “too easy,” as if that wasn’t the point of why they’re universally loved.
There is also a neat homeworld that you flesh out as you collect more bots and more puzzle pieces. The homeworld features sections that begin to unlock as you collect enough bots to complete the puzzle required to unlock them. It really is a fun way to reward the player with unlocks as the game progresses. It was one of my favorite features in the game as it always felt like I was moving forward.
Beyond the level design and gameplay, the music is absurdly good. There haven’t been this many bangers on a track since Neverlove by Buck 65. The music for this game is so catchy that I’ve found myself humming tracks even when I am not playing. This wasn’t really a surprise to me since the music for Astro’s Playroom was OBSCENELY catchy. It almost reminds me of the White Town song “Could Never Be Your Woman” in that the creator of the song literally set out to create a one-hit wonder because he wanted to prove it could be done. He proved it could be done and this is a story about Astro’s Playroom. They proved it could be done.
Team Asobi has somehow found a way to take this Astro character and deliver three games that have come so highly recommended it feels like we are not doing enough talking about Team Asobi as a studio and their level of skill the same way we talk about studios like Rockstar or CD Projekt Red. They do not miss and if this is someone’s first platformer, I feel amazing knowing they’re getting an experience as wonderful as the one I had growing up.
Platformers can sometimes get lost in the shuffle of today’s gaming landscape. We don’t give them the same kind of love because they can be beaten within 20 hours and that’s being really generous on length, most are closer to 15. But if you only focus on the length of a game, then you’re truly missing out on the larger picture. It means you’re not accounting for the music, the level design, the creativity, the job the devs pulled off with the extras and so much more. Time to beat should honestly never be a major consideration unless it’s legitimately to the game’s detriment and the writer can support that with evidence.
Gamers today expect massive environments, 500-hours of content — I’m looking at you Persona 5 — cinematic cut scenes, and countless hours of extras. Those games are great but they can honestly feel overwhelming to some adults who have to balance countless other things in life and can only chip away at those games in chunks. Content is great, we always want content, but sometimes simple is the way to go. Sometimes I just wanna fire up a simple game like Mario and beat it within a day or so. For days like those, I look to games like AstroBot and I always will, so I feel like seeing a platformer do this well critically may bring that idea back to the front of people’s minds.
AstroBot has plenty of extra, but you’re still going to complete everything the game has to offer in about 15 hours, especially if you have previous platforming experience. Even still, this game is the complete package. If you’ve grown up with the PlayStation ecosystem or just love video games in general, then you owe it to yourself to try this game. I swear you’re going to find it to be one of the most charming games you’ve ever played. I was hooked after the first couple of levels and singing its praises from the highest mountain tops after the Uncharted level. I cannot wait to play this game again with my friend Crouton on share play.
BSO Score: 10-of-10 Game of the Year
