Everyone who owns a PlayStation 5 has free access to “Astro’s Playroom” – a small, quick and playable walkthrough of the new console and controller. It’s a lovely technology demonstration. But it’s also an absolutely fantastic game. Which was not entirely unexpected – 2018’s Astro Bot Rescue Mission is considered one of the best VR games made to date. In that sense, this is a well-announced party. POWERFUL FRIEND: You can use this happy dog as a rocket jetpack. Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment SCARY: The range of worlds you’ll travel to is enormous. Here is Astro Bot in the board Spooky Time, where you (among other things) have to save robots based on “Resident Evil” characters. Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment LOOK AROUND: “Astro Bot” offers ten different galaxies to explore. Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment “Astro Bot” is a fully realized blockbuster game based on the playability and concepts from “Astro’s Playroom”. Team Asobi is ready to outdo itself. The short story has become a novel, if you will. Sloppy creativity How much bigger is it? Well, “Astro’s Playroom” had four worlds and a total of 16 boards. “Astro Bot” has 80 boards spread over 10 different galaxies. You have to find and save a total of 300 robots – 173 of them based on PlayStation characters. It becomes a kind of game within the game to recognize robot versions of everything from Kratos (“God of War”) to Psycho Mantis (“Metal Gear Solid”) and Crash Bandicoot. It’s very difficult, that is. DO YOU SEE WHO?: Those who have played Sony’s “God of War” series will likely notice that this robot bears an unmistakable resemblance to the main character Kratos from the acclaimed games. Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment But more importantly – “Astro Bot” is so playful, inventive, well-made and creative that my very high expectations are actually exceeded. The simple, plodding story begins when Astro Bot’s PS5 spaceship crash-lands on an alien planet. In order to find the missing parts, you must travel to different planets. There awaits a forest of enemies that must be fought, creative tasks that must be solved, hunting for hidden secrets and a bunch of fantastically good bosses that must be defeated. Video: Sony Interactive Entertainment Hand-held distinctiveness And here the hand controller for the PS5 is utilized to the full. Loudspeaker, vibration functions and pressure-sensitive buttons merge with what is happening on the screen. Dunes rustle in the palm of your hand. Slingshot-like features provide resistance. Ice skates feel sharp. It is not essential for the overall impression, but the mechanical and technical functions of the hand controller have a lot to say. A unique, tangible distinctive character is created. STRETCHING OUT: Some of the enemies you encounter in the game can be difficult to defeat. Here, the solution is to grab hold of the “tongue” and go back as far as you can. Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment If you haven’t played “Astro’s Playroom,” Nintendo’s “Super Mario” games are a fitting reference. And this is truly platform magic on par with the best of Nintendo’s iconic plumber. Because what really lifts the experience to astronomical heights is how imaginative and creative everything is put together. There are so many good, clever, surprising and incredibly festive ideas here that I am charmed to the core. Suddenly you have huge boxing gloves that can both hit things and be used as slingshots. Then you have a robot dog that you use as a jetpack. Then you get monkey hands that you can climb with. Then you have to catch monkeys with hooves. And so on, and so on. Video: Sony Interactive Entertainment Cultural memorabilia So one can frown a little at the fact that “Astro Bot” can also appear as a lavish PlayStation advertisement. The robots you have to rescue are well-known PlayStation characters, the spaceship is a PS5, you fly around in a PS5 controller and you get to know the components inside the console well. Actively placing RAM chips in the PS5 spaceship, for example, is an almost surreal experience – I mean, computer components as fascinating, gameshow-like entertainment, sort of! But what is highlighted is, after all, one of the most important gaming platforms we have. PRODUCTS IN FOCUS: Astro Bot flies around on a tiny PlayStation controller, and sometimes in a spaceship that looks like a PlayStation 5. Video: Sony Interactive Entertainment The memories of nearly 30 years of PlayStation experiences are flooding back. It is commercial, of course, but it is undoubtedly also cultural history, this here. A PlayStation theme park with its heart in the right place. And then it’s simply an incredibly good game. Outstanding engineering meets wild imagination in one of the best platform games ever made. Thus, “Astro Bot” becomes an experience that can be enjoyed by absolutely anyone who has a hint of interest in computer games. It is genuine gaming fun in its purest, most joyful form. news reviewer Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment Title: “Astro Bot” Developer: Team Asobi Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment Platform: PlayStation 5 Release date: September 6, 2024 Genre: Platform game / adventure Age recommendation: PEGI 7+ Hello, gaming friends! I’m a freelancer and writes about games for news. On a daily basis, I work at Level Up Norway. Feel free to check out my list of last year’s best games, or which games I’m most looking forward to in 2024! You can find all the game reviews from news here. Published 13.09.2024, at 10.55
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“Astro Bot” – Reviews and recommendations
