Astro Bot: More Than Just PS Nostalgia

Astro Bot is excellent, but it isn’t without its flaws. Mechanically and aesthetically, Team Asobi’s platformer is sublime, but the circumstances of its existence paint a bleak and uncertain picture about the future of PlayStation. It is spurred forth by a conveyor belt of cute cameos and themed levels that reference franchises past, present, and future. Many of them haven’t seen the light of day in decades, and, as such, leave Astro Bot feeling like a graveyard instead of a loving celebration.

Now that the honeymoon period is over and most of us have rolled credits on the platformer, it has become an object of valuable criticism. Away from the snappy controls, luscious looks, and inventive level design sits an experience that would be fundamentally different if it didn’t riff on all things PlayStation. What would Astro Bot look like if you weren’t rescuing bots dressed as Crash Bandicoot and Kratos every couple of minutes? Could that game stand on its own two feet without relying on the shoulders of giants? We already know it can, as it has in the past with Astro Bot Rescue Mission.

Before Astro’s Playroom and this fully-fledged standalone title, Astro Bot appeared in two pack-in titles for the PlayStation 4 (The Playroom and The Playroom VR) before standing on its own with Rescue Mission, a PlayStation VR title that was praised as one of the finest platformers in recent memory when it was released.

It used the medium of virtual reality to deliver an experience that was sharp, responsive, and had no integral ties to the history of PlayStation. It created its own universe and sought to pull us into its mixture of evil aliens and lovable robots, and kept us enthralled right until the end.

We have concrete proof that Astro Bot can achieve brilliance without the help of nostalgia, it just so happened to be a natural fit for such an inclusion. Astro Bot is a cute little genderless robot who can represent any character you can think of, from Nathan Drake to Klonoa to Aloy. I hate myself for thinking of this comparison, but they’re the video game equivalent of Minions. You rescue one, smile with glee, and return to the hub arena to punch them in the face and view some canned animation play out.

The experience is hollow without the reference that pins it down, and there is a warranted fear that it reduces Astro Bot down to nothing more than a cute cash grab brought to life by corporate nostalgia. But as someone who grew up with PlayStation and recognised more cameos in it than I’m willing to admit, Team Asobi has made something bigger than that.

Team Asobi has said that building such a well-versed chronicle of PlayStation history will hopefully encourage players both new and old to go back and try classics like Ape Escape, Ico, The Legend of Dragoon, Sly Cooper, and countless other PlayStation gems for the first time. Maybe they’d heard of these names through the grapevine once upon a time, or maybe Astro Bot revealed that PlayStation’s well runs much deeper than The Last of Us and God Of War.

Sony's current games lineup might be dominated by big-budget narrative games and failed live-service titles, but focusing on diverse experiences could be the key to changing this trend. The success of Astro Bot, especially compared to the failure of Concord, could signal a shift towards fresh and exciting ideas, potentially drawing inspiration from the past. Modern video games are so focused on advancements in graphics and bigger budgets that they forget the power of simple, well-executed fundamentals.

Astro Bot is the most acclaimed exclusive of this console generation because it not only makes games fun on a basic level, but it also respects a legacy that has been overlooked for years. Team Asobi reminds us of what makes PlayStation special, and I believe they can build on that without relying solely on nostalgia.

Whatever comes next for Astro Bot, I imagine it will blend the familiar with the new, featuring themed levels alongside an original story and unique stage designs. Saving bots will remain a core part of the Astro Bot experience, much like collecting stars in Mario, becoming a defining element of the series.

While Team Asobi's reliance on nostalgia to bring Astro Bot to life isn't ideal, if it helps revitalize PlayStation and give its major franchises a second chance, I'm willing to accept it. However, if they choose a different path, past games have shown that Astro Bot can stand on its own.