Astro Bot 2024

 “Greatness from small beginnings.”


Simplicity done to perfection. That is the best way to describe Astro Bot. I can assure you there's no hyperbole in that sentiment. This game is a gem through and through, a surprise to be sure, especially coming from me. I did not grow up with the likes of Mario or Crash Bandicoot. These classic platformer were not part of my gaming lexicon. The fine motor skills and dexterity required for jumping, delicate maneuvering and/or enemy vanquishing, does not usually jive well with cerebral-palsy.
So I was surprised when Astro Bot pulled me into its charm-filled world. When I say charm I mean, from corner to corner and ear to ear. This game made me smile as if I had never played a video game before. Astro Bot is the perfect blend of nostalgia and invention. It uses the technology housed in the PlayStation 5’s controller with such eloquence that you forget that the game and controller are separate entities. The haptic feedback sensors and triggers are not used as gimmicks here. They are enhancements in every way possible. Vehicles for the joy that enchants its way into your mind, as you travel through the dozens of well-designed levels in this meaningful, exhilarating romp through PlayStation history.
I really don't know what more I could say, to entice you any further. Developer Asobi has done the impossible here. It has taken what very well could have been a callus marketing exercise and transformed it into something magical. It is a skill not many can master. Though, it is done here with such exhilarating passion and life-affirming joy that you cannot help but cheer.

Rated E for everyone

I found Astro Bot to be inventively captivating, mechanically engaging, as well as visually enthralling and enormously entertaining. I hope in some way you do too.



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