4/5 ★ – RayneSol's review of Astro’s Playroom.

PS5 | Released: 2020 - Played: 2022 | Playtime: 7hrs | 100% Completion A treat for longtime PlayStation fans and an excellent bundled game to start the new generation. ______________________________________________ If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on the coveted PS5 you may have gotten it for a number of games. But what comes pre-installed on the system is a nice little platformer in Astro’s Playroom, and makes for a great first foray into the new generation on PS5. Last generation the PS4 came installed with “The Playroom”, bundled software featuring the “Astrobots” but which could only be played with the PlayStation camera. Astro’s Playroom on the other hand requires no other peripheral except for the DualSense controller. Astro’s Playroom is a game that can run the player anywhere from 4 - 6 hours or beyond depending on playstyle and makes for a fun Platinum trophy for those who want to go for 100%. At its core the game is a 3D platformer, Astro can punch enemies, jump and instead of the typical double jump, can make some extra ground with propulsion jets which come out of it’s legs. You go through levels defeating enemies, hopping on platforms and weaving through obstacles. Although it sounds like the typical platformer fare, for a free game Astro’s Playroom does a number of things to not only take it beyond being a standard platformer, but beyond just a tech demo for a new console and controller. The game’s central mechanical design revolves around the new DualSense controller. The metal surfaces of the game’s electronic environments let you feel each step Astro takes as well as hearing the metal clangs straight from the haptics themselves. The controller also does a decent enough job of simulating other surfaces like muddy terrain. Using weaponry like a bow and arrow also provides some tension when pulling the bow back. The beginning of the game does act as a literal demo however, letting the player shake the controller to feel little bots bouncing around inside. Overall, every aspect of the DualSense is used: the haptics, triggers, touchpad and Gyro motion controls. All of these are combined in certain gameplay moments in each of the four levels. For example, the first I came across was Astro entering a robotic Frog suit. The controls are simple: tilt the controller left or right to tilt the suit and use the triggers like pulling back a spring to have the suit hop. Normally this type of control sounds unnecessary or cumbersome. But in each of the four level gimmicks using the DualSense features, the controls are surprisingly sound. They not only feel good but end up feeling natural. After a certain point you almost don’t notice how your hands are physically moving to meet the needs of each suit’s controls. Though this may be because each of these portions are well timed and short lived. Within each of the four main levels are four sequential areas. Two of the four areas in each level use the suits, and those portions of the levels are specifically designed for suit traversal and mechanics. It’s all cleverly used, but it can also feel like if the entire level were composed of the suit gameplay it would eventually feel annoying and cumbersome. Astro’s Playroom lacks an overall narrative to the game. It essentially takes place inside of a PS5, which each level’s concept and design based on features of the system: a beach turned arctic area representing cooling, a race track representing the speed of the SSD and three other levels representing system memory, the fantastic singing GPU of the GPU Jungle and the CPU naturally being the core of the system serves as the main hub. In addition there’s a large Ethernet port shaped portal that takes the player to the Speedrun challenges: fun time trials in unique levels. But the fun of exploring each of the levels comes from finding the fantastic references to games that make up PlayStation’s history. At the center of it all is “PlayStation Labo”. Not their own version of Nintendo’s cardboard peripherals, but a large room that you can fill with collectibles. Every hidden collectible is a well designed model of PlayStation hardware. From the PlayStation mouse to the 3D Pulse Headset, everything you unlock is placed here like a museum dedicated to the brand’s legacy. What’s best is as Astro you can run around the room and interact with other robots, find more fun Easter eggs, interact with a Vita to turn it on or open the PS2’s disc tray. Where Astro’s Playroom falls short is not in it’s length but the enemies. The platforming does a good enough job of introducing concepts to navigate through even if they don’t last long but it’s not as fun to go through when each basic enemy can go down in one hit. As an act of balance, Astro itself will go down with one hit as well. It would’ve made for a more robust game if there were more enemy variety with different ways to take them down. As well as using combat items like the bow more often than the few times we’re allowed to use them. A lot of those issues stem from the game’s length, but as mentioned before, this isn’t a huge pitfall as this is a free, bundled game after all. For a full release it would be expected to see all the concepts here widely expanded upon. In the end, Astro’s Playroom made for a lot of wholesome fun. The controls felt tight, good to play and the game is visually pleasing with adorable characters and levels full of charm. After Playroom, it’s safe to say Astrobot has secured itself as PlayStation’s best family-friendly mascot. New owners of a PS5 should not skip this little gift. 8.5 EXCELLENT