| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| PlayStation 5 | 8.80 |
| Overall | 8.80 |
|
It’s great to see someone other than Nintendo try their hand at a big 3D platformer release and even better to see when it’s this great. Astro Bot has become Sony’s recent mascot, his first outing was one of the best VR experiences ever made, the second is one of the best free pack in games around, a perfect showcase of the new PS5 hardware. Now he gets a full fledged platformer, minus VR, that goes toe to toe with Mario. Is it has good as the legendary plumber, not exactly but it’s definitely one of the best 3D platformers of recent times, not that there are many, I’m just pleased it’s so good. Astro Bot sticks to what has worked before for this franchise, extremely responsive controls, with fun creative levels, all polished to perfection. It isn’t the deepest platformer mechanically, he doesn’t have the core moveset Mario does, there is no room for advanced jumping so that is a factor holding back this game from the best in the genre. But it makes up for that with unbridled creativity with power ups and levels. The best parallel to me is LittleBigPlanet2, nearly every level is something new, whether it be a power or mechanic not seen before. I was constantly with a huge smile on my face as a new fun power up would show up. From getting spring loaded arms that let you punch and stick to certain platforms. A suction machine that lets you suck up different goo which with their own properties that allow you to create platforms as you climb up a singing tree. You have more standard power ups like a jetpack, a rocket, one that propels you through the air like a balloon. My favorite was one level where you get the power to shrink down to the size of a tiny mouse, with the push of a button the entire world becomes massive as you shrink down and navigate the level in a whole different way. The level of course requires constant switching from large to small, it’s visually striking and so much fun. Sadly it’s only for ONE level, I think an entire game could have been made with this one mechanic alone. Difficulty wise this game stays pretty consistent with it being easy enough for everyone to play. The fun comes from just how interesting the new game mechanics are in each level rather than hard levels. There are a few challenge levels, really short ones but these have to be done with one life and can be tough. They are totally optional and usually are straight forward jumping levels. I could have used more of these or have the challenges more spread out with the regular type of levels rather than these bite sized challenge levels. At least they are there, it does show that these mechanics can create some challenging levels. Every level is filled with secrets to find, mainly bots, puzzle pieces and even some secret exits that lead to a hidden world. Most secrets are pretty simple to see, you obviously notice a side path, this isn’t a large world platformer, it’s more like galaxy in that it’s pretty linear. The best secrets involve using the power ups or solving a puzzle in the game world, there are quite a few that were really well done. I actually would have wanted more reason to replay these levels, a time attack or no death run mode would have been great, but alas only the secrets will do. Astro Bot is split into 5 worlds and a secret lost levels world, each of those have about 10 levels, some are small challenge levels, I would say there are 6 main levels per world. These levels are of good length, mostly cause I like to explore and find the secrets, I would say it’s on par with the more linear Galaxy levels. At the end of each world is a massive boss battle which once again reminds me this is not in VR. Some of the bosses are reused, in fact most enemies and even some backgrounds are reused from the last two games, and I remember these bosses in VR towering over me. The scale remains but that wow factor is gone. The battles are a blast though, usually making use of a new item introduced in that world. When it all comes together with the music and spectacle of the battle I was genuinely thrilled with each of these bosses, especially the final boss which is pure PS fan service. After finishing the boss battles you get a special level that allows you to transform into a legendary PS character, transforming the game into a version of that game. One of them lets you become Kratos and you can throw the axe and retrieve it at enemies and used to activate buttons to navigate the world. There is an Ape Escape level where you hunt apes around a small world. My personal favorite is the uncharted level where you shoot your way through the level and even solve some Uncharted like puzzles to find secrets, it also ends with a fantastic wild boss battle that’s unlike anything else in the game. It’s kind of sad all these levels are a one off thing, there is so much more they could do but a lot of this game feels like a buffet of appetizers. Unique to this Astro Bot game is a hub world where all the robots you collect in the levels live and can be interacted with. There are some secrets to find in this hub world, they require a certain amount of robots to access. Here you can use coins you get in levels to unlock new skins for Astro bot and unlock unique animations for all the PS cameo robots. To me that’s one of the better bonus unlocks around as all these animations are so good. Some of my favorite include Raziel transforming the world into a shadow world, Kiryu having tons of junk in his pockets, Jak having daxter to wake him up to name a few. These always brought a smile to myself, there are some great deep cuts and call backs to fans of these games. It’s all optional but a worthy bonus that I really wanted to see to completion. Graphically this game looks just like playroom which already a great looking game. It runs perfectly, solid 60 fps at all times and has impressive physics as there are levels with hundreds of small pieces flying all over the place. The music is fantastic with really catching tunes that have been in my head since playing it. One stand out is a giant tree rapping about you climbing him and helping him rid of the baddies infesting his body. Astro Bot is another great entry into this under used franchise for Sony. What they have here is current the best 3D platformer not named Mario, I really hope this finds a big audience because it’s a game everyone can enjoy. My young nephews can’t get enough of it, it’s so creative with the ways it uses items and the controller, it works so well with kids and platform enthusiasts. I don’t think it hits the highs of the genres absolute peak but Astro Bot is a must play for fans of 3D platformers. |
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Posted by Dvader Sun, 22 Sep 2024 23:48:27
Mon, 23 Sep 2024 01:14:26
This is basically exactly how I felt about the game as well. Not quite as good as the Super Mario but to be fair that’s a very high bar. Still an incredibly fun and charming game. Would love to see them expand things in a sequel.
Tue, 24 Sep 2024 13:41:02
I saw a video comparison to bits of Mario Galaxy and it did seem eerily similar.
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