4.5/5 ★ – rg9400's review of ASTRO BOT.

Astro Bot is pure unbridled fun packaged into a game. I really loved it, and I think it's right up there with the very best platformers ever. The game is bursting with charm, and honestly everything is just adorable. There is so much detail in each level and world, and the game doesn't shy away from a diversity of environments, whether it's snowy vistas, gorgeous underwater levels, space, mountains, jungles, clouds, haunted castles, dojos, volcanoes, and so on. There are plenty of levels that are so distinctive that I can remember them even after finishing all 80+ in the game. There are a variety of powers that change traversal up as well, some in really clever ways, all feeling very unique in platformers. And throughout, there is such reverence paid to Playstation and gaming history, whether it be all the easter egg bots you can find and their accessories or some full levels built out as representations of those games. And even within those levels, there are tons of smaller details that capture that game perfectly from the movement to the soundtrack to the powerups to even side objectives, e.g. (Astro Bot) God of War's level allows you to kill the green ravens, the axe can be launched and called back . Finally, it just runs super well with an extreme level of polish. I didn't even notice that I was using the DualSense so much, but it's so well integrated into the gameplay. I've seen some in the gaming community get upset at it because it's being hailed as a generational game, and I'd just like to address the two main criticisms I see. 1) People are calling it childish and not the cinematic story-driven game they think defines these generational games. To that, I think it's absurd to say gaming has to be one thing. I don't think you can play this game and not have a smile plastered on your face the whole time. That's not something that has to be specific to children. 2) People complaining that it isn't a "full" game because it's not as long as some of the other $60 games. I've commented a lot on how length =/= quality, and modern gaming is stuck in trying to bloat their games instead of having a much more focused experience. I platinumed this game in under 10 hours. Yet it was completely worth the $60, way more than 20 hour+ games that I've played that felt like chores. We should reward games that take such care in every facet of their game instead of just arguing that we want more length, regardless of the quality