Astro’s Playroom review – introducing the PS5

The PS5 comes with a free game that not only demonstrates the new console’s abilities but celebrates the long history of PlayStation.

The PlayStation brand has never really had a mascot. Toro the cat filled the role to a degree in Japan but he never fronted any major games and has since faded from the limelight. Sackboy was another contender for a time, and is making a comeback on the PlayStation 5, but in the early days it still felt like third party characters such as Lara Croft and Crash Bandicoot were closer to being the unofficial face of PlayStation. But now there is a new challenger and while Astro isn’t much of a character his games are becoming some of the best in Sony’s line-up.

Astro, or at least the various identical robots he’s based on (Astro himself seems to be some kind of superhero variant but since he never talks or is given any explicit backstory we’re not really sure), first appeared in PlayStation 4 tech demo The Playroom, before turning up again in the self-explanatory The Playroom VR. His only proper game so far though has been Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, which is still probably the best VR game ever made and clear evidence that developer ASOBI Team could make a Nintendo quality platformer if given the time and money.

Astro’s Playroom is not that game, as it’s quite short and still at least 50% tech demo, but since so few will ever get to play Rescue Mission it’s an important step towards that goal. It’s also free with every new PlayStation 5, so it’s the one game that you can almost guarantee everyone will play – and it gives a very good first impression.

The conceit of the Playroom games is that Astro and his fellow bots are living inside your console and controller, with one of the most amusing tricks in the first game being that when you shook the DualShock 4 you could feel them all rattling about inside it. Astro’s Playroom goes a step further by setting itself entirely inside your PlayStation 5, with the four worlds based on the SSD, GPU, and other major components.

In this sense it’s a fairly standard 3D platformer, with Astro’s only abilities being the same as Rescue Mission: jet boots that let him float in the air for a short time and also damage enemies, and a mean right hook. Since Astro’s Playroom is clearly meant to be played by everyone it’s unsurprising to find it’s not very difficult, although there are a few tricky moments that we’re sure will confound more casual gamers.

The platform design is rarely all that inspired though and we’re still very disappointed that all the enemies are direct rip-offs of Mario enemies, even relatively obscure ones like Pokey and Wiggler. They act and are defeated in exactly the same way, which seems like the act of a hopelessly uninspired wannabe, which is the exact opposite impression you get from every other aspect of the game.

The platforming may be relatively simple but the game’s joy comes from the little details and one-off moments, something that evokes a Nintendo-like magic in a much more unique manner. After all, there’s not many other games we can think of that create a theme tune about a console’s GPU and have you humming along to it as you play, ‘I’m your GPU – I do it all for you!’

The DualSense rattles and rumbles in completely different ways depending on what surface you’re moving on, and when it starts to rain a little umbrella unfolds from Astro’s head and you feel the drum of the rain through the controller. You also ping Astro into action with a flick of the touchpad and zip up his various special suits by running your finger upwards.

There’s a number of these suits where the gameplay switches to 2D and you turn into a robot on a spring, that’s directed via motion controls and a press of the adaptive triggers. There’s also a rocket that works in a similar manner but where you have to push past the resistance it offers to fire the jets – which can also set fire to fuses and the game’s Bob-omb stand-ins.

You also find a monkey suit for climbing and a fun nod to Marble Madness that must have been suggested by, or intended as homage to, PlayStation 5 architect Mark Cerny who created the original game. There’s also a Gatling gun to pick up and spray enemies with at one point and lots of hidden unlockables that can only be found by rotating the camera round and causing enemies to accidently blow up parts of the scenery or become electrocuted by their own traps.

Thanks to the DualSense everything feels wonderfully tactical and we’re very encouraged that when you get to the bow and arrow you can use motion controls to aim, like Splatoon, which we hope will become a standard option for the PlayStation 5.

Although the game does go out of its way to demonstrate the various abilities of the DualSense controller it’s also a celebration of all PlayStation consoles up to this point. One of the main types of hidden item you’re searching for are peripherals from the four eras of PlayStation home consoles, from memory cards to PSP accessories, with the completion of a world gifting you a virtual console to take back to a trophy room and reminisce over.

Past games are also celebrated in fine style thanks to the little skits that are always going on in the background, often involving other bots playing the role of famous game characters. There’s obvious nods to things like Ico and The Last Of Us but also deeper cuts such as Vib Ribbon and Ape Escape, as well as third party games like Tekken and Crash Bandicoot and vehicles flying around from the likes of WipEout and Resogun.

It’s a wonderful celebration of PlayStation’s history but the absolute best moment is the final boss battle which is so perfectly handled we almost died of nostalgia playing it. All of this could easily have come across as self-indulgent and self-aggrandising but after 26 years in the business it feels entirely earnt and much more like a Nintendo style celebration of their legacy – a more low-key Smash Bros. but with platforming instead of fighting.

Astro’s Playroom won’t last you very long – maybe three or four hours to see almost everything – and you’ll probably never come back to it but as an introduction to the PlayStation 5 and its controller it works perfectly. It may not be a killer app as such but playing Astro’s Playroom leaves you with a huge grin on your face and a head full of optimism about what the new console may be able to do in the future, and that’s the best introduction the PlayStation could ask for.

Formats: PlayStation 5
Price: Free
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Developer: ASOBI Team
Release Date: 18th November 2020
Age Rating: 7

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