Astro Bot Review: 1 Bot, 150 Dreams

Astro Bot is undoubtedly a culmination of PlayStation’s history to date. From rescuing over 300 Bots with over 150 unique characters from PlayStation games and recovering PS5 components, you’re truly in for a cosmic ride on this one.

Developed by Team Asobi, you already know the game is in the right hands. The game was released on September 6 for the PlayStation 5 platform.

Get your dualsense controller ready as we prepare to dive into our Review for Astro Bot!

The Galaxy’s Fiercest Bot

Astro Bot is a one-man army. From rescuing every single bot for his spaceship to piecing every part together, all alone truly makes Astro one of a kind. But wait? How did we get here? Why is PS5 torn apart in the first place?

A comically giant alien is to blame. From ripping the PlayStation 5 apart and throwing its components across different solar systems, the alien takes pride in constantly bullying the CPU of the PS5 wherever it goes. While the disaster took place, every bot residing in the PS5 was also scattered across planets, and it’s now up to you to bring them home.

Discover planets, uncover secrets, pull back the family together and build the PS5 to its former glory again.

The Platformer of a Lifetime

Astro Bot has got to be one of the most interesting and graphically captivating games we’ve played this year. Harnessing the power of the PlayStation 5, the game feels like a dream come true. As for the features, there are endless opportunities and something new to discover at every corner.

The more you look, the more you find. Simply by cruising across a solar system, you will unlock a bonus challenge that will test any experienced platformer player to their strengths. You will also come across rifts in certain levels that will directly lead you to a separate lost galaxy with interesting themes of its own, and yes you can find more bots to discover over there.

Astro Bot’s platforming is straightforward. You can jump and follow it up with a jump boost. Everything else is based on many features of the environment itself. The world designs are incredibly creative and each planet having its theme is truly wild in terms of the scale of the entire game. You seamlessly launch into a map directly from space which certain million-dollar budget games in this year have failed to do so.

Graphically, this truly bears the flag in marking a standard and going beyond. The performance is seamless and I have encountered no bugs yet in my playthrough. The water physics looks almost realistic and each asset that’s in the game is of the highest quality. The maps may not be extremely big in scale, but each corner has something left to be discovered, A stranded bot, a puzzle piece or just some coins.

On most levels, you’ll also be able to get abilities which are of many variety throughout the game. From the ability to freeze time to becoming a little sponge and soaking up water, the creativity runs wild. The entire experience of a level is just insane starting from the first few seconds of gliding into the stage to how the stage is presented. The way certain bots are hidden in the game is extensively creative. And what if, there’s no way you can find a certain piece of collectable and you don’t want to look up a guide? You can revisit the same level, but this time you’ll have a bird that acts as a radar to any nearby collectable, therefore removing any need for you to go out hunting guides.

After defeating any boss, you’ll also be able to discover franchise special levels including the ones from Ape Escape, God of War, Unchartered and more. These levels are a form of tribute to these legendary games and anyone who has a heart for these games will surely have a good time exploring those levels filled with many game easter eggs.

Astro’s Space Adventure

The planets of the game are truly fascinating to explore and have many unique POIs at each level. But the way any level is presented truly blows us away. Moreover, defeating enemies is an extremely easy task but the variety of enemies increases as you progress with certain enemies being defeated only with a specific move. Some enemies are also designed to be only encountered after you’ve obtained a temporary ability.

The world design seems to be incredible and the creative elements pour out of the game filled with the life and intensity of a paradise.

Your adventure will also help you encounter certain trials based on the shapes of the dualsense controller, these challenges are frustrating but will be fun challenges for any platformer enthusiast. You get only one attempt with no respawn and have to deal with the entire run in one go.

Finally speaking of the dualsense controller. You will finally get the feeling of utilizing the dualsense to its maximum extent. The extremely powerful trigger haptics with great accurate rumbles on the controller you are always within the level whenever holding the controller. The gyro on the controller is extremely fun, especially when controlling the spaceship glider or simply meeting the rescued bots from the controller for fun. Whether it’s firing Nathan’s pistol or throwing the Leviathan axe, the rumbles are a blessing in the gaming tech.

Verdict

Astro Bot is a flawless platformer game which pays tribute to the PlayStation franchise and its legacy. The creativity breaks bounds and barriers with returning bosses to defeat, keeping the entire flow rapid and fluid. The endless amount of challenges and thrill to discover as many easter eggs really keeps you hooked for hours. Time really flies with this one.