Astro Bot Review (IS IT BETTER THAN SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY?)

Astro Bot Review

Astro Bot is the closest anyone has come to matching and almost surpassing the sheer joy, wonder and refinement of Super Mario and his platforming. With 80 levels, 15 new abilities, 150 cameos to find, and 300 bots to collect, Astro Bot is pure delight and should be a mandatory purchase for any PlayStation gamer.

THE BEST WAY TO SUPPORT US IS TO WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW.

Astro’s Odyssey!

Astro Bot takes everything that was great about Astro’s Playroom (the 2020 PS5 pack in that easily could have cost money) and cranks every single dial to 11. Cameos, DualSense integration, collectibles, new ideas and somehow still find ways to constantly surprise the player. There is almost never a second in Astro Bot where something fun isn’t happening or your interest in being piqued. Even at the level select areas there are loads of secrets to discover as you fly your spaceship around.

You don’t even need to play any of the objectives, Sometimes just the physics of Astro Bot are mesmerizing as you frolic and spin a pile of acorns, skulls, or wumpa fruits. You can sort of speed run the main missions, but you’ll get to a point where you need a certain amount bots to unlock areas to progress, so you might as well soak in the experience.

However the peak of the mountain are the themed levels built around core PlayStation experiences with games like God of War and uncharted to name a few. Its incredible how Team Asobi is able to capture the essence of these games, but make it inside then Astro Bot universe. They hit every note that makes these titles essential experiences, down to the smallest details for those that are looking.

The visuals are stunning from the water effects to the explosions and the near non existent loading times. The audio and DualSense integration almost go hand in hand as they create a high level of immersion as your senses are constantly being engaged. The score was great, but it didnt have new classics like Astro’s Playroom did

Technical accomplishments aside, there is a huge attention to detail. When you are flying around space, shooting stars are PlayStation buttons, joysticks on the spaceship are move controllers, and when you find Nadine from Uncharted: Lost Legacy, she is near the map of Madagascar. The little detail that truly blew my mind was when you find a new enemy who is a nut and bolt, you have to do a spin attack to defeat him and sure enough, the way that the nut comes off the thread: Lefty Loose-y, Righty Tighty.

Team Asobi have thought of everything. Upon returning to the levels in search of every missing bot and puzzle piece, there is an option to spend 200 coins to unlock a radar bird that beeps when you get close. Taking it even further, if you decide to leave after purchasing the bird but return again to find everything, the bird will be free after you purchase it the first time.

There are no lives in Astro Bot, which seems like an arbitrary inclusion in Super Mario and other platformers, even though no matter if you lose all your lives, you just get a bunch of new ones, so why put them in to begin with. This was you are are always constantly in the fun, especially when you incorporate how quickly the game reboots you after death.

NITPICKING

The only criticism for Astro Bot, is that there’s a fair amount reused from previous games, including enemies, bosses, and abilites, but that’s par for the course for platformers and with an abundance of originality, it becomes a moot point.

As someone that has owned every PlayStation console and handled since the mid 90’s, this game tickles the PlayStation bone, but people newer to the ecosystem might not get the absurd amount of winks and nods to its legacy.

VERDICT

There is a huge juxtaposition in Astro Bot between the extremely addicting gameplay, that is filled to the brim with something to do every second and wanting to savor each moment, due to it being a generational experience.

It might not be better than Super Mario Odyssey, but it’s closer than it should be. For PlayStation fans, Astro Bot is a near perfect gaming experience. For everyone else, it might not be a revolution but it’s one of the most polished and refined platformers ever.

9.5/10

REVIEW CODE PROVIDED BY PLAYSTATION