Astro Bot review: the game PS5 has been crying out for
Astro Bot review: the game PS5 has been crying out for
Astro Bot is a delightful experience from start to finish and brings the feel-good factor back to PlayStation
🏆 Review Score: 4.5 out of 5
🏅 Editor’s Choice Award
Pros:
✅ 💌 The game is a love letter to PlayStation’s history
✅ 🤖 Astro Bot’s abilities are super satisfying
✅ 🎮 It makes clever use of the DualSense controller
✅ 🤩 Levels are wonderfully interactive
✅ 😮 Boss battles are thrilling and epic
✅ 👀 Plenty of secrets and collectibles
✅ 😍 Beautifully presented throughout
Cons:
❌ 🔋 Exposes how bad the DualSense battery life is
❌ 😌 Not very challenging
❌ 💰 Too short for $60
The Shortcut Review
Astro Bot is a game that many PlayStation fans have been crying out for and one that Sony desperately needed.
Over the past few decades, Sony has meticulously shaped PlayStation into a Hollywood-rivaling powerhouse, producing the best cinematic games and narrative-driven stories.
However, Sony lost some of its identity in its quest to prove it can stand toe-to-toe with the biggest blockbusters. It left behind the experimental and innovative side that made PlayStation a household name and became over-reliant on the same formula and genre of game. With each success, Sony’s first-party titles became more ambitious, from a graphical perspective at least, resulting in longer development times and the need to plug content gaps with countless remasters and safe sequels.
Astro Bot is an outlier in many respects, then, but one that I’m thrilled Sony has allowed Team Asobi to pursue. Astro’s Playroom, which unbelievably comes free with every PlayStation 5, is one of the best PS5 games I’ve played this generation, and thankfully, Astro Bot builds upon that excellent foundation to deliver a 3D platformer that Nintendo would be proud of and the sort of game I’d expect to find on the Nintendo Switch 2 next year.
Astro Bot is bursting at the seams with ingenuity and charm, evoking a sense of child-like joy.
Platform: PS5
Developer: Team Asobi
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Price: $59.99
Install size: 37.63 GB
Release date: September 6, 2024
Astro Bot is bursting at the seams with ingenuity and charm, evoking a sense of child-like joy that reminds you why we love this medium so much. Ultimately, it achieves what so many modern games lack: it’s designed to be fun, not a second job.
The premise for Astro Bot’s story is super simple: the crew’s ship – which is a PS5 – is attacked by a meddling alien who scatters the console’s part and Astro Bot’s friends across multiple planets. You need to save 300 of your metallic mates, recover the ship parts, and stop the pesky alien.
If you have even the slightest fondness for 3D platformers, Astro Bot is a must-have PS5 exclusive.
Each planet you visit is brimming with detail and interactivity, and you’ll need to use Astro’s abilities to get through each challenge. The vast majority of the game sees you jumping and punching your way through each level, but you’ll also find special abilities that have a transformative effect on how the game plays.
However, the biggest problem with Astro Bot is that it’s just too short. I finished the game in eight hours, and although there were still things to collect and see, it felt like it ended too soon for a game that costs $59.99. Compare that to Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, a 3DS game that took me 15 hours to complete, and it’s fair to say some will wish it lasted longer.
That being said, if you have even the slightest fondness for 3D platformers, Astro Bot is a must-have PS5 exclusive and a blast to play through. Hopefully, the game will sell well enough to show Sony that fans want more than just third-person, narrative-driven single-player games while encouraging the Japanese company to reconsider some of its dormant, beloved IPs. There’s a treasure trove of classic characters that deserve the spotlight again.
How I tested Astro Bot 🧪
I played Astro Bot on an LG CX 55-inch OLED using the PS5 DualSense Edge controller and the Audeze Maxwell headset. It took me around 8 hours to reach the game’s end credits, and I collected 223 out of 300 bots. However, according to the PS5’s time tracker, the game was only 57% complete, so there was still plenty to do. I estimate it will take another two hours to collect every last bot and missing puzzle pieces.
Sony provided a review code of Astro Bot.
What I loved about Astro Bot ❤️
🤗 Super satisfying abilities. Like Super Mario Galaxy, Astro Bot features several ability items that can manipulate the world around you and help you overcome obstacles that stand in your way. They’re truly spectacular, with barely a dud to mention. You’ll wield extendable crocodile fists, wear a bulldog jetpack, and be able to transform into a metal ball. I won’t spoil some of the other surprises, but there’s a certain level where Astro gets shrunk down to size which I adored.
Whether it’s feeling the sand at your feet, the sensation of rain falling, or physically tilting the controller to steer your aircraft, Astro Bot utilizes the DualSense in the best possible ways.
💌 A love letter to PlayStation’s history. Astro Bot is a celebration of PlayStation’s storied history. It showcases characters and hardware that have become synonymous with the brand but also serves as a painful reminder that something has been lost over the years. Older fans who have been there since the beginning will get the most out of Astro Bot’s love letter to Sony’s gaming division, but don’t be shocked if you feel a touch of melancholy at times.
🎮 The best use of the DualSense controller since Astro’s Playroom. Whether it’s feeling the sand at your feet, the sensation of rain falling, or physically tilting the controller to steer your aircraft, Astro Bot utilizes the DualSense in the best possible ways.
😮 Boss battles are thrilling and epic. From the enemies that inhabit the various planets to screen-hogging bosses, Astro Bot features epic confrontations that are a sight to behold. You’ll need to use your wits to figure out a boss’s weakness, which usually involves using the current ability Astro Bot has equipped in clever and punishing ways.
🪐 Every planet feels unique. Astro Bot keeps you on your toes with every new planet you land on. All the usual biomes are covered, but you’ll be utterly amazed by where the level designs will take you. It’s a remarkable achievement.
🤩 The levels are wonderfully interactive. Almost every element of Astro Bot’s worlds can be manipulated. Whether it’s the simple act of destroying boxes, running through blades of grass, or even piloting your ship as you land on each planet, the game rewards your curiosity in the best possible way.
🌎 The interactive world map keeps you engaged. Building upon the game’s interactivity is the world map, which can be freely navigated and contains several secrets. It’s a fairly simple addition but one that makes the game feel more alive as a result.
Astro Bot is gorgeous to behold. Enemies take on a Pixar-like quality and are expertly animated, and the game’s world is overflowing with detail.
👀 Plenty of secrets and collectibles to find. There are puzzle pieces to find, missing bots to collect, secret planets to unlock, and countless Gatcha balls to open. Like the best collect-a-thons, Astro Bot has plenty of surprises for players to discover. You can also unlock a handy guide after completing a level to help you sniff out any secrets you missed.
😍 It’s beautifully presented throughout. Astro Bot is gorgeous to behold. Enemies take on a Pixar-like quality and are expertly animated, and the game’s world is overflowing with detail. It makes you question why we need a PS5 Pro when the PlayStation 5 can produce such fantastic visuals.
🪨 Rock-solid performance no matter what. The game’s performance is also unwavering. Things can get pretty hectic, with a jaw-dropping amount of objects and particles on screen. However, the game’s frame rate remains locked at a silky-smooth 60fps.
🎵 A toe-tapping soundtrack with some lovely remixes. Kenneth Young returns to provide the electronic ensemble of tunes for Astro Bot, and while they don’t quite live up to the first game’s selection, they act as the perfect accompaniment to Astro’s adventures.
👶 Accessible to players of all ages. Unlike Nintendo, which seems to be the only major platform holder that remembers children playing games, Sony doesn’t have as many child-friendly games as it used to. Thankfully, Astro Bot is fun for all ages, and the way it uses the controller should make kids smile with glee.
🪲 Bug free. I didn’t encounter any visual glitches, bugs, or frustrating technical issues in Astro Bot, which is always a relief. So many games launch in a pre-baked state, so it’s great to see Team Asobi gave Astro Bot the time and polish it deserved.
What I disliked about Astro Bot 💔
🔋 Exposes how bad the DualSense battery life is. Even though Astro Bot is a shining example of what the DualSense can do, it also exposes its biggest weakness: the PS5 controller battery life is abysmal. When playing with the DualSense Edge, it ran out after around four hours fully charged, which isn’t good enough.
😌 Not very challenging. Astro Bot won’t pose a challenge to anyone experienced with 3D platformers, even with its one-hit-and-your-dead life bar. That’s good for younger players, but veterans may wish for something to test their skills, especially once the credits roll.
A game’s value is subjective, but I couldn’t help but feel Astro Bot ended too soon for my liking.
🐢 Collecting bots slows things down. Finding the bots in the game is one of its biggest draws, but I wish you didn’t have to wait for each one to jump into the DualSense controller to be examined. It has a habit of breaking up the flow of each level, and it would be nice if there were an option to skip it.
💰 Too short for $60. A game’s value is subjective, but I couldn’t help but feel Astro Bot ended too soon for my liking. It took eight hours to reach the end credits, which included spending a generous amount of time collecting and exploring. Yes, there’s more to do if you haven’t found every collectible before you reach the end, but some may be better off waiting for the game to go on sale before jumping in.
Should you buy Astro Bot? 🤔
Yes, if…
✅ You’ve always enjoyed 3D platformers and collect-a-thons
✅ You’re a huge PlayStation fan, past and present
✅ You want to see Sony take more risks and create different genres of games
No, if…
❌ You’ve never enjoyed 3D platformers
❌ You want a game that you can sink tens of hours into
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.