The bot named Astro was originally part of a short adventure game included with the new PlayStation 5 when it first released back in 2020. That brief dash of robotic fun helped gamers get a sense of the gaming options and controller functions that this new console offered.
Well, now the little Astro Bot is back with a self-titled, full-length game that critics and fans are cheering over.
The game centers in on a bot, along with scores of his buddies, rocketing across the cosmos in a ship that looks remarkably like a huge PS5 console. Then he and his crew are attacked by a villainous, green space alien with a malicious gleam in his beady eyes. That baddie steals away a key component from Astro Bot’s ship, scatters his bot buddies across the universe and sends the shattered-and-smoking craft crashing to the inhospitable surface of a nearby planet.
Astro must jump on a controller-shaped jet to gather up ship parts and rescue his crew from the surrounding galaxies.
As you’ve already surmised, this PS5 exclusive doesn’t necessarily feature the deepest of game stories. But it’s the game play that makes it all work so well. Each level presents a vibrant world with unique themes and challenges, and fresh game mechanics.
As Astro Bot flies forth, his game takes on the sparkling structure, look and sound (interestingly enough) of a Mario-like game. (There’s even the joyful woo-hoo gibberish of a Mario-esque world in the game mix.)
The robot hero makes his way to and through six themed galaxies where he must: platform about, solve puzzles, navigate creative set pieces and obstacle courses, play through musicals, battle enemies and bosses, collect valuable ship parts and rescue his crew.
The real creativity begins to shine when you recognize that many iconic PlayStation elements from games throughout the years are woven into the mechanics, gimmicks and the very fabric of this world. And that includes the feel and play of past games themselves.
Astro Bot’s various levels mimic some light gameplay from popular PS titles such as Ape Escape, Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, God of War, Toy Story and Horizon Zero Dawn. Even Astro Bot’s helpful robot friends tend to be themed on past PlayStation games.
Astro Bot is a single player game and does not require an online connection.
Astro Bot feels very kid friendly. It’s never punishing in its play. When players are bested, they simply restart just before the spot where they died. And they don’t have to retrace their steps to reclaim a collectable.
There’s a very colorful and bouncy joy about the gameplay. And it has a way of injecting variety and new challenges as it goes—while never feeling too difficult for younger players.
I mentioned above some of the past PlayStation games that Astro Bot lightly mimics. And that game-mimicking action includes elements that come from T- and M-rated games. For instance, players bash baddies with Kratos’ magic-infused ax (from the M-rated God of War series) and shoot them with Aloy’s arrows (from the T-rated Horizon franchise). In that light, some boss battles can also feel frenetic and challenging.
However, all of those past game representations (and uses of weapons) are dialed down to E10+ rating levels. So there’s no carnage or mess and there’s no foul language of any sort. Perhaps the biggest caution is that some young players may like the represented gameplay enough to want play the original game. Parents will want to check out that game’s Plugged In review in those cases.
There’s a small bit of potty humor in the mix, such as well-placed bird droppings and the like.
Astro Bot has a little bit of everything … except a lot of problematic content. He’s a good little bot, he is.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
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