It’s Super Mario Bros. for a new generation of video game fanatics, at once an introduction to common mechanics and also a significant challenge for seasoned players. If this, alongside new titles like Lego Horizon Adventures, signals a new and less stuffy direction for Sony, then I’m excited to see what the future holds. For now though, you’ll find me trying to 100-percent Astro Bot, cursing and laughing the whole way through. Plenty of stages require patience, awareness and a high degree of platforming skill, though resets are generous and failure doesn’t cost anything other than your time.
What results is a 3D platformer very similar to Rescue Mission (which hardly anyone played because it’s VR-only) and Astro’s Playroom (which everyone owns because it’s free with the console). Although the biggest influence here is Super Mario Galaxy and Odyssey. Despite that, Astro Bot is not a typical Sony first party title. There’s practically no story, no real open world elements, and it’s aimed very much at a family audience – even if it has elements that will be of special interest to veteran PlayStation fans.
Astro Bot Review – A Wildly Generous Delight
The dioramas are especially fun, as they turn all your collected bots into animated statues, like one that shows Nathan Drake playing a game called Dude Raider on his couch. Even the most serious of characters are turned into caricatures, like a scene you can create in which The Last of Us’ Joel goes to throw a brick, but it slips out of his hand and bonks him on the head. All of the 169 cameo bots fill in the would-be barren desert sands like a virtual shelf of Funko Pops. My favorite aspect of the game is how it seems to read my mind. Every time I’d divert off the main path in search of a secret or reward, I would find one.
How Many Bots Are There To Collect In Astro Bot?
When someone scores a game they have to score it for its own merits and take it for what it is, not compare it to every game that has ever existed. BG3 is exceptional and I couldn’t agree more it’s a 10 but it’s not comparable to Astro Bot in the same way it would be dumb to compare Gran Turismo 7 and Alan Wake 2. If games only got 9s and 10s based on how big they are and how much freedom they offered then most indies would never score higher than a 4. If these things are what you look for then fair enough but to suggest YOUR metrics for liking a game should apply to everyone else show a lack of empathy and frankly symptoms of being a sociopath. Actually the last one was probably last gen. I’m going to get this. I loved Astro’s playroom and I have no doubt this is gonna be an experience up there with Mario Odyssey.
That’s why many studios try to compensate by pouring money into those other areas. These games are a celebration of gaming – specifically PlayStation gaming. @Darude84 I would say, regardless of age, if you have any interest in 3D platformers at all, I can’t recommend this highly enough. As usual, happy to answer any questions about the game and the review Thank you for reading. If you want to collect these yourself in your own game, check out our guide to all bot locations, or the 100% walkthrough.
After winning the GOTY award, many more players will join Astro Bot on his difficult and joyous platforming journey. I hope everyone reading this gets to play this comfort game and experience the heartwarming and serene adventure it offers. And Team ASOBI, please keep coming with more Astro Bot adventures. Having said that, what do vz88.com think about Astro Bot winning the Game of the Year 2024 award? Once you’ve beaten all 10 of the Lost Galaxy levels (although it’s currently unclear if you also need to get the 100% completion gold flag on these levels as well), a present will appear in the middle of the nebula. Fly over and activate the present to enter the Final Encore level, which has five bots and two puzzle pieces — just like the rest of the Lost Galaxy levels.
It’s not just movement though, as the creak of Aloy’s bow and arrow, while aiming in the Horizon level, is insanely satisfying and much better than in the actual game it’s based on. Bafflingly though, none of the characters are ever named – not the first party Sony ones or the third party ones. Instead, Ratchet, for example, is referred to merely as Tooled-Up Mechanic and Jill Valentine simply as Alpha Female. There’s also a character called Pro Skater, which we assume is Tony Hawk, but perhaps it’s one of Sony’s forgotten extreme sports games – it’s impossible to tell.
That includes the Lovestruck Lyricist, an homage to PaRappa the Rapper, the Yharnam Hunter, an homage to Bloodborne, and many more. It was a long night, but the 2024 The Game Awards ceremony is finally over. This year was an amazing one, and while the big 6 games of this event were impressive, only one had the opportunity to walk away with the biggest recognition of the night.
Other than these gameplay examples, the special bots in the game also have unique and special animations that you can unlock in the game’s Gacha Lab, which adds even more personality to the already amazing-looking models. It’s not all that different from other platformers out in the market right now, yet it’s able to stand out from the rest with its fun and unique gimmicks, amazing level design, and amount of content. When comparing the game to something like Super Mario Odyssey, you could even say that Astro Bot may have taken a lot of inspiration from the Nintendo exclusive.
It was easily one of the best games available on the system at launch. To this day, its creative use of the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers showcase what the controller can do better than pretty much any other game. Longtime gamers will find rescuing the bots in Astro Bot to be an absolute treat. It’s exciting to see who will pop up next, especially since there are a few very unexpected cameo bots that I won’t spoil here.