5/5 ★ – DanteSnowcone's review of ASTRO BOT.

An absolute delight from beginning to end. A perfectly polished platformer that celebrates 30 years of game history without feeling like an ad. Astro Bot is basically what a 3D Little Big Planet should have been — sorry to Sackboy. As far as platformers go, it leans heavily toward the easier side, but what it lacks in challenge it more than makes up for in charm and captivation. The levels are gorgeous, and there’s always something fun to find in every area. Basic running and jumping feel as fluid as any prestige platformer, but the real fun is in the power-ups. There are about a dozen of them and they’re level-specific, so each area is designed around your new abilities. All of them modify your movement in unique and clever ways, and none of them feel overused or boring. Literally anyone will have fun just playing. I had a blast finding all the playstation mascots. So did my wife, even though she only recognized a select few. Asobi wrote an incredible love letter to video games in their careful design of over 100 characters, true to their origins but with the Astro Bot signature goofiness. They even manage to make the Bloodborne hunter cute! I love video game history, so I even liked finding characters I didn’t recognize so I could look them up. I think I downloaded three new games immediately after finishing the game, so they got me hook line and sinker with that one. It also makes incredible use of the full range of PS5’s capabilities. The controller constantly reacts to what you’re doing, and the amount of dynamic objects on screen is at times mind boggling. It’s a feat of technology and design in equal measure. As I said, the game lacks much challenge, but I don’t think I can hold that against an all-ages platformer. Each gauntlet establishes a clear picture of what you have to do, and what took me several tries would probably fill a child’s week and be a milestone in their gaming experience. Hunting for secret exits took a bit of creative thinking, too. If somebody asked me for a starter game for their child, Astro Bot would be a strong contender. It’s simple, entertaining, and it will absolutely stand the test of time due to its ulterior purpose as a video game time capsule. I’d recommend this to literally anyone. Time Played: 18 hours Played on PS5