Astro Bot is delightfully good – Evaluate – WGB

Nintendo is the simple king of the mascot platformers, dominating the style for years with a sure purple plumber whose penchant for mushrooms is greatest ignored. Different video games have come near matching Nintendo’s icon through the years, however not from the likes of Xbox and PlayStation who’ve been content material to let Mario maintain the crown. However then the PS5 launched and with it got here Astro Bot’s Playroom, an endlessly charming freebie that grabbed folks’s consideration for its intelligent use of the Dualsense and its nostalgic PlayStation vibe. However on the core was a hell of a platformer, and now a number of years later Astro Bot is starring in a triple-A 3D platformer that may simply rival the diminutive pipe technician.

A part of the enjoyable is as a result of it’s simply cool to play a big-budget triple-A platformer that isn’t closely restricted by janky {hardware}. There are some wonderful indie platformers on the market that may compete with the perfect of them on gameplay and basic vibe, however Astro Bot is the entire package deal: it’s an amazing platformer backed by an enormous finances on {hardware} that lets it shine. It’s received the Nintendo magic with the PlayStation razzle-dazzle. The Mario swagger with the Kratos physique.

One factor Astro Bot has not misplaced since his final outing is the sturdy attachment to the PlayStation model. A part of me is apprehensive that Asobi and Sony are too targeted on tying Astro Bot to PlayStation and I hope that in his subsequent journey, Astro Bot could be allowed to face on his personal two cute little ft once more. That’s a priority for the longer term, although, so let’s push it to the aspect for now.

We’re instantly greeted by Astro and several other hundred of his friends cruising the galaxy of their mothership, which simply so occurs to be a PS5, when Area Bully Nebulax pulls up on the lookout for a combat. He steals the mothership’s processor, inflicting the PS5 to crash-land onto a close-by planet. It’s as much as Astro Bot to rescue his 300 lacking comrades, most of them dressed up as basic PlayStation characters, and discover the scattered components wanted to repair the PS5 to allow them to seek out Area Bully Nebulax and kick his alien ass.

And that’s it for the story. Like most basic 3D platformers, Astro Bot doesn’t spend an excessive amount of time on the narrative as a result of it desires you to only leap in and have enjoyable exploring the handfuls and dozens of bite-sized ranges unfold throughout a number of galaxies. What blooms from the easy premise is round 10-hours of the best platforming and adventuring I’ve ever had the robotic pleasure of experiencing. And simply once you suppose you’ve seen all the things the sport has, it throws in one other glorious boss combat or cool set-piece otherwise you uncover one more cute little element.

If you happen to performed Astro’s Playroom you then’ll be immediately accustomed to the moveset accessible to you: a easy leap, a laser-powered glide and two varieties of assault. Certainly, one in every of my few criticisms of Astro Bot is the restricted suite of strikes, particularly in comparison, as soon as once more, to the Mario sequence. However whereas simplistic, Astro’s moveset is a pleasure to make use of because of the exact, responsive controls. It’s nearly indescribable – it’s important to maintain the controller and transfer Astro Bot’s astro butt round to understand the crisp controls.

The result’s a sport that’s extremely good at getting you into that magical zen-like move. The way in which the degrees are designed and the sharp controls make it really easy to maintain the momentum going, to rapidly learn the place you have to go and what you have to do, that your mind can swap off and simply float. It’s a magical feeling and one which solely a choose few video games can pull off.

After all, it helps that Astro Bot is so obscenely charming on each possible degree. You’ll find it in all the things, from the cutesy enemy designs to the catchy, bouncy music that I nonetheless discover myself buzzing below my breath. At one level I leapt atop a cow (each residing being is a robotic of some kind) and found a bespoke animation the place Astro Bot sits astride the beast after which hugs it. There are heaps of small particulars like this that assist carry the sport to life, a myriad of little ways in which Staff Asobi imbued their love and fervour into Astro’s journey. Simply after I suppose I’ve seen all the things the sport has to supply, it items me with a magical degree a few musical tree or rescuing an enormous starfish. There’s seemingly no finish to Staff Asobi’s creativeness and want to entertain.

Talking of bringing the sport to life, Staff Asobi stay the undisputed king’s of utilizing the Dualsense controller to the fullest. Each degree begins with gliding in on a customized Dualsense controller, utilizing the gyro controls to rigorously (or not so rigorously) land. You possibly can really feel the mild pitter-patter of Astro’s ft as he jogs alongside steel and the regular drumroll of raindrops hitting his tiny umbrella. These particulars are refined, sure, however in addition they assist immerse you into the world. I can’t assist however want extra corporations would use Dualsense’s capabilities, though I suppose I can perceive why they don’t – it’s quite a lot of growth money and time to sink into one thing most individuals in all probability don’t care about.

Astro’s moveset is augmented by numerous power-ups within the type of cuddly animals that leap onto his again and go for a trip. Whereas the Mario video games decide to have a number of power-ups sprinkled round, Staff Asobi prefers to have one per degree in order that the whole space could be constructed round utilizing it to the fullest. There are some absolute banger power-ups right here, however let’s discuss a few them – my favorite is perhaps freezing due to the way you get to platform throughout dashing obstacles, making it to the opposite aspect simply within the nick of time. There’s additionally a unbelievable power-up that shrinks Astro Bot which is utilized in some glorious sequences. Oh! And there’s one that permit’s you take in water like an enormous robo-sponge! And this actually cool hen that blasts you upwards like a rocket! And…and and this different one which makes platforms in mid air! And…yeah, you get the purpose.

A variety of the allure comes from accumulating the 300 little robots scattered throughout the degrees. A lot of them are generic Astro Bots, however an enormous chunk of them are cosplaying as basic PlayStation characters or as references to different video games. You possibly can accumulate the likes of Nathan Drake, Lara Croft, Dante, a heap of monkeys from Ape Escape, Kratos and so many extra. It’s PlayStation Pokemon, mainly.

Gathering the little bots scattered all through the degrees like presents is a pleasure in its personal proper, however the sport does one higher by sending them residence to the crash website. Everytime you return you’re greeted by each bot you’ve discovered, all of them gathering to cheerfully welcome you again earlier than they scurry off to hang around, have enjoyable and wait so that you can go to them. It’s like being welcomed residence by 300 canine that adore you! In addition they serve a sensible operate – they type ropes and bridges that can assist you attain new areas of the crash website, however that feels secondary to the larger function they serve: they’re simply enjoyable. It’s cool to see all of them hanging out, and you’ll spend cash in a gacha machine to unlock props for them as nicely.

There’s a unusual undercurrent to accumulating all these items of PlayStation historical past although, one which most individuals in all probability aren’t even going to consider. You see, there’s a superb chunk of the misplaced bots that symbolize IPs and video games you’ll be able to’t even play on PlayStation today. For that matter, of the IPs current solely one in every of them wants a PS5 to be performed. All the remaining could be performed on PS4 or elsewhere. None of this actually impacts your enjoyment of the excellent platforming, however I discovered it attention-grabbing nonetheless. It explores PlayStation’s previous and celebrates most of the video games that made the model profitable, but it surely additionally highlights how unneeded the PS5 can typically really feel. As a lot as it’s a celebration of the corporate’s historical past, It isn’t a celebration of PlayStations current.

Every little galaxy of ranges is capped off by a particular themed space the place Astro Bots dons the costume of PlayStation icon, inheriting their skills for a spell. The primary of those is Ape Escape, so Astro Bot wields the basic internet and will get to run round capturing pesky apes as they cover in bushes and scamper about. One other degree has you taking part in as Astro Kratos, full with an axe you’ll be able to hurl and a badass techno remix of the God of Struggle theme music. These ranges are, after all, a spotlight of the sport, which is why it’s a disgrace that there’s solely a handful of them. I’d have beloved extra of them, protecting a good wider vary of PlayStation IP, however I assume Staff Asobi must hold one thing again for the longer term. And, maybe, in the event that they and targeted an excessive amount of on dressing up Astro Bot it will have taken the highlight away from the little android.

The boss fights towards the tip of every galaxy are one other spotlight in an already glorious sport. Some folks have complained that Staff Asobi have resused the bosses from Astro Bot titles and that’s true – nonetheless, the precise mechanics of the combat are totally totally different. I really discovered it fairly cool to see the bosses again. In spite of everything, if Mario can combat Bowser for the millionth time, why can’t Astro Bot face-off towards some returning foes? Like the remainder of the sport, the boss fights are extraordinarily simple (this isn’t a sport that’s going to problem you, apart from a few barely trickier non-compulsory ranges) however immensely enjoyable.

Right here’s the one phrase I believe sums up Astro Bot. Properly, two phrases, however solely as a result of I’m a little bit of a twat: fucking pleasant. It’s pleasant. It’s delightfully charming. It’s delightfully enjoyable to play. It’s pleasant to take a look at. Man, it’s simply fucking pleasant.

Whereas Astro’s previous adventures in VR and as a tech-demo on PS5 had been nice in tjheir personal rights, Astro Bot proves past a shadow of a doubt that the mechanical marvel cannot solely star in his very personal triple-A, full-priced banger of a sport, however that he is also PlayStation’s new mascot if the corporate is . Whereas he may not be ever as standard as PlayStation’s extra critical characters, he’s received household enchantment, one thing which the model doesn’t have a lot of.

Astro Bot has all the things you possibly can need in a 3D platformer; crisp controls, attractive visuals, glorious degree designs, enjoyable energy ups and oodles of allure. Mario has competitors, and in contrast to the plumber, this hero doesn’t want mushrooms to have a superb time.