Astro Bot Review

Astro Bot

Release: September 6, 2024
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Genre: Platformer, PS5 Reviews
PEGI: 7
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It’s not often that a company can release a title and claim they’ve come close to landing alongside Nintendo greats like Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario Galaxy. But here we are in 2024, looking at a brand new release on the PlayStation 5, and this is as close any competitor has come to reaching the heights Nintendo has. Astro Bot is a fantastic experience throughout, and although completing the game doesn’t take all that long, and I was hoping for a bit more, the journey itself was phenomenal from start to finish.

About the length – Astro Bot is a full priced, AAA release game from PlayStation, and while the game length to complete – about 8 or 9 hours – might not seem long to some, it’s aiming for that 100% mark that will keep you going for at least double that time. And even if you don’t call yourself a game completionist, finding everything in Astro Bot is definitely worth the journey.

That’s because this game is brimming with charm. It might sound crazy, but one of my favorite experiences on the PlayStation 5 is actually Astro Bot’s Playroom, the demo game for the system’s Dual Sense controller. And since that release, I’ve found that PlayStation titles have severely underutilized the benefits of the Dual Sense. Now with this release, it’s like the tech demo all over again, but more polished, longer, and using every trick of the trade this controller was meant to have.

I’ve been a lifetime Nintendo fan, and while I’m not ready to say that this game is as good as some of the best Mario games I’ve ever played, it definitely feels better than many. Super Mario Wonder was a great experience, for example, but when it comes to comparing the latest 3D exclusive platformers between Nintendo and Sony, Astro Bot is winning the fight every time.

It begins with charming level design, unique locations, and of course, dozens and dozens of little robots to collect. Finding the puzzle pieces and the robots within each level is such a treat, and when you aren’t completely wow’d by the world you are exploring, you will be pleasantly surprised at the little puzzles within. And when those two things have given you your fill, why not love on the adorable little robots you will be finding, both of the generic variety and others based on popular, and very niche, PlayStation characters from today and yesterday.

And finding these little robots is more than just a collect-a-thon. You’ll need them to open up new levels, and some even provide you with unique levels and gameplay experiences, like when you get to play as God of War’s own Kratos. It’s fun little moments like this that kept me moving from level to level, world to world. There was something new and exciting around every corner. While some power ups were used over and over again, the game kept flinging new ones at you, up until the games’ very end.

Astro Bot is a dozen + hours of pure, exhilarating fun and charm. Whether you love platforming experiences or not, you cannot deny that this is one of the best available on the market right now.

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