There are one or two surprising absentees, but on the whole it’s a remarkable selection that had us grinning with every character we recognised. It’s all delivered with so much affection that it’s hard not to love it. And of course, with a new set of challenge levels comes a whole bunch of new VIP Bots. We know that Ghost of Yotei’s Atsu is joining the crew, but the rest are being kept as a surprise for now. Considering how requested they’ve been for some time now, and after Astro Bot’s director kind of hinted that they might still be added, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some Final Fantasy characters finally get in on the fun. The sheer number of boss fights throughout Astro Bot is exciting, but each boss battle’s energetic song is what really brings their encounters to life.
Vibrant colors make me feel like I’m in a cartoon, but Team Asobi doesn’t flatten its environments or skimp on detail. In one level, I start by walking across swaths of bright green foliage. I feel the crunch of the grass between my metal feet and hear the sound from my DualSense’s speakers. Then I move on to a metallic checkerboard floor, where I hear my legs lightly click-clacking on the tiles. At some point during your playthrough, I recommend muting your TV and leaving your controller audio on.
The Great Master Challenge can only be accessed once players have found every Puzzle Piece in the game and rescued 300 Bots. The biggest evolution of the cameo characters, however, is that four of them will actually lend you their weapons, which Astro needs to use in stages specifically designed for each one. Sony just never seemed to have an answer to Nintendo’s Mario or Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog. Crash Bandicoot was an iconic character that was exclusive to the PlayStation at the time, but he belonged to a third-party studio. And while Toro from the Doko Demo Issho series reached mascot-like status in Japan, the cute feline character was hardly known outside of PlayStation’s home country.
Nostagia Is A Double-edged Sword In Astro Bot
Astro Bot is very much its inheritor, even down to the hardware connection — the first Ape Escape was intended as a showpiece for the original DualShock analog controller. After defeating the first galaxy’s end boss in Astro Bot, a level is unlocked that fully and faithfully recreates Ape Escape’s anarchic chase gameplay within Astro Bot’s world. It’s a wonderful touch; for one level, a near-forgotten series is brought back to glorious life in a modern context, and Team Asobi honors the memory of the ceaselessly inventive studio it used to call home. These are far from the only references to other games you’ll see. Of the 300 bots you need to rescue, over half of them are dressed as characters from some of the most iconic games to grace PlayStation over the last 30 years. While a lot of them are based on first-party properties, like The Last of Us, Shadow of the Colossus, and Ape Escape, there are many more based on third-party titles — some of which are amazingly obscure.
Over the course of the game, Astro rescues many Bots and Special Bots while finding the parts of the Mothership that had also gone missing. Eventually, after returning to the Crash Site with his crew, Astro is visited by Space Bully Nebulax, who taunts him, and Astro gives chase with his crew who use PlayStation hardware as vehicles, forming the PlaySquadron. Astro Bot eventually catches up to and defeats the alien, but is killed in the process.
I won’t spoil who gets the star treatment here, aside from one – the previously revealed Kratos. His introduction sees you wield his ice-infused Leviathan axe and take on the role of the exiled Spartan himself in a thrilling change of pace, the frosty blade boomeranging around the level. It’s here where Astro Bot becomes truly magical, elegantly blending nostalgia with new ideas. Such moments essentially let you play these iconic games in miniature, lending Astro their powers and letting him loose in a level entirely built around familiar stories and settings, soundtracked by remixes of heroic themes. They’re charming and often the real highlight of the experience.
Super Mario Odyssey
The game puts a lot of this “spice,” but understands that too much will kill the dish. That said, Astro Bot has a lot more than just references, as some levels are solely focused on recreating and paying tribute to past PlayStation games. The final puzzle piece is just after you use the flower lever on the inside of the hourglass, which you reach after boosting up past the arrows stuck in the wall. Jump across the platforms until you reach a checkpoint and a glass floor covered in gold.
Anyone who doesn’t want to be spoiled by who the new bots are should check back after playing the new content. Since release, Astro Bot has received a number of additions, including speedrunning levels and a seasonal Winter Wonder update. NK88 are more difficult and aim to test jumping skills.
Team up with iconic PlayStation heroes to save the galaxy and experience the game’s immersive world through the DualSense® wireless controller. Not just one of the best games this year, but one of the best playstation titles. Amazing family game as well that shows off all of the PS5 abilities. Find release dates and scores for every major upcoming and recent video game release for all platforms, updated several times per week. Platformers have so long followed in the footsteps of Mario, with so many titles trying to emulate what the mustachioed plumber has achieved.