Episode 197 - All Day I Dream About Sony - Astro Bot

Live in your world, podcast in ours. Welcome back to the podcast! Today, we’re going to be talking about Astro Bot, a 3D platformer and a PS5 exclusive. When it comes to console exclusivity, I would usually argue against it, as it restricts people’s access to games and tend to only benefit established developers and publishers who already have a lot of clout in the industry. This game, however, really wouldn’t exist without it. Set in a very Sony-themed world where your lead character travels through space inside a PS5 and flies between levels on a DualSense 5 controller, your goal is to complete levels in order to regain the internal components, fan, GPU, etc., of the PS5 and rebuild it. The main collectibles for progression are robot representations of games that Sony has had a hand in over the years and the lead up to the final boss involves fighting atop a PS Vita. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel a little dystopian. It is cute, to some extent, and the game’s levels are well designed and rotate between a variety of interesting powerups, so I wouldn’t fault you for enjoying the game in spite of the branding, but I might look at you a little funny if you enjoyed it because of it. We’re going to be talking about the use of the unique hardware of the PS5, how motivational the collectibles are, and what you could and could not consider to be a box. Thank you for joining us again this week! This was a pretty smooth game to play, all things considered, and there’s something to be said for that. Sometimes you’re just in the mood for something that doesn’t throw up too many roadblocks, and this fills that niche pretty well, being not too challenging but very visually vibrant and playful. Were you looking forward to this game after the previous Astro titles, or did you get this game because of a lack of other titles on the PS5? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord server! Next time, we’re going to be talking about Life is Strange: Double Exposure, so we hope you’ll join us for that.