As we’re speaking about video games from 2024 that did one thing rather well, for me, one sport stood excessive above the remainder (and can also be a sport I bear in mind enjoying this yr that really launched this yr – sorry, Resident Evil 4 Remake, my mind forgot you launched in 2023!). Astro Bot acquired me proper within the feels this yr. Different video games undoubtedly had extra affecting storylines and characters, however as somebody who clearly loves video video games an amazing deal, Sony’s PS5 nostalgia-fest drilled proper into whichever a part of my mind processes pleasure. And let’s be trustworthy, that half has been used much less and fewer in recent times.
I’ve owned each PlayStation system for the reason that platform burst onto the scene 30 years in the past – I make that seven consoles and two handhelds, plus a number of refreshes. But, regardless of that fanboy-level of possession, I by no means thought I had a lot of an emotional connection to Sony’s console. Do not get offended, but when I used to be compelled to select the gaming manufacturers I’ve probably the most fondness for, I would go along with Sega and Xbox. I did ask you to not get offended. Sega was every little thing once I was a younger lad and Xbox offered an thrilling new future for gaming at in regards to the time I ventured into my profession. PlayStation was simply the cool console in between, so I assumed. I used to be mistaken.
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I’ve lengthy believed that my love of retro video games is not in regards to the video games themselves, however the way in which they take you again in time. Within the spare room/workplace I work from at dwelling, the very first thing I see once I stroll in is a stunning boxed copy of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Mega Drive. I can not say I am determined to play it, however each time I look at it, I am reminded of the type of unbounded glee that is just about reserved just for kids nowadays. I felt that, as soon as, I remind myself. Late nights attempting to defeat Robotnik – me, my brother, and cousin leaving the Mega Drive turned on in a single day so we did not lose our progress. Higher occasions, possibly. Less complicated occasions, for positive.
Astro Bot has taken criticism for being an enormous advert that it’s important to pay for, a cynical means for Sony to faucet into an viewers that loves the PlayStation. I’ve no drawback with individuals pondering that (I, personally, do not perceive the recognition of Animal Crossing, if we’re sharing unhealthy opinions). I simply do not care. Possibly I must be analysing it extra deeply and really feel deeply ashamed of myself, however I merely do not need to.
Picture credit score: PlayStation
Picture credit score: Eurogamer/Staff Asobi/Sony
Picture credit score: Eurogamer/Staff Asobi/Sony
Picture credit score: Staff Asobi
From a gameplay perspective, Astro Bot is high notch. Mechanically it is tremendous tight (if not as ripe for god-level mastery as among the 3D Mario video games), the degrees are bathed in creativity, and it is a feast for the eyes and ears. It is good. However it’s not only a sport. It is a portal – like my copy of Sonic the Hedgehog, it is a gateway to a different time. Lots was fabricated from the basic character Bots you accumulate all through the sport, and these are nice, coming into the hub/interactive museum as soon as discovered. However there’s one second that acquired to me greater than anything.
I will not spoil it in full, however in the direction of the top of Astro’s journey the sport shifts gears and you end up in a 3D homage to basic shm’ups, the side-scrolling shooters from the previous. Throughout this sequence, a second is highlighted by the enjoying of the unique PlayStation boot jingle. I actually do not know what it was about this tune, performed at the moment, on the finish of a wonderful jaunt via my very own gaming historical past, however my eyes began to water.
Video video games imply lots to me, greater than most I would count on. I’ve constructed my whole working life round them, my profession devoted to celebrating the perfect and highlighting the worst. As a job, it is as tiring and exhausting, generally exasperating, as every other, and it is simple to lose sight of why I selected this path all these years in the past. Only for a second, within the darkened early hours, a dim mild from the DualSense portray the room in an ethereal glow, I used to be 12 once more, and it was unimaginable. For that, I like Astro Bot, and I assume I like PlayStation too.
