Astro Bot review – DualSensational

You look at Sony’s line of first-party games, and you’ll notice that they tend to theme themselves around morally grey protagonists exploring their respective worlds. There’s nothing wrong with that formula when it’s done right, but in comparison, Astro Bot feels like a breath of fresh air. Not just an absolute delight to play, Astro Bot is a showcase of what the PS5 is capable of–even with a mid-gen PS5 Pro refresh around the corner–a stunning display of charm and pixel-perfect platforming fun that never ceases to amaze. As the 2024 finish line gets closer, Astro Bot emerges from the pack to cement itself as a game-of-the-year contender.

Narratively, Astro Bot is essentially a Saturday morning cartoon with PS5-powered animation. After running afoul of a nasty alien, Astro finds himself stranded on a distant planet, his hundreds of siblings scattered across the cosmos, and their PS5 mothership in dire need of repair. From there, you’re given a DualSense spaceship, a mission to explore the cosmos, reunite with your siblings, and repair your flagship. It might sound like a barebones story, but in the case of Astro Bot, a breezy tale suits the character perfectly and ends with an incredibly satisfying pay-off, especially if you’ve been a PlayStation fan since ’94.

The real magic of Astro Bot lies within each level, as across these dozens of stages, Team Asobi’s talent is on full display. You can expect to complete one in around 5-10 minutes, if you stick to the core experience, but you’ll spend much more time discovering their secrets, rescuing your fellow bots, and just admiring the sheer creativity on display. Just when you think you’ve seen everything that Astro Bot has to offer, it throws something entirely new at you in the form of fascinating gameplay mechanics, tremendously fun boss battles, or incredibly challenging segments that require pitch-perfect platforming skill.

Visually, the game is a gorgeous blast of color and imaginative designs. There are levels full of lava, stages with gigantic trees belting out funky lyrics, and at least one zone that would be perfect for an Ant-Man game if Team Asobi ever landed a Marvel contract. Each chapter is also overflowing with stuff, from mountains of acorns to piles of pixels, and while they don’t have an impact on the gameplay, there’s a certain thrill to wading through all of these thousands of pieces of fluff that would have been impossible to render on an older console.

But Astro Bot dials the charm up to 11 when it gives you toys to play with inside these levels. Astro’s platforming skills have largely remained the same since his last appearance as a PS5 launch game (in the form of included Astro’s Playroom), but augmenting his arsenal this time around with all manner of gadgets makes each stage even more fun to play through and explore. From time-stopping PSVR goggles to mechanical bulldog backpacks that you can use to knock the teeth out of a rampaging gorilla, each new item makes the game even more fun to play.

All of this has been coupled with the PS5 DualSense controller, as Team Asobi has used every possible feature that the peripheral has to offer to create its most immersive game yet. These range from subtle to overt, like using the gyroscopic motion controls to manipulate levels, to blowing into the built-in microphone to activate fans. Throw in delightful sound effects from the controller speaker and clever uses for the adaptive triggers, and you’ll need to have a second controller on standby when you inevitably burn through your DualSense battery.

That already makes for an incredible game, but Astro Bot goes a step further by also celebrating PlayStation as a whole. In a fitting and touching tribute to a console brand that turned 30 this year, Astro Bot makes numerous nods to multiple generations of PlayStation history. Not only do you find bots across the galaxy who resemble some of the biggest PlayStation icons of all time, but there are even levels dedicated to their groundbreaking games, ranging from Ape Escape to God of War. And each is a blast to play.

There’s an atmosphere of love and respect for the past in Astro Bot, but never at the expense of the actual game–a fine line that Team Asobi expertly balances on like a seasoned tightrope walker. It’s a game that delivers a knockout combo of charm, polish, and creativity, making it an essential entry in any PlayStation library that’s fun for all ages.

Astro Bot is available now as a PlayStation 5 exclusive.