At the end of each world in Team Asobi’s Astro Bot, there’s this moment of inimitable crescendo where you topple the boss and are introduced to the area’s Mascot Bot. They stumble out of the woodwork playfully as a reward, and then lead you towards a level that recreates the gameplay of the active (or inactive) IP they represent. On two of these momentous occasions during the Astro Bot review period, a gasp escaped my body that is usually reserved for the climax of a good book or a family member being in immediate danger.
We’ve known for a while now that Team Asobi has got the sauce, but with Astro Bot, the studio is firing on all cylinders. Unmoored from the ‘tech demo’ millstone of introducing a new piece of hardware, the ex-Japan Studio dream weavers have raised the bar for 3D platforming games, finessing a mechanically-awesome experience with overflowing sentimentality.
Astro’s Playroom moved a certain generation of players with its wistful representation of PlayStation hardware, but this time around, the focus is on software, and specifically, interactions with characters both esoteric and iconic in the annals of Sony’s history in the video game industry.
After crash-landing in the desert, your goal involves exploring a 20-hour chunk of levels to rescue the bots that have been scattered to the wind, so they can hang out in the vicinity of a work-in-progress PS5. It’s easy to imagine another massive company distorting such a premise into a kitbash of ‘remember when’ nostalgia bait, but it becomes clear almost immediately that Team Asobi has studied the proverbial blade, and give a hoot about what all of this means to people. It’s basically a car-collecting game for Sony nerds — the Gran Turismo of 3D platformers.
There’s some serious crate-digging here (even Disaster Report gets a Cameo Bot nod) that will please those longing for a return to Sony’s Y2K creative heyday. The legends at Team Asobi are the de facto stewards of that legacy anyway, and to be honest, the only complaint I have about Astro Bot is that it wastes some of its PlayStation Mt. Rushmore picks on the company’s contemporary prestige output. I could put up with one of the three of God of War, Horizon and Uncharted, but they’re all third-person action games, which leaves less room for creativity in gameplay than the other picks. I won’t spoil the best ones here but they bowl the others over in terms of imaginative design and memorability.
That’s not to say the prestige mascot levels aren’t fun — I imbibed every wondrous level of this game in a heady three-day-blur, and it blows pretty much all platforming competition out of the water. But when I unlocked cameo bots relating to some of the more interesting PlayStation games, my heart sank a little bit knowing it wasn’t going to get a dedicated level. Rest assured it was raised soon after though, most likely by one of the challenging, unlockable side levels that pepper each of the game’s worlds.
With this latest attempt, I think it’s safe to say that we can talk about plucky little Astro Bot in the same conversation as Sonic and Mario. My jaw was creaking constantly at the genius level design, if it wasn’t already open mouthing along to some of Kenneth Young’s brain-space eating compositions. It’s hard not to giggle in awe at the sheer boldness of Astro, from dainty bubble ascendancy to slow-mo casinos.
There’s a technically mind-blowing level in the mid game called Downsize Surprise where Astro Bot can transform into a dinky little mouse and explore bedrooms and artificial treetops, the perspective shifting immediately to accommodate the platforming. But what’s the point of explaining it all here — this is easily my game of the year so far, a system seller, and something you absolutely need to play for yourself, where I’m sure you’ll find a cavalcade of alternate textures, soundscapes and scenarios to gawp at.
Having consumed all of it in a short sitting, I’m left ravenous for more playful platforming. But thankfully, it won’t be long until I’m compelled to revisit some of these wonderful worlds, as the review embargo included a note from Team Asobi about a forthcoming Astro Bot speedrunning update, which I’m dying to dig into:
“We’ll meet again later this year when we launch our free DLC, something that should please the speed-runners among you. But for now, please kick back, relax and enjoy all the fun little secrets we have been hiding all over the game.”
See you on the leaderboards!
