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 dreamweavers 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.
After crash-landing in the desert, you’re tasked with 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 cares deeply about what all of this means to players. 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.
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 its contemporary 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 that they weren’t going to receive a dedicated level. Rest assured it was raised soon after though, most likely by one of the unlockable side levels that pepper each of the game’s worlds, and test the higher boundaries of your controller-based abilities.
To pick one standout from a list of many, 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. It’s this kind of spirited level design that is layered throughout the game and feels so fresh and exciting, as if Team Asobi is daring to start a new platforming renaissance while standing gracefully on the shoulders of giants.
I was an evangelist for Rescue Mission when it first landed, but with the bracing quality of this sensational sequel, 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 finer touches, as if it wasn’t already open mouthing along to some of Kenneth Young’s brain-space eating compositions. Away from Astro Bot’s most challenging platforming bouts, I found the most difficult aspect of this game was trying not to giggle in awe at its sheer boldness. From breezy archipelagos through to slow-mo casinos, I never wanted it to end.
The Verdict
Astro Bot is a bonafide system seller that will tug on your heartstrings with the force of a thousand Adaptive Triggers. If you enjoyed the soul-stirring whimsy of Astro’s Playroom, you’d be foolish not to commit to this singular platforming adventure, if only to find meaning in the esoteric soundscapes and scenarios that abound throughout.
