The third time is the charm for Astro Bot, as the cute robot has quickly become one of Sony’s best mascots and now stars in a masterpiece of a platforming game. The third game in the series excellently builds on Astro’s Playroom, which was a free PlayStation 5 launch game that showed off all the unique features of the DualSense controller. With more cameos, action, and inventive power-ups, it winds up being the PlayStation 5’s best platformer and one of the most delightful games ever created.
If you’ve played Astro’s previous PS5 outing or the excellent PlayStation VR game Astro Bot Rescue Mission, then you know what to expect. With plenty of meta references (your space station is literally a PlayStation 5, and you fly around in a DualSense-shaped ship), you control the cute robot through platformer stages, smashing and hovering your way through enemies and dangerous situations, while also collecting lost robots and puzzle pieces.
Collecting the hidden robots is key to progression and winds up being the game’s main challenge, as you can speedrun most levels extremely quickly if you just dash straight to the finish point. Thankfully, it’s extremely fun and satisfying to find them, thanks to some wonderful game design that rewards exploration and puzzles that are actually fun to engage with and solve. It also helps that a lot of the bots are based on famous video game characters, so you’ll see plenty of gaming icons cameo throughout, such as God of War’s Kratos and more.
The gameplay is also constantly changing and iterating upon itself. While there are standard levels, many revolve around a unique power-up that gives Astro a new ability, such as floating like a balloon or rocketing forward. The game never feels repetitive, as it constantly presents new themed areas (the cameos always wonderfully fit the levels, too) and fresh gameplay experiences to the player. I won’t spoil the surprise, but there are even special levels that are based on beloved PlayStation franchises and feature unique power-ups that make Astro play like that series (I’d love to see these fleshed out into full LEGO-like games in the future). As inventive as it is delightful, it’s a wonderful mix of top-notch presentation and satisfying mechanics.
Beyond the PlayStation-themed levels, the highlights were often small challenge stages and the giant boss fights at the end of each world. The challenge levels reminded me of Super Mario Sunshine’s one-off levels and have the player getting through a unique combat scenario or tricky obstacle course. Meanwhile, the multi-phase boss fights are a true joy, as they really take full advantage of the game’s power-ups and the player’s pattern recognition.
You’re also given plenty of reason to go back to levels to find what you’ve missed, as there’s an excellent hub filled with its own puzzles that gets fleshed out by the more bots and collectible puzzle pieces you find. Coins can also be used to unlock customization options for Astro and his ship, plus accessories for the cameo bots (make sure to attack them in the hub, as they each have incredible animations that occur afterward). It’s really the perfect platformer.
Astro Bot Review: Final Verdict
Filled with brilliant small touches that will leave a smile on your face, Astro Bot is one of the best 3D platformers ever made and a true celebration of gaming. From start to finish, Team Asobi’s masterpiece is a true joy to experience. One of the rare games that is fun to 100%, Astro Bot is a frontrunner for game of the year.
SCORE: 10/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 10 equates to “Masterpiece.” This is the rare release that transcends genre and must be experienced by all fans of the medium.
Disclosure: The publisher provided a PlayStation 5 copy for our Astro Bot review. Reviewed on version 1.002.000.
