Cloud is the reward from High Inflation, and Sephiroth shows up if you beat all five new challenge levels. If I asked what the best first party Playstation game is, what would you answer? Many folks would turn towards Sony Santa Monica’s, God of War (2018) or Naughty Dog’s, The Last of Us Part 2. If you answer anything other than Astro Bot, on paper, you would be wrong. At the time of writing this, Astro Bot is sitting at a score of 94 on review cite Metacritic and a 95 on Opencritic. Not only is this the highest scoring Playstation game across both sites ever, but it also statistically catapults its way onto the podium for best platformer.
Given how many mascots Sony has lost over the years (this game’s constant cameos certainly reminded me of that!), I’m completely on board with them adopting the little bot as their new face. So does Astro Bot’s TGA win herald a processional sweep for Team Asobi through the rest of the big awards in the coming months? It’s a technically dazzling console game with high production values. It got great reviews and built up a formidable level of critical consensus.
You tend to start writing lines in your head when compiling a review, and one that stuck with me early was to call Astro Bot ‘the best platformer since Super Mario Odyssey’. Then I played a little more and started to think ‘maybe it’s better’. SC88 know is Astro Bot is a contender for the all-time crown in a genre that has felt a little neglected (especially by Sony, who once nurtured it to greatness) in recent years. It’s so much more than a PlayStation history lesson, and in climbing above those expectations, becomes a piece of PlayStation history in its own right – with Astro Bot, the PS5 may finally have arrived. It’s not that the powers are cool, that it’s fun to blow into your controller, or that you get to meet Aloy. It’s that every inch of Astro Bot is designed to offer a fresh experience.
Latest Reviews
One ability that joins Sponge and Mouse in that it isn’t used much is the Teddy Cymbol, an ability that is really only injected into the game should you discover all the secret levels. While there are a few other abilities you’ll discover, they are used well enough in their respective levels but don’t really feature the same creativity as some of the ones I’ve just mentioned. Astro Bot is, at its core, a game built out of sheer creativity. Damn rights it does, but it puts them on display with a rare confidence few studios could pull off.
Psychonauts
Level themes include the traditional cliches such as lava worlds and slippy-slidey ice worlds, as well as those from Rescue Mission, such as construction yards and plant-filled gardens. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. There is one Puzzle Piece that floats in space in the Gorilla Nebula once you’ve beaten all levels through Apes On The Loose. The iconic marsupial is none other than PlayStation’s Crash Bandicoot! Once you have unlocked Crash Bandicoot Special Bot and its unique cosmetic from the Gatcha Lab (Protective Spirit), find Crash at your Crash site.
If 2020’s Astro’s Playroom was like a museum – albeit one with fun playable exhibits – Astro Bot is like a theme park, throwing a new thrill at you around every corner and after every double-jumped gap. It doesn’t always deliver the bonkers creativity that drives the likes of Super Mario Galaxy and Odyssey, but that’s hardly damning criticism when swings of that size are rarely taken outside of Nintendo’s walls. What developer Team Asobi has designed here, though, does successfully evoke the spirit of those great platformers by birthing novel stages full of visual flourish that never cross the line into becoming mere novelties. Customers appreciate the game’s creative levels, with one mentioning that the world is filled with secrets and another noting how it encourages players to think creatively. Customers find the game suitable for all ages, with kids particularly enjoying it, and one customer noting that the main levels are great for young players.
I will let other people and the moderators consider if this was justified. I mentioned my age to explain the reasons for my lack of appeal for the game, not to provide spurious ammunition,and in hindsight being honest and forthright appears to have been a mistake. Are you all so desperate for a new game to play that you over hype a children’s game so highly? That cheapens the achievements of the better games that proceeded it. Digital foundry was stunned by the technical achievement of astrobot, so it beg’s questions about the purpose of a ps5 pro. I don’t deny this game is great, his character with the beams with his legs/his charming character design/personality & visuals are great, but that’s not enough for me.
Over the past 10 years, PlayStation has entirely narrowed its focus on a few key franchises. God of War and The Last of Us have become standby franchises, while the Crash Bandicoots and Ape Escapes of the world die out. You can count the first-party PS5 games geared toward kids on one hand — and two of them are Astro Bot games. I feel like I’m always discovering something new in almost every level. With uncertainty surrounding the PS5’s price following the Xbox price increase, now’s a great time to buy one of these discounted PS5 Slim console bundles.
It became one of the highest-rated VR games, so naturally, the franchise did not stop there. Astro’s Playroom would launch in 2020 pre-installed on every PS5, and once again served as a tech demo for the studio’s latest controller. Then, in 2024, players were treated to the full-length critically acclaimed platformer Astro Bot. Some platformers are really safe in their level design/movesets so you bet I’m critical. Besides many of Astro Bot’s creative and exciting boss battles, nostalgia fuels much of Astro Bot’s most thrilling moments, especially with the few stages specifically themed after PlayStation’s most beloved properties. However, those experiences risk feeling hollow for those who haven’t played the games that Astro Bot seems desperate to reference.
But that’s not the only way Astro Bot celebrates history, as that idea is also directly tied to the game’s collectibles. In every level, there are a number of bots to rescue and puzzle pieces to find. Puzzle pieces help reveal new features in your base at the crash site, like costumes. Saving bots brings them to your base, but having more bots also lets you solve puzzles around the crash site. But what’s really interesting is that roughly 160 of the game’s 300 bots are themed on past PlayStation games, wearing adorable little costumes. At your base, you can also use coins in a vending machine to unlock items for these themed bots, giving them little motifs that you can interact with.
This is the third full wave of Astro Bot downloadable content, which began with a similarly structured five speedrun levels after launch and, until this release today, most recently saw a special Christmas themed level released. “Each level comes with a brand new Special Bot to rescue and, once that’s done, can be replayed in Time Attack mode with online rankings.” Sony is releasing another stream of Astro Bot expansions, the first of which is available today, February 13, adding a total of five new levels and as many special bots. This is joined by a PlayStation 5 Pro patch, which allows the best resolution while running at 60 frames per second. Team Asobi has teased that tools will eventually be added to Astro Bot that should appeal to speedrunners.
Most of the Astro Bot cameo characters are pretty easy to identify, but there are a few VIP Bots who are obscure and thus can be difficult to place. For more PS5 game deals, check out the list of PlayStation console exclusives that are still up for grabs for major discounts this holiday. Unfortunately, the future is a bit uncertain for Astro Bot, as Team Asobi hasn’t revealed what’s next after this DLC pack. Considering the popularity of the game, it’s easy to assume more DLC is on the way, though as of now, nothing is official. What fans do know is that Sony has been thrilled with Astro Bot’s reception and performance. In fact, Sony announced more games like Astro Bot are being planned, expanding its family-friendly offerings.
Sony seem to misunderstand and think everything needs to be a 100 million, 60 hour epic in order to sell. They could easily fund 3 or 4 quality 20 hour titles (see uncharted lost legacy, Miles morales) for a fraction of the cost and at significantly reduced development times. This is what Shawn Layden called for all those years ago, but he seems to have been ignored. I’ve grown out of platformers as I’ve aged, but this looks to bring me back!