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. Still, why the Mouse ability is only used a single time is bizarre, given that some abilities are used nearly a dozen times. Astro Bot is, at its core, a game built out of sheer creativity. Damn rights it does, but it puts them on display with a rare confidence few studios could pull off. Astro Bot revels in showing the player something new around almost every corner.

Astro Bot Tentacle System Rescued Bots

These are just three examples, but quite literally every level in the game has some kind of unique idea or design. There are some repeats in terms of power-ups that Astro Bot is given, little devices or creatures that give them new moves. For example, the dog power-up lets you charge straight ahead and smash through walls, the clock lets you slow down time, a penguin gives you a quick dash through water, and a monkey holds cymbals that let out a massive shockwave. Even though these power-ups appear across multiple levels, they’re always used in tandem with that level’s unique design, making them feel fresh.

There are optional challenge levels that open up later on, however, for anyone who might be craving that. The superb adventure builds off of the foundation of Astro’s Playroom, the free pack-in game that launched with the PS5 console to showcase the DualSense Controller’s unique features. Over the course of 90-plus levels, Astro Bot makes brilliant use of the DualSense’s adaptive triggers, haptic feedback, touch panel, gyro controls, and built-in speaker. From a mechanical perspective, Astro Bot is arguably the most inventive and playful 3D platformer ever made.

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As I journeyed through Astro Bot’s gorgeous worlds, I was constantly blown away by the clever new hook each level introduced. While a traditional 3D platformer collect-a-thon at its core, Astro Bot is always throwing in a new gimmick to make each level feel fresh and distinct from all the others. [newline]Oftentimes, these gimmicks add a new exploration tool, in turn giving the developers the freedom to build levels in completely different ways. The sheer variety Astro Bot delivers is breathtaking, and like I said, there’s not a bad level in the bunch. Astro Bot might be the best game out right now to make use of the DualSense special features. The use of haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and gyro controls makes the game’s simple mechanics shine even more as it adds so much to the gameplay. Not only this, but the game even makes use of the controller’s speakers to make the game even more immersive.

Platformers like Kirby and the Forgotten Land are at their best when they’re introducing new ideas that consistently surprise players. They tend to lag in their back halves when they’ve played all their cards, but have more levels to go. Even Astro Bot dips into that in its final world as it begins repeating power-ups and enemy types. It doesn’t have trouble keeping its double dips to a minimum, though.

That soundtrack scores levels that seem simple at first, but soon unfurl themselves to reveal tantalising depths and secrets. Most are fairly linear, but some go the extra mile and are enjoyably knotty, providing sandbox-like areas to hunt for collectibles in. There’s never the openness found in the large-by-comparison Mario Odyssey levels, but enough nooks and crannies to get stuck into nonetheless.

Some of this stems from Team Asobi’s enthusiastic use of the DualSense’s rumble, haptic triggers, and speaker. Some is rendered by Team Asobi’s astonishing, virtuosic command of the PlayStation 5 itself; Astro Bot is a tech marvel, perhaps the best-looking PS5 game to date. The sheen of the surfaces, slosh of the liquids, scale of the levels, and smoothness of the frame rate are stunning. The physics, as Astro sets piles of hundreds of shiny apples tumbling, or wades through a pool of gold nuggets, are just showing off. Unlike ASTRO’s Playroom, ASTRO BOT is a standalone, full-sized adventure that offers over four times more worlds, 300 bots to rescue and dozens of new powers and features to discover. Selected by a combination of jury vote and public opinion, this is widely considered one of the most prestigious awards in the video game industry.

The unbridled joy I felt when firing up a game I’d never seen before came flooding back to me. I remembered why games were so important to me growing up and how they shaped my creativity. Naysayers will say that no childhood memory comes from sitting in front of a TV, but that was never true for me. Astro Bot still takes advantage of the console’s power too, but not by dipping into photorealism or needlessly flashy spectacle. Incredibly smooth performance means I’m never taken out of the flow by frame hiccups.

Firstly, when talking platform games, getting the basic move set and control nailed down is crucial. This has always been a strong point for Nintendo and Team Asobi as well have managed to pull it off. Astro’s basic running and jumping have a satisfying feel and rhythm to them. These are far from the only references to other games you’ll see. Of G28 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. While a lot of them are based on first-party properties, like The Last of Us, Shadow of the Colossus, and Ape Escape, there are many more based on third-party titles — some of which are amazingly obscure.