Astro Bot is a fantastic candidate for Game of the Year.

If Astro's Arcade it's the appetizer, then Astrobot It's the main meal that players deserve. Astrobot seems like Team Asobi's biggest moment in the spotlight. The video game studio entered the scene with the PlayStation VR tech demo, The game room, and quickly made an unforgettable impression. Their mascot character, Astro Bot, proved to be such a hit that they developed an entire game just for him on PSVR. With the success of ARobot Stro Rescue Mission, Team Asobi and Astro Bot have landed on PlayStation 5.

They developed a technology demo, Astro's Arcadewhich was pre-installed in every PlayStation 5. Even though it was just a demo, Astro's Arcade has developed such a following that players have been demanding a full version. Players' wishes have come true with this year's release Astrobots, a full-fledged game starring Astro Bot. Now, the question everyone is asking is: Astrobot worth the full price, considering there's already a free game based on the same concept on PS5? The answer is yes; Astrobot It's worth every penny and is easily a leading candidate for the 2024 Game of the Year award.

Astro Bot levels are beautifully crafted for the player's enjoyment.

The game made the old school platformer feel fresh and new.

The Asobi team brought their signature touch to the mix by making Astro Bot the levels and platforms stand out. While the game contained the standard gameplay and stages (like a fire and water level) that you’d expect from any platformer, Team Asobi found a way to make these staples feel new and fresh. It was as if the developers asked themselves what typical elements you’d expect from a platformer, and then found a way to organically incorporate them into the game. Sometimes, it’s with cool power-ups like the Time Stopper, which beautifully slows down time to allow Astro Bot to leap across platforms and evade obstacles. Other times, the layout for getting from point A to point B featured a vast spectacle for players to witness and interact with.

While Astrobot It is shorter than most other games, with the main campaign only lasting around 12 hours; it is still an experience that players should not rush through. The levels in all Astrobot they are among the best platform games of all time; Players should take their time to absorb it all. Each level is crafted with intent, as nothing feels out of place. Even with the linear level design, players will want to explore every inch to discover fun secrets hidden in nearly every corner.

As players explore each level, there are several collectibles they can find. These come in the form of finding Astro's Bot companions (who are sometimes dressed as famous and forgotten PlayStation characters) and puzzle pieces in each level. The best that can be said about these collectibles is they never seem like a daunting task to accomplish. Finding everything and everyone the game has hidden in its levels has its rewards. These rewards include leading players to obtain even more great Easter Eggs and unlocking bonus features like Photo Mode.

Astro Bot has almost no story, and that's okay.

The story of the game is simple and easy to understand

With regard to Astro Bot story, there's not much to say. It doesn't even take more than five minutes to get the story going. As soon as players start the game, Astro Bot and his crew of fellow Bots see their ship (which, coincidentally, looks like a PlayStation 5) destroyed by Neblux, the Space Bully. Now it's up to Astro Bot to find the missing parts of the ship that are scattered around the galaxy while saving his lost friends. This isn't a bad thing, since players don't need to have that much story or depth to Astrobots, or platform in general. Instead of having a complete narrative, An asshole Bolet the gameplay do the talking and stand out.

Fortunately, The Bots themselves have cute personalities that bring Astrobot. They speak in an incomprehensible robot language, but are physically very expressive. It's hard not to grow fond of these adorable robots and spend hours just meeting others. On the flip side, this does lead to a quibble about the enemies. Aside from the bosses, none of the enemies have names or identities. Players can describe what they look like, but that's about it. This deprives the enemies of the kind of simple but memorable personalities that even the most generic Bots have.

On the contrary, think of all the enemies present in the Super Mario series. Players have Goombas, Koopas, Bob-ombas and more. I can't think of a single name with the Astrobot servants. It's a shame, because Team Asobi has brilliantly shown players how creative they are. If they had actively described the enemies and spent a little more time making them iconic, they would have left a more significant impression on players. In the game's defense, this is more of a missed opportunity than a flaw.

Astro Bot is brimming with nostalgic nods to PlayStation's legacy

The game's countless Easter Eggs will make PlayStation fans ecstatic

Just like Team Asobi did for Astro's Arcade, Astrobot has a lot of Easter Eggs for PlayStation. In addition to the standard Bots, There are over 100 bots dressed as PlayStation characters from the past. There are also some dressed as characters from third-party games, such as Resident Evil AND Tomb Raider. All VIP bots are well thought out, as each one has humorous descriptions and is all-around adorable. For example, the Joel Bot from The Last of Us It is said that he has the habit of “[telling] the occasional white lie,” in reference to his highly questionable personal choices. Little nods like that will make any longtime video game fan smile.

The most refreshing thing about PlayStation Bots is that they aren't used as often as you might expect. It would have been easy for Team Asobi to overdo the callbacks and make this game nothing more than a self-indulgent reference fest. Instead, they treated these cameos and references as a spice that was only occasionally sprinkled throughout the game. The game throws in a lot of this “spice,” but understands that too much will spoil the dish. That said, Astrobot contains much more than simple references, as some levels are focused solely on recreations and homages to previous PlayStation games.

After the player defeats the boss of each galaxy, the Bot that is unlocked is a classic PlayStation character. This Bot will then open a new world based on the respective game. Team Asobi is at its best at these levels. Take the God of War level as an example. Everything from the critically acclaimed soft reboot of Kratos is used in its Astrobot level, such as the environment or Bear McCreary's score. These convey the God of War experience, but there's an extra twist. This is Team Asobi's version God of Warand the developers add a lot of humor and fun. This extends to the level's unique Bots, which are all God of War characters with quirks and additional lines that fans will appreciate.

There is much more to admire in Astrobot, even for levels where players have not played the initial gameA good portion of gamers who started out with the PlayStation 4 probably haven't played a Monkey Escape game before, let alone ever having heard of the classic PlayStation franchise. But even so, the allure of Monkey Escape is fully conveyed by its level of tribute in Astrobots. Younger players who are unfamiliar with the game will definitely want to learn more about the monkey catching game once they finish the level.

Astro Bot has one of the catchiest soundtracks of the year

There are plenty of catchy songs that players won't get annoyed by.

As fun as the gameplay and nostalgic references are, what really makes… Astro Bot gameplay so great is the musical accompaniment. Kenneth CM Young returns as composer and brings the same energy that brought to Astro's ArcadeFrom the moment the first level begins, players will feel that this music has electric energy. It's catchy, lively and a lot of fun to listen to..

Astrobot It's a bigger game than Team Asobi's previous projects. The same should be said for the soundtrack, which, thankfully, is more extensive than Astro's previous games. Even better, Astro Bot The soundtrack is full of highlights. One track that stands out is the Luna Sola level music. Its gimmick focuses on a day/night cycle, and the way Young composed it is brilliant. The daytime portion has much more jazzy music, while the transition to nighttime sounds more like a lullaby. There are many touches like this in the game, but the best and most stellar music is reserved for the boss battles.

The large number of boss fights throughout the game Astrobot it's exciting, but the energetic song of each boss battle is what really brings their encounters to life. The music for the boss fights cranks up the excitement levels to the max, with guitar and violin strings coming together in beautiful chaos. Adrenaline rushes through the veins as players dodge attacks and find the weak points of these bosses, all to the tune of some of the best video game music we’ve heard in a long time.

Astro Bot is the PlayStation game everyone should play

Gamers will be doing themselves a disservice if they don't play this modern masterpiece.

Astrobot It's the gaming equivalent of a serotonin boost. Everything is beautifully designed and laid out so that gamers can have the best experience possible. That's the magic of Astrobots, because, even though the levels are linear, players will want to explore every nook and cranny to catch every possible detail.

From PlayStation references to charming interactions with other Bots, there's a surprise at every level. It's crazy to think that Sony finally has a platformer that rivals the excellent 3D Super Mario Gamesbut Team Asobi really did it. Don't miss out on one of the best platforming experiences in gaming history with Astrobot.

Astro Bot is now available to play and own in both physical and digital versions.