Astro Bot is a quirky old-school style 3D platformer polished to a shine via the power of the PlayStation 5.
The game builds upon the Astro Bot Playgrounds digital game that comes pre-installed on new PS5s. As with the free game, Astro Bot harks back to simpler times, charging players with the rescue of fellow Astro Bots whilst dipping into the nostalgic waters of the PlayStation brand’s iconic history.
Astro Bot continues from Astro Bot Playgrounds, with the little bots flying through space in a spaceship that looks suspiciously like a PlayStation 5. After being attacked by an alien creature and having vital components stolen, the PS5/spaceship crashes, its bot occupants scattered.
The game’s objective is to locate the stolen parts of the PlayStation 5 spaceship. Along the way, players collect coins and save the lost bots. The game world is divided into sections containing several levels, the final level being a boss level with the stolen part. You don’t have to collect the bots, many of which are hidden, to complete the level. There are also puzzle pieces to collect and optional hidden levels to uncover.
Your Astro Bot can punch, jump and use a jetpack to slow its descent. Special equipment adds a bit of variety to the levels. Some of the equipment is based on famous PlayStation games, but most just add abilities like punching fists, a rocket pack and slowing time. The abilities only last for the level they were obtained in, but some make appearances in more than one level.
The crash site serves as the game hub, and it’s here that the PS5 is reassembled and rescued bots congregate once rescued. The crash site is also where you get to put your collection of bots to work. Whilst rescuing bots is not compulsory, there are tasks in the hub area that require a specific number of bots to access. The reward is usually the rescuing of another bot or a puzzle piece, making this part of the game kind of optional as well.
The game uses the power of the PlayStation 5 to bring huge levels to life with incredible visuals. Everything that you’d expect from a AAA game has been incorporated into the game, making it the best-looking platformer I’ve ever played.
The more of a veteran PlayStation fan you are the more you will likely enjoy Astro Bot. There are references to the brand’s entire 30-year history in the game. You’ll see nods to games going all the way back to Tomb Raider, with a few levels based on iconic PlayStation franchises, such as Uncharted and God of War, including the game mechanics.
Once the bread and butter of video gaming, platform games become out of vogue in favour of the 3D shooters and open environments afforded by dedicated 3D graphics cards. Whilst Nintendo held the fort, with its ever-popular Mario games, the rest of us moved on. With Astro Bot It makes a nice change to play a game that is suitable for the whole family without reaching for the Switch.
Astro Bot is an absolute delight to play. The animations give the game a lot of heart drawing you into a rollercoaster of a platformer that you’ll have difficulty putting down.
Rating: Great