# *Astro Bot* Notes *Astro Bot* is the culmination of years of pack-in and gimmick-y titles from Studio Japan and then Team Asobi. I don't mean that in a derogatory way. The hard work and dedication to honing a craft as a team to make superb 3D platformers is outstanding. PlayStation has created their EAD-style team. The gameplay and the game itself is in perfect harmony with its goals and designs. A true testament that the old ways are still some of the best. More so than my own thoughts & impressions though, my favorite review is Marc "Try4ce" Duddleson's from "[The Games We Played in 2024](https://youtube.com/watch?v=zbM2B_fTrRs&t=1027)" on My Life in Gaming. That link will take you right to his thoughts. > [!warning] > Spoilers below! ![[Astro Bot Notes.pdf]] ## Stats - Started Playing: 1/14/25 - Beat: 1/24/25 - Total Playtime: 12~ hours ## Legacy - Lots of GotY awards in 2024. - Born out of pack-in games, VR, and the ashes of Studio Japan. Despite the hurdles, Team Asobi has risen to the top. ## Overall - There’s this secret in the first level with a stack of logs. You jump over them and Astro’s little laser feet cut the wood. It’s cute and fun to chop it up. The realization that the logs react immediately sparks the desire to slice them up into tiny pieces. If you zap them into oblivion, then they vanish, revealing a pull cord that creates a jet stream of water to float up on and get a puzzle piece. The devs reward curiosity with both a tangible in-game reward and player delight. - The length of the game is just on the cusp of too long. This design, scope of movement, and collectibles supports this exact length and kind of game. Tuned to a tee. ## Story - A big green alien in a UFO steals a PS5 CPU and the Bots PS5 space ship crashes, scattering them throughout the galaxy. - Didn’t expect a Wall-E ending. Dang. ## Gameplay - Sublime control. Smooth as silk. - Ideas are plentiful. Usually a new mechanic in a level. Little pop up videos show the way. - Some levels have these power-ups like boxing gloves or a bulldog that lets you dash. Fun, neat mechanics through power-ups, like Fire Flowers and Tanooki Tails. - Collecting Bots is a delight as always. Love, love the references. - The compulsion to collect everything is profound. - There are these “sacred symbols” challenge levels. Tight, semi-difficult levels with one themed bot at the end. Reminds me of Green Stars. - Little 200 coin bird for collectibles is a great way to keep 100% completion *within* the game. - But it also provides instant pressure release from searching during the initial run. Which sucks some of the challenge out of the sail, even if it is player choice. - The diversity of power-ups is so fun. Sponges, slo-mo, boxing gloves, dashing. All fun. - It feels like the game is boarder line too easy. - And I don’t necessarily want it to end. So the swiftness at which I am able to beat the levels and game brings me down. - It is a real shame they did not figure out water levels. ## Music/Sound Design - Astro Bot! Asssssstro Bot! Astro Bot! - I swear the checkpoint pop is a Persona sound effect. - The special character levels have such a fun fusion of Astro techno and the subject’s main theme. - SSD! SSD! ## Graphics - Colors! So many colors! - The density of singular objects. So many interactable particles. - Stunning, rocksteady performance and visual. Cohesive design. ## World - Each planet is unique, diverse early on. Curious if they are all entirely unique. - So the Gorilla boss and the construction level are direct callbacks to *Rescue Mission*, but is Astro “old enough” for “nostalgic” callbacks to itself? - Galaxies feel empty at first, but populate with tiny, one-off levels. - I do not care for the main boss design. It feels overly generic.