Astro Bot: A Breath of Fresh Air

Theo Andrews ‘26 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Released on September 6, 2024, Astro Bot received wide acclaim from both audiences and critics alike. Many praised the game for its level design, gameplay, and the many homages to older titles, consoles, or accessories for the PlayStation. The masses do not lie, Astro Bot is a very fun game and the homages are neat. But is there more to this game than a window to the PlayStation’s past? 

Astro Bot’s gameplay stands out very much when compared to other titles on the Playstation. It is a platformer first and foremost, a genre rarely seen these days outside of indie games. Most of the games on the PlayStation are third-person action games, such as The Last of Us Part I & II and the recent God of War games, and are often derided as “movie games” due to the amount of cutscenes. However, Astro Bot breaks the mold by having a cartoonish aesthetic, minimal cutscenes, and no dialogue. The biggest comparisons one can make are the Super Mario Odyssey and LittleBig Planet games. If you enjoyed either of these, then Astro Bot provides such an experience in the modern-day with the PlayStation 5’s advanced specs. 

While Astro Bot is a breath of fresh air when compared to other titles on the Playstation, it is not a deep breath. Levels are over somewhat quickly and there is little replay value. Most players can get all the collectables in a level during their first playthrough. Unlike the Super Mario and LittleBig Planet games, nothing is locked behind a second try at a level. Due to this, levels feel much shorter despite there being so many. If they had a collectible system similar to the Super Mario games, that would make it more engaging to go back to older levels and collect what you missed. 

However, if you do own the PlayStation 5 then you are missing out on a great gaming experience. While the callbacks can get a bit much if they are referencing “forgotten” franchises, they can be easily ignored. Honestly, supporting this game goes beyond the experience. By supporting it, it will send a signal to PlayStation by making them realize how many have fallen in love with Astro Bot. Hopefully this then increases the chance they branch out from the norm of their usual output and release more platformers, stylized-games, or even go back to the IPs many have felt are abandoned such as Jak and Daxter or Sly Cooper. Whatever PlayStation decides to do, let us hope they learn the right lessons from Astro Bot.