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

I will preface this one with this. I never played a Mario game growing up. My introduction to video games was the original Xbox, and I played Halo 1 in 2001. I played Crash Bandicoot a few times, but my platformer history is pretty non-existent. As a 27-year-old now, I have yet to play a Mario game, not out of spite, but just because I just haven't. I even own Mario Wonder, a GOTY nominee from 2023, and just haven't gotten around to it yet. So, to be honest, I think Astro Bot may be the first true platforming game I have ever beaten. And I wouldn't even say I have any kind of nostalgia for PlayStation. I grew up with Xbox only until I bought a PS4 in 2017. All that to say, this game was amazing. I think Astro Bot is childlike wonder packed into a game, and in an era where games have to be big, dark, gritty narratives with bloody action and adult themes (I love these too), this game is a breath of fresh air and a reminder games can just be fun. Every level felt unique, and each area had special mechanics that used the PS5 controller to its fullest potential. Every world is colorful in design and packed with secrets to find. My absolute favorite levels were the ones found at the end of each section where you would find yourself teaming up with a bot that resembled very popular Sony IP characters such as Kratos or Nathan Drake. The mechanics and music of that level down to the world design felt authentic to its source, and it was a creative collaboration of all Sony's best IP. I have no Mario experience to compare this to, but a lot of people called it a successor to the Super Mario Galaxy series, and that is some pretty good company to be associated with. In a year where nearly an hour of the game awards were ads for gacha mobile games, and games like Concord lasted less than 2 weeks as another live-service multiplayer 'attempted cash cow' failure, I hope Astro Bot can be a giant neon sign in boardrooms across the world of the gaming industry that games can succeed with less and do more.