You can soak up water then spray it on flaming objects to put them out, similar to Kirby and the Forgotten Land. However, in giant sponge form, Astro Bot can smash through obstacles in a glorious display of destruction. You’ll see this throughout the game and smashing up the world is always a joy. Let’s get the traditional Digital Foundry bullet point specs out of the way. Astro Bot uses dynamic resolution scaling and I noticed a 1440p to 2160p rendering window (though of course, this could change according to content).

Critics have praised its charming aesthetics and the seamless gameplay mechanics, but some note the occasional repetitive elements. Despite minor flaws, it stands out as one of PlayStation’s finest platformers, with many calling it a Game of the Year contender. Astro is revived by his Dual Speeder, a smaller spaceship resembling the DualSense controller, and together they begin reactivating satellites and exploring galaxies to rescue the crew and rebuild the mothership. Along the way, he rescues V.I.P. Bots (guest characters from other games) and explores planets based on Ape Escape, God of War, Uncharted, LocoRoco, and Horizon. The second highlighted moment comes after Mighty Chewy has been vanquished.

Polygon Man – Marketing Mascot (later: Playstation All-stars Battle Royale)

Five new levels are already planned to be added to Astro But starting on July 10th, further expanding the number of courses and bots in the game. These include Twin-Frog Trouble, Suck It Up, Handhold Havoc, and high Inflation. The fifth level remains a mystery, but Team Asobi did tease a new bot for Ghost of Yotei. It even teased a new feature upon completing these new Vicious Void levels. One power-up — which I won’t describe beyond saying it’s really cute since figuring it out is a big part of the fun here — truly captures the essence of Astro Bot.

With that tool and a bit of post-launch content updates, Astro Bot’s fun could last a lot longer than it does, and that would be a welcome inclusion for a game with a short run time. Still, any frustration with the game ultimately stems from wanting more of what Astro Bot provides, which at its core is a top-tier platformer with innovation, charm, and enjoyment to spare. In this way, Astro Bot gates a small but not insignificant portion of its best material behind a skill check that some of its audience won’t pass. Its best attribute, a rumble feature more nuanced than what other controllers provide, is also simpler than all of the DualSense’s high-end abilities that sometimes come off as gimmicky. https://vz88.org/ did away with some of them from Astro’s Playroom, such as using the center touchpad to unzip some blockades. Instead, this is done with the joystick, suggesting Team Asobi found it best to keep players’ hands off the somewhat clunky touchpad this time around.

What Are All Special Bots In Astro Bot? Toro Inoue – Aspirational Cat

While ruminating on the game’s score, which is finally balanced between an 8 and 9, it’s the force feedback and audio design which pushed us over the edge. @Quintumply Are the secret stages/hidden levels required to get the platinum? I am just curious if there’s a steep difficulty barrier to get the platinum. I consider myself a decent platforming player, but I know my limits on having perfect reaction timing. These are far from the only references to other games you’ll see. Of the 300 bots you need to rescue, over half of them are dressed as characters from some of the most iconic games to grace PlayStation over the last 30 years.

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Its presentation across its celebration of PlayStation’s history is twofold; one where it honors what came before and the other side of the coin in that it shows how much IP PlayStation has intentionally left behind. We need more charm and experimentation from Sony, and this game is hopefully just the start. Set across over 80 gorgeous worlds, Astro Bot will rely on a handful of abilities that are tailored made to each stage. One ability that is also used sparingly is the Sponge, which has you soaking up water and becoming a massive version of Astro Bot.

Mario gets various power-ups throughout the game and often they only feature a couple of times — it’s like that. And it’s the same in terms of level design as well, just a huge level of variety that means certain motifs and mechanics are explored only once or twice. In my opinion, the variety and constant new ideas is a big part of what makes this game great, but it sounds as though that might not align with your taste. If you liked Playroom overall, though, you’ll definitely like this. I read the review, not worried about spoilers in a platformer, and I’m wondering how many of the different one off play mechanics felt gimmicky? I really like platforming but going back to Playroom I really hate that climbing gyro mechanic, doesn’t feel fluid or natural at all.

Get ready for some helium-filled hijinks as you take off, ride upward gusts of wind, and race to the goal to rescue your captured crewmates. Astro Bot[a] is a 2024 platform game developed by Team Asobi and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5 in celebration of PlayStation’s 30th anniversary. A follow-up to Astro’s Playroom (2020), it is the fifth game in the Astro Bot series and Team Asobi’s first game since its separation from Japan Studio. Innovation in audio and physics make for an all-around good gaming experience.

But it’s the temporary abilities that come with each level that make things truly exciting. The Twin Frog gloves are a particular favourite, with their sticky tongues flinging out to provide a grapple swing option. They’re also spring-loaded, meaning any incoming projectiles can be sent back from whence they came, exploding in an enemy’s face. I also very much enjoyed the mouse mechanic, which reduces you down to a super small size, effectively turning on a “Toy Story” mode that lets you clamber up oversized shelves and leaves in search of secrets. For 30 years, Sony has given us a vast library of top-quality PlayStation games, but there has never been a mascot platformer among them to rival the heights that Nintendo’s Mario regularly reaches. Packed with dozens of colourful levels and experimental abilities, Astro’s latest outing thrusts him onto centre stage, joined by a supporting cast of PlayStation’s past heroes to provide hours of pure joy.