Nintendo
is
the
undeniable
king
of
the
mascot
platformers,
dominating
the
genre
for
years
with
a
certain
red
plumber
whose
penchant
for
mushrooms
is
best
ignored.
Other
games
have
come
close
to
matching
Nintendo’s
icon
over
the
years,
but
not
from
the
likes
of
Xbox
and
PlayStation
who
have
been
content
to
let
Mario
hold
the
crown.
But
then
the
PS5
launched
and
with
it
came
Astro
Bot’s
Playroom,
an
endlessly
charming
freebie
that
grabbed
people’s
attention
for
its
clever
use
of
the
Dualsense
and
its
nostalgic
PlayStation
vibe.
But
at
the
core
was
a
hell
of
a
platformer,
and
now
a
few
years
later
Astro
Bot
is
starring
in
a
triple-A
3D
platformer
that
might
just
rival
the
diminutive
pipe
technician.

Part
of
the
fun
is
because
it’s
just
cool
to
play
a
big-budget
triple-A
platformer
that
isn’t
heavily
limited
by
janky
hardware.
There
are
some
amazing
indie
platformers
out
there
that
can
compete
with
the
best
of
them
on
gameplay
and
general
vibe,
but
Astro
Bot
is
the
whole
package:
it’s
a
great
platformer
backed
by
a
big
budget
on
hardware
that
lets
it
shine.
It’s
got
the
Nintendo
magic
with
the
PlayStation
razzle-dazzle.
The
Mario
swagger
with
the
Kratos
body.

One
thing
Astro
Bot
has
not
lost
since
his
last
outing
is
the
strong
attachment
to
the
PlayStation
brand.
Part
of
me
is
worried
that
Asobi
and
Sony
are
too
focused
on
tying
Astro
Bot
to
PlayStation
and
I
hope
that
in
his
next
adventure,
Astro
Bot
can
be
allowed
to
stand
on
his
own
two
cute
little
feet
again.
That’s
a
concern
for
the
future,
though,
so
let’s
push
it
to
the
side
for
now.

We’re
immediately
greeted
by
Astro
and
several
hundred
of
his
pals
cruising
the
galaxy
in
their
mothership,
which
just
so
happens
to
be
a
PS5,
when
Space
Bully
Nebulax
pulls
up
looking
for
a
fight.
He
steals
the
mothership’s
processor,
causing
the
PS5
to
crash-land
onto
a
nearby
planet.
It’s
up
to
Astro
Bot
to
rescue
his
300
missing
comrades,
most
of
them
dressed
up
as
classic
PlayStation
characters,
and
find
the
scattered
parts
needed
to
fix
the
PS5
so
they
can
hunt
down
Space
Bully
Nebulax
and
kick
his
alien
ass.

And
that’s
it
for
the
story.
Like
most
classic
3D
platformers,
Astro
Bot
doesn’t
spend
too
much
time
on
the
narrative
because
it
wants
you
to
just
jump
in
and
have
fun
exploring
the
dozens
and
dozens
of
bite-sized
levels
spread
across
multiple
galaxies.
What
blooms
from
the
simple
premise
is
around
10-hours
of
the
finest
platforming
and
adventuring
I’ve
ever
had
the
robotic
pleasure
of
experiencing.
And
just
when
you
think
you’ve
seen
everything
the
game
has,
it
throws
in
another
excellent
boss
fight
or
cool
set-piece
or
you
discover
yet
another
cute
little
detail.

If
you
played
Astro’s
Playroom
then
you’ll
be
instantly
familiar
with
the
moveset
available
to
you:
a
simple
jump,
a
laser-powered
glide
and
two
types
of
attack.
Indeed,
one
of
my
few
criticisms
of
Astro
Bot
is
the
limited
suite
of
moves,
especially
when
compared,
once
again,
to
the
Mario
series.
But
while
simplistic,
Astro’s
moveset
is
a
joy
to
use
thanks
to
the
precise,
responsive
controls.
It’s
almost
indescribable
–
you
have
to
hold
the
controller
and
move
Astro
Bot’s
astro
butt
around
to
appreciate
the
crisp
controls.

The
result
is
a
game
that
is
incredibly
good
at
getting
you
into
that
magical
zen-like
flow.
The
way
the
levels
are
designed
and
the
sharp
controls
make
it
so
easy
to
keep
the
momentum
going,
to
quickly
read
where
you
need
to
go
and
what
you
need
to
do,
that
your
brain
can
switch
off
and
just
go
with
the
flow.
It’s
a
magical
feeling
and
one
that
only
a
select
few
games
can
pull
off.

Of
course,
it
helps
that
Astro
Bot
is
so
obscenely
charming
on
every
imaginable
level.
You
can
find
it
in
everything,
from
the
cutesy
enemy
designs
to
the
catchy,
bouncy
music
that
I
still
find
myself
humming
under
my
breath.
At
one
point
I
leapt
atop
a
cow
(every
living
being
is
a
robot
of
some
type)
and
discovered
a
bespoke
animation
where
Astro
Bot
sits
astride
the
beast
and
then
hugs
it.
There
are
heaps
of
small
details
like
this
that
help
bring
the
game
to
life,
a
myriad
of
little
ways
that
Team
Asobi
imbued
their
love
and
passion
into
Astro’s
journey.
Just
when
I
think
I’ve
seen
everything
the
game
has
to
offer,
it
gifts
me
with
a
magical
level
about
a
musical
tree
or
rescuing
a
massive
starfish.
There’s
seemingly
no
end
to
Team
Asobi’s
imagination
and
desire
to
entertain.

Speaking
of
bringing
the
game
to
life,
Team
Asobi
remain
the
undisputed
king’s
of
using
the
Dualsense
controller
to
the
fullest.
Every
level
begins
with
gliding
in
on
a
customised
Dualsense
controller,
using
the
gyro
controls
to
carefully
(or
not
so
carefully)
land.
You
can
feel
the
gentle
pitter-patter
of
Astro’s
feet
as
he
jogs
along
metal
and
the
steady
drumroll
of
raindrops
hitting
his
tiny
umbrella.
These
details
are
subtle,
yes,
but
they
also
help
immerse
you
into
the
world.
I
can’t
help
but
wish
more
companies
would
use
Dualsense’s
capabilities,
although
I
suppose
I
can
understand
why
they
don’t
–
it’s
a
lot
of
development
time
and
money
to
sink
into
something
most
people
probably
don’t
care
about.

Astro’s
moveset
is
augmented
by
various
power-ups
in
the
form
of
cuddly
animals
that
leap
onto
his
back
and
go
for
a
ride.
Whereas
the
Mario
games
opt
to
have
multiple
power-ups
sprinkled
around,
Team
Asobi
prefers
to
have
one
per
level
so
that
the
entire
area
can
be
built
around
using
it
to
the
fullest.
There
are
some
absolute
banger
power-ups
here,
but
let’s
talk
about
a
couple
of
them
–
my
favourite
might
be
freezing
because
of
how
you
get
to
platform
across
speeding
obstacles,
making
it
to
the
other
side
just
in
the
nick
of
time.
There’s
also
a
fantastic
power-up
that
shrinks
Astro
Bot
which
is
used
in
some
excellent
sequences.
Oh!
And
there’s
one
that
let’s
you
soak
up
water
like
a
giant
robo-sponge!
And
this
really
cool
chicken
that
blasts
you
upwards
like
a
rocket!
And…and
and
this
other
one
that
makes
platforms
in
mid
air!
And…yeah,
you
get
the
point.

A
lot
of
the
charm
comes
from
collecting
the
300
little
robots
scattered
across
the
levels.
Many
of
them
are
generic
Astro
Bots,
but
a
huge
chunk
of
them
are
cosplaying
as
classic
PlayStation
characters
or
as
references
to
other
games.
You
can
collect
the
likes
of
Nathan
Drake,
Lara
Croft,
Dante,
a
heap
of
monkeys
from
Ape
Escape,
Kratos
and
so
many
more.
It’s
PlayStation
Pokemon,
basically.

Collecting
the
little
bots
scattered
throughout
the
levels
like
presents
is
a
joy
in
its
own
right,
but
the
game
does
one
better
by
sending
them
home
to
the
crash
site.
Whenever
you
return
you’re
greeted
by
every
bot
you’ve
found,
all
of
them
gathering
to
cheerfully
welcome
you
back
before
they
scurry
off
to
hang
out,
have
fun
and
wait
for
you
to
visit
them.
It’s
like
being
welcomed
home
by
300
dogs
that
adore
you!
They
also
serve
a
practical
function
–
they
form
ropes
and
bridges
to
help
you
reach
new
areas
of
the
crash
site,
but
that
feels
secondary
to
the
bigger
purpose
they
serve:
they’re
just
fun.
It’s
cool
to
see
them
all
hanging
out,
and
you
can
spend
coins
in
a
gacha
machine
to
unlock
props
for
them
as
well.

There
is
a
strange
undercurrent
to
collecting
all
these
pieces
of
PlayStation
history
though,
one
that
most
people
probably
aren’t
even
going
to
think
about.
You
see,
there’s
a
good
chunk
of
the
lost
bots
that
represent
IPs
and
games
you
can’t
even
play
on
PlayStation
these
days.
For
that
matter,
of
the
IPs
present
only
one
of
them
needs
a
PS5
to
be
played.
All
the
rest
can
be
played
on
PS4
or
elsewhere.
None
of
this
really
affects
your
enjoyment
of
the
superb
platforming,
but
I
found
it
interesting
nonetheless.
It
explores
PlayStation’s
past
and
celebrates
many
of
the
games
that
made
the
brand
successful,
but
it
also
highlights
how
unneeded
the
PS5
can
sometimes
feel.
As
much
as
it
is
a
celebration
of
the
company’s
history,
It
isn’t
a
celebration
of
PlayStations
present.

Each
little
galaxy
of
levels
is
capped
off
by
a
special
themed
area
where
Astro
Bots
dons
the
costume
of
PlayStation
icon,
inheriting
their
abilities
for
a
spell.
The
first
of
these
is
Ape
Escape,
so
Astro
Bot
wields
the
classic
net
and
gets
to
run
around
capturing
pesky
apes
as
they
hide
in
bushes
and
scamper
about.
Another
level
has
you
playing
as
Astro
Kratos,
complete
with
an
axe
you
can
hurl
and
a
badass
techno
remix
of
the
God
of
War
theme
music.
These
levels
are,
of
course,
a
highlight
of
the
game,
which
is
why
it’s
a
shame
that
there’s
only
a
handful
of
them.
I
would
have
loved
more
of
them,
covering
an
even
wider
range
of
PlayStation
IP,
but
I
guess
Team
Asobi
have
to
keep
something
back
for
the
future.
And,
perhaps,
if
they
and
focused
too
much
on
dressing
up
Astro
Bot
it
would
have
taken
the
spotlight
away
from
the
little
android.

The
boss
fights
toward
the
end
of
each
galaxy
are
another
highlight
in
an
already
excellent
game.
Some
people
have
complained
that
Team
Asobi
have
resused
the
bosses
from
Astro
Bot
titles
and
that’s
true
–
however,
the
actual
mechanics
of
the
fight
are
entirely
different.
I
actually
found
it
pretty
cool
to
see
the
bosses
back.
After
all,
if
Mario
can
fight
Bowser
for
the
millionth
time,
why
can’t
Astro
Bot
face-off
against
some
returning
foes?
Like
the
rest
of
the
game,
the
boss
fights
are
extremely
easy
(this
is
not
a
game
that’s
going
to
challenge
you,
except
for
a
couple
of
slightly
trickier
optional
levels)
but
immensely
fun.

Here’s
the
one
word
I
think
sums
up
Astro
Bot.
Well,
two
words,
but
only
because
I’m
a
bit
of
a
twat:

fucking
delightful.
It’s
delightful.
It’s
delightfully
charming.
It’s
delightfully
fun
to
play.
It’s
delightful
to
look
at.
Man,

it’s
just
fucking
delightful.

While
Astro’s
past
adventures
in
VR
and
as
a
tech-demo
on
PS5
were
great
in
tjheir
own
rights,
Astro
Bot
proves
beyond
a
shadow
of
a
doubt
that
the
mechanical
marvel
can
not
only
star
in
his
very
own
triple-A,
full-priced
banger
of
a
game,
but
that
he
could
also
be
PlayStation’s
new
mascot
if
the
company
is
interested.
While
he
might
not
be
ever
as
popular
as
PlayStation’s
more
serious
characters,
he’s
got
family
appeal,
something
which
the
brand
doesn’t
have
much
of.

Astro
Bot
has
everything
you
could
want
in
a
3D
platformer;
crisp
controls,
gorgeous
visuals,
excellent
level
designs,
fun
power
ups
and
oodles
of
charm.
Mario
has
competition,
and
unlike
the
plumber,
this
hero
doesn’t
need
mushrooms
to
have
a
good
time.