The ever-growing install base of the PS5 has allowed many players around the world to enjoy Astro’s Playroom. Filled with references to hardware throughout PlayStation’s history and boasting an abundance of cameo appearances from popular characters, Astro’s Playroom celebrated PlayStation’s history in a unique way. This made Astro not just the new kid on the block, but established the bot as a character integral to the PlayStation brand.

Smyths just sent me the pre-order bonus code.The order for the game and controller just updated to Preparing for Dispatch.Feck me I’m excited! Sony themselves said not to expect any major titles this year, meaning that they don’t consider this a tentpole release. Yet I bet Astro Bot does significantly better than many titles that have spent years in development and cost double the price to make. I think this is clearly the frontrunner for game of the year now and it doesn’t look like there’s anything upcoming that has a chance of dethroning it. PS5 desperately needed this, now they need to reveal the big games 1st party is working on alongside the Pro and 2024 can be saved. I was expecting an average of 8s, but almost all reviews I saw are 9 and above.

Astro Bot takes every lesson these previous works taught, and precisely refines them with both overwhelming charm and genre re-defining innovation. The DualSense controller becomes an extension of the game as its haptic feedback technology allows the player to feel every step and jump Astro takes, with the sensation changing on every surface. The controller’s built-in speaker acts as surround sound to the world. Upbeat audio tracks, audible footsteps, interactive and combative noises all blend into a symphonic atmosphere that pulls you through each level. Pay the 200-coin fee, then pull on the wires to reveal a robot bird.

For $59.99, this is quite literally the best platformer out in the current year. There’s so much to collect, levels to conquer, and secrets to discover that it actually feels weird that it’s not charged at the normal AAA premium. They even announced that the game will be receiving free DLC in the near future. If there’s one thing to criticize, it’s the exclusivity and the need to buy a PS5 to experience this masterpiece. Everyone should be able to experience this kind of fun, as with the amount of games there are, it’s only a few games that really go the distance. As a platformer, Astro Bot is definitely the best to come this year.

A few of them demanded a deft diving ability the backpack is meant to offer, but it doesn’t have the same accuracy of other abilities in the game, which led me to whiff on some sections in a way that was unique to this level. It was manageable, but if any secret levels–which tend to be some of the game’s hardest–also use this mechanic, I expect them to become some of the game’s few frustrations. Like any excellent platformer, Astro Bot’s movement feels responsive and trustworthy. Despite the game consistently giving you new ways to traverse its puzzling pathways, you’ll almost always feel like you have a good grip on clearing gaps, timing attacks on enemies, and dodging bosses with expertise. The camera caused a few rare instances of what felt like selling me out, but the game’s checkpoints are so numerous and the load times are virtually non-existent, such that this never became a pain point for me. There are a lot of games nowadays that require you to be frugal with your purchases like Persona 3 Reload and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

IGN, among other major gaming outlets, praised ASTRO BOT’s revolutionary approach to platforming. The game’s success at The Game Awards 2024 ceremony marks a new era for PlayStation Studios and Team ASOBI. You’ll need a PlayStation 5 console and sufficient storage space (approximately 50GB). The game is optimized for play on 4K displays but supports all PS5-compatible displays.

You will encounter your first Rescued Bot on Sky Garden, near the very start of the level. To collect the Mothership’s GPU in Astro Bot, you need to complete all main world levels in the Serpent Starway. After beating Chief Cawah in the Dude Raiding, you will recover the Mothership’s GPU. To collect the Mothership’s SSD in Astro Bot, you need to complete all main world levels in the Tentacle System. After beating Nidhog in the Bot of War world, you will recover the Mothership’s SSD.

A fantastically colourful and creative romp through a huge variety of settings, it’ll have your thumbsticks clicking, your heart racing, and even your lips blowing – yep, that’s a mechanic in the game. Each level across five main galaxies and one unlockable one features a swarm of bots (many based on beloved PS characters) to rescue, as well as jigsaw pieces and some secret black holes too. Here, you’ll find your one-stop shop for every single collectible in the game, and the Trophies too, arranged into each zone Astro blasts off into. Astro Bot is technically the fifth entry in the Astro universe, though it’s the series’ first fully fledged — and fully priced — installment. Astro Bot takes ideas from these earlier titles and compiles them into a focused 3D platformer with dozens of main worlds, a bevy of additional unlockable planets and a wide range of satisfying mechanics.

I’m glad they just focused on utilizing the powers in each level as well as they did. The game is a 9.7 for me personally and i’m very much looking forward to the next game Team Asobi does. Team Asobi could go back to the tech demo days of the franchise’s past and showcase some new hardware, like the PSVR 2. But now that players have been treated to a fully-fledged platformer, it could feel reductive to go back to those smaller adventures. And while there are many routes that platformers can take, the way Astro Bot celebrated the brand really helped prop it up as something special. All of this accounts for just a portion of what makes Astro Bot so interesting and fun.

Astro Bot Review – A Wildly Generous Delight

Everything constantly moves around you, imbuing every level with life beyond the scraps you’ll engage in with the game’s enemies. Each level’s theme is brought to life with aesthetic assets and design ideas that strengthen their themes. That said, it’s rather easy to get sucked into the charm of Astro Bot and get lost in the nostalgia of it all.

Astro’s Playroom, a game bundled in with every PS5 is approximately 3 hours long, and many spent double or triple in that world just exploring and attempting to beat other player’s times at each level. Given SC 88 of what Astro Bot offers here, I could see many spending dozens of hours once that time trial mode is released. Astro Bot’s not the largest game in the world — you’ll perhaps see the credits roll in hours or so. Those aiming to rescue every robot, complete every challenge, find every jigsaw piece and unlock every trophy, however, will probably end up playing for around 20 hours or more.

Playstation Dualsense Controller (astro Bot Joyful Limited Edition)

Astro Bot also manages to find the right balance of difficulty. There are some levels in here that almost had me pulling my hair out (in the best sort of way). But regardless of the difficulty scale, you feel so cool when you figure out the latest mechanics or platforming puzzle. It’s structured in a way too where if you want to dig into the difficult stuff you can, but if you want to keep things simple with the main campaign, you can also do that. I grudged having to play through my most anticipated game of the year before getting to play more Astro Bot – that’s how good this game is.

Once they’re gone, the purple lake in the middle of the platform will drain automatically, and some grass will grow on the edges. Dig down using your charged melee in the center where the glowing spot appears, and you’ll find a bot waiting for you at the bottom. Once you enter the inside of the hourglass, break the metal block that’s moving to create a static platform and reveal a generic bot.

It stars a cast of robot characters first introduced in The Playroom and The Playroom VR. In the game, the player plays as Captain Astro, who aims to rescue his lost crew scattered across different worlds. The worst sin that a game like this can commit is repetition, and Team Asobi firmly understands that.